Power Steering went out! 19K miles !!!

shurik355 · 09-08-2015, 07:03 PM

UPDATE down below and on page 2.

I was out of town 260 miles away in my 40th Anniversary Z, and my power steering went out when I was at the parking lot at the time, thank God for that! I opened the hood to check what's going on and found out the power steering reservoir was empty. I was confused about what just happened. So I looked under the car and saw drips of oil dripping in small amounts.

So I went to the auto store in another car to get some power steering in hope so i can add some more and perhaps drive home.
Started filling power steering and after 1.5 qts, sounds like a seal went out, it was a loud popping sound and everything what i put in went on the ground.

So end of story... I had to drive the car with no power steering all the way home for 260 miles. Had no choice. Got home safely, just experienced what 1980s cars had to offer back in the day lol. Im pretty sure my power steering pump is all gone now as well after the drive.

I don't know what happened, what have caused this??? Clueless what went wrong!

So Im planning to take the Z to the dealer and see if it's going to be covered under warranty. I mean the car only has 19K miles on it.

So my question has anyone experienced anything like this??? Will the dealership cover this under warranty? I read the seals go out on the steering racks on some Zs, regardless if it's modded or not. But not sure yet what happened to mine.

Chan Chee Hoe · 09-08-2015, 07:35 PM

Our Power Steering racks was "famous" of seeping oil..very common.

JARblue · 09-08-2015, 07:59 PM

At 19K miles the dealer should absolutely take care of this under warranty. But if you're in a 2010, you are long past the 3 year period. If you use a Nissan dealer regularly for service (even if not for the Z), they might do the work under "good will" service. Otherwise, you'll probably be paying for the repairs yourself.

shurik355 · 09-08-2015, 08:16 PM

Yeah guys Im not sure what went out on mine, the power steering rack or the pump. It looked like it was dripping out of the rack assembly and not the pump when I saw the dripping under the car.

I think I should get the car on the jack stands and see what has failed. Just to see what im dealing with before calling or taking her to a dealer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chan Chee Hoe

Our Power Steering racks was "famous" of seeping oil..very common.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JARblue

At 19K miles the dealer should absolutely take care of this under warranty. But if you're in a 2010, you are long past the 3 year period. If you use a Nissan dealer regularly for service (even if not for the Z), they might do the work under "good will" service. Otherwise, you'll probably be paying for the repairs yourself.

JARblue · 09-08-2015, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shurik355

I think I should get the car on the jack stands and see what has failed.

That is the first thing I would do. GL

How is it driving the Z without power steering? I would imagine even more raw

I remember power sliding some old muscle cars without power steering around my buddy's land. So much fun ... and a nice work out

shurik355 · 09-08-2015, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JARblue

That is the first thing I would do. GL

How is it driving the Z without power steering? I would imagine even more raw

I remember power sliding some old muscle cars without power steering around my buddy's land. So much fun ... and a nice work out

It really isn't bad at all at speeds over 20 mph. The faster you travel the easier it is to steer. At lower speeds get ready to use some muscle, especially when stationary.

onzedge · 09-09-2015, 07:49 AM

Power steering ruins road feel anyway...

The steering in my 240Zs is superior to the 370Z's.

2011 Nismo#91 · 09-09-2015, 10:07 AM

Sorry to hear of your troubles. FYI cars with powers steering that is broken are much harder to drive then those that never had power steering in the first place.

shurik355 · 09-09-2015, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2011 Nismo#91

Sorry to hear of your troubles. FYI cars with powers steering that is broken are much harder to drive then those that never had power steering in the first place.

That's' correct. It is indeed.

Anyway I'll be posting more information on this after I start working on the car.

macwest · 09-10-2015, 05:35 PM

I had a brand new 90 Iroc z and I was cranking the steering wheel through the window to line it up on a ramp while the engine was off. The F&cking steering shaft snaped a bolt, (wide tires)and I was stuck. I had to have the car pushed down a narrow driveway onto a flat bed and it sat at a dealer for 2 weeks. I picked up the car and two weeks later it was stolen. Should of heard the wife bitch about that one ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Mac

shurik355 · 09-10-2015, 08:04 PM

^^^ yeahhh that's crazy! man that's a story you got there Mac!

Anyway it appears that Im the only one with this kind of story where my Steering rack blew a seal or something, that everything was dumped on the ground and I had to drive the car long distance with no power steering.

shurik355 · 09-12-2015, 12:37 PM

Alright guys here's an update. LIfted the car up and found out that the driver power steering boot is ripped. You can see in the 2nd pic the boot is being blown on the top.

But I wonder where was the main leak coming from in the 1st place??? The popping sound that accrued later where all the fluid went on the ground seemed like came from this blown boot. I didn't find any more leaks other then the boot being ripped though. Hmmmmm...

JARblue · 09-12-2015, 02:43 PM

That sucks man. GL with the fix. Here's some details from the Steering section of the FSM that may or may not help you

shurik355 · 09-12-2015, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JARblue

That sucks man. GL with the fix. Here's some details from the Steering section of the FSM that may or may not help you

Thanks a lot JarBlue, that may actually be pretty handy to have now.

macwest · 09-12-2015, 04:39 PM

That boot popped from all the fluid filling it up . Mac

09-08-2015, 07:03 PM	#1 (permalink)
shurik355 Enthusiast Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Tulsa, OK Posts: 352 Drives: 370z 40th anniversar Rep Power: 13	Power Steering went out! 19K miles !!! UPDATE down below and on page 2. I was out of town 260 miles away in my 40th Anniversary Z, and my power steering went out when I was at the parking lot at the time, thank God for that! I opened the hood to check what's going on and found out the power steering reservoir was empty. I was confused about what just happened. So I looked under the car and saw drips of oil dripping in small amounts. So I went to the auto store in another car to get some power steering in hope so i can add some more and perhaps drive home. Started filling power steering and after 1.5 qts, sounds like a seal went out, it was a loud popping sound and everything what i put in went on the ground. So end of story... I had to drive the car with no power steering all the way home for 260 miles. Had no choice. Got home safely, just experienced what 1980s cars had to offer back in the day lol. Im pretty sure my power steering pump is all gone now as well after the drive. I don't know what happened, what have caused this??? Clueless what went wrong! So Im planning to take the Z to the dealer and see if it's going to be covered under warranty. I mean the car only has 19K miles on it. So my question has anyone experienced anything like this??? Will the dealership cover this under warranty? I read the seals go out on the steering racks on some Zs, regardless if it's modded or not. But not sure yet what happened to mine. Last edited by shurik355; 09-19-2015 at 02:35 PM.

09-08-2015, 07:59 PM	#3 (permalink)
JARblue A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Austin, TX Age: 43 Posts: 36,450 Drives: 11 Z34, 98 E36 M3 Rep Power: 2684440	At 19K miles the dealer should absolutely take care of this under warranty. But if you're in a 2010, you are long past the 3 year period. If you use a Nissan dealer regularly for service (even if not for the Z), they might do the work under "good will" service. Otherwise, you'll probably be paying for the repairs yourself. __________________ 2011 370Z 6MT Sport Gun Metallic \| ARC \| CJM \| Ecutek \| FI \| Fujimura \| R2C \| SPL \| Stillen \| TWM \| Z1 \| ZSpeed \|

09-09-2015, 07:49 AM	#7 (permalink)
onzedge A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Battle Lake MN Age: 64 Posts: 183,964 Drives: 370Z 240Z Rep Power: 2684736	Power steering ruins road feel anyway... The steering in my 240Zs is superior to the 370Z's. JARblue and binary0x01 like this. __________________ Koni\|Swift\|Michelin\|Motordyne\|Berk\|RJM Performance\|Gates\|SPL\|Motul\|Technafit\|Ate Super Blue\|Hawk Tommy Kaira\|Momo\|Optima\|Hella\|Hotchkis\|Red Line\|ZSpeed\|Stillen\|B&M\|H&R

09-09-2015, 10:07 AM	#8 (permalink)
2011 Nismo#91 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: NJ Posts: 2,402 Drives: slowly Rep Power: 40569	Sorry to hear of your troubles. FYI cars with powers steering that is broken are much harder to drive then those that never had power steering in the first place. onzedge likes this.

09-10-2015, 05:35 PM	#10 (permalink)
macwest Base Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: nyc Posts: 57 Drives: 2015 370 Nismo Rep Power: 13	I had a brand new 90 Iroc z and I was cranking the steering wheel through the window to line it up on a ramp while the engine was off. The F&cking steering shaft snaped a bolt, (wide tires)and I was stuck. I had to have the car pushed down a narrow driveway onto a flat bed and it sat at a dealer for 2 weeks. I picked up the car and two weeks later it was stolen. Should of heard the wife bitch about that one ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Mac Davey, Rusty, Masterbeatty and 1 others like this.

09-08-2015, 07:35 PM	#2 (permalink)
Chan Chee Hoe Track Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Singapore Posts: 861 Drives: 370z,Yellow,7sp A Rep Power: 17	Our Power Steering racks was "famous" of seeping oil..very common.

09-10-2015, 08:04 PM	#11 (permalink)
shurik355 Enthusiast Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Tulsa, OK Posts: 352 Drives: 370z 40th anniversar Rep Power: 13	^^^ yeahhh that's crazy! man that's a story you got there Mac! Anyway it appears that Im the only one with this kind of story where my Steering rack blew a seal or something, that everything was dumped on the ground and I had to drive the car long distance with no power steering.

09-12-2015, 12:37 PM	#12 (permalink)
shurik355 Enthusiast Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Tulsa, OK Posts: 352 Drives: 370z 40th anniversar Rep Power: 13	Alright guys here's an update. LIfted the car up and found out that the driver power steering boot is ripped. You can see in the 2nd pic the boot is being blown on the top. But I wonder where was the main leak coming from in the 1st place??? The popping sound that accrued later where all the fluid went on the ground seemed like came from this blown boot. I didn't find any more leaks other then the boot being ripped though. Hmmmmm... Last edited by shurik355; 09-12-2015 at 12:46 PM.

09-12-2015, 04:39 PM	#15 (permalink)
macwest Base Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: nyc Posts: 57 Drives: 2015 370 Nismo Rep Power: 13	That boot popped from all the fluid filling it up . Mac

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