Steering tie rod end boot is wet
 

I noticed my passenger side steering tie rod end boot is wet with some sort of oil for about a month now.

The dealership checked it out twice and I looked at it too when they had the car jacked up. The area around the boot is dry as a bone. We are not sure where the oil is coming from. It is a slow leak.

It is not from road splashes because I cleaned the area off twice and avoided driving it in the rain. Steering fluid is holding steady at the level before I noticed the leak.

I have attached 4 pictures.

Anyone seen this before?


Thanks.

Can't really see the wetness in your pictures.

Rub some of it between your fingers and check the color and odor. The PS fluid has a slight color where as brake fluid is clear, both will feel viscous. If it feels just like regular water or has a slight tint of coolant and slight odor then it might be some coolant coming out the overflow or overflow tank cap and splashing over (driver's side mostly). The A/C compressor is on the passenger side and will drip perfectly clear water when in use (A/C or defrost).

The wetness is at the bottom of the boot. You can see it is slightly darker in the picture at the bottom of the boot. Can't really see the color since there are dirt on the boot as well. I would say the fluid is clear. It does feel viscous.

Turn the wheel to full lock and check for wetness where the brake hard line and the brake hose come together.

You can also try running a couple of days without A/C to see if you are just catching water from that.

I haven't used the A/C in about a month so it is not the A/C.

Where is this location? Where the brake hard line and the brake hose come together. Is it by the wheel area right behind the brake pads?


Thanks again.

It will be up against the engine firewall, behind the strut. One of mine had a very minor leak after I changed out brake hoses. I didn't notice until I ran low enough on brake fluid to trip the sensor (a few days).

From inside the engine bay inspect around the bottom of the power steering reservoir with your hand to see if you can feel any fluid. If you boil the power steering fluid it can splash out the top (been there done that).