I swear I put the power steering fluid in the car, not under the car

[MustangNJ]

yeah so, its either a pretty big leak, or my neighbor is playing games with me.  obv its ATF not "power steering fluid" given that its red.

I just refilled with Lucas power steering leak fix. we will see if its just a seal, or if I have a loose fitting, etc. it was not obvious to me where the leak is exactly.

 

[73pony]

Was the puddle near the pump or the steering box? The seal on my steering box was leaking badly. I sent it to powersteering.com to rebuild and convert to a quick ratio. The actual sealing surface was gouged from a previous rebuild so they had to repair it prior to rebuild, no leaks since. if the leak was by the pump it would either be the seal or the pressure line connection.

 

[MustangNJ]

I just put in a new steering box, and power steering hoses. the leak could be coming from anywhere. I'll see of the Lucas stuff works, otherwise I'll really have to get into it.

 

[jpaz]

The Lucas stuff isn’t going to work. You need to find the leak. You just put new hoses and a steering box so why would you try to put a bandage on?

ATF is what you are supposed to use for the power steering fluid.

 

[Hemikiller]

yeah so, its either a pretty big leak, or my neighbor is playing games with me.  obv its ATF not "power steering fluid" given that its red.

I just refilled with Lucas power steering leak fix. we will see if its just a seal, or if I have a loose fitting, etc. it was not obvious to me where the leak is exactly.

Look at your dipstick, it tells you to use ATF which in a '71-73 is Type F- unless the Mexican cars use something different. 

I just put in a new steering box, and power steering hoses. the leak could be coming from anywhere.  I'll see of the Lucas stuff works, otherwise I'll really have to get into it.

Since your car is a 4 speed, the only place that there is ATF is in the power steering system. Could be the pump, the hoses or the box itself. If it's the box, you'll usually see drips hanging off the pitman arm and the bottom of the box. If not, wipe the bottom of the pump reservoir with a rag. If it comes up red, you have a leaking pump or hose. Since you just put in a new box, the pump is the most likely suspect, or the hoses. It's possible you have a loose hose or fitting, or disturbed the seal on the back of the pump.

Don't waste your money on the Lucas crap, that's for high mileage hail-mary "fixes".

 

[MustangNJ]

it was a bit frustrating. i bought paper towels under the car so I could try and isolate where exactly the drips where coming from, and wiped the bottom of the reservoir and only found 30 years of grease. I'll try again today....these dang cars are so low to the ground its hard to get under there without lifting the car up.

 

[MustangNJ]

I think I found the leak. it dripped on me when I was taking pics. looks like around the flange on the reservoir ....track bar is wet with ATF...

 

[Hemikiller]

There ya go. Time to reseal the pump.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=831&cc=1132995&jsn=1065

You'll need a power steering pump pulley puller/installer. Most auto parts stores loan the tools for a "deposit"

 

[6DUB606]

I think I found the leak. it dripped on me when I was taking pics. looks like around the flange on the reservoir ....track bar is wet with ATF...

That's the lowest point so look a bit higher first.  I had similar problem & found the return line hose clamp loose.  Wipe it all down, go for a drive then let it sit for a while with paper on the floor.  Yes, could be the front seal or something more serious but tightening a loose fitting is easy.

Hope it's that simple.

PKJ

 

[MustangNJ]

it was the seals and gaskets. not a big deal