power steering fluid loss; safe to drive?

[c220cdi2010]

hello,
car has decided to dump all the power steering fluid all over the drive.
didn't realise issue existed until i steered to go around corners and was a whining grinding noise. car hadn't been used for about 10days so put it down to this.
came back from kids footy and left it.

went out to clean car and saw oily mess on drive; had a look around and checking fluids saw this was empty. looked underneath and can see deposits around the rack bit that sticks out of floor tray (sorry for poor description)

so, i need to get to a garage to get looked at, but was thinking;
if i fill it up with some 345.00 fluid to go the .75 mile - will i be ok?
have i broken it all doing the 2miles i did before realising issues?
should i get it towed, while front lifted so not turning?

thoughts appreciated.

Neil

 

[Salal]

Without any oil in the power steering pump it will damage it quickly as the pump will have metal to metal contact which is the grinding noise you hear and also due to no fluid damping in the pump. This will wear it out very quickly and overheat it because the hydraulic oil cools it down as well.

But as you garage isn’t really far from you and depending how bad the leak is it might make it fine if you keep it topped off. Although if you do have a significant leak bear in mind that it the hydraulic pump will suck the reservoir dry in matter of a few seconds!

Towing wise, as long as the engine is off, the power steering pump won’t be spinning. Regardless if the wheel are on the ground or not. And they are rear wheel drive and not the front (unless you have 4matic/4 wheel drive).

 

[c220cdi2010]

thanks Salal.
hoping the 2mile trip not done any damage
sounds like a top up to full and short trip i should be ok, slight relief and can do mid-morning when in theory commute traffic has gone so not sitting around for long.

no not 4matic system, and noted for the towing.

Neil

 

[Salal]

It could of done or maybe not, but I think it’s probably fine but that depends how big the leak was really. These pumps are usually the rotary vane type, there might have been a bit of scoring internally but the pump should still do what it is designed to. If it did get really bad it could potentially send debris down to the power steering rack and damage that too but your probably far from that.

If you do decide to tow it, you will have to leave the keys in to leave the gearbox in N if you have an auto. But there is also usually an overide switch hidden to disengage P without the keys.

Just check at your house first to see how quickly the level goes down after filling it up and take it from there. If it doesn’t go down as quick it should be ok to drive it to the garage.

 

[c220cdi2010]

thank you again, appreciate advise.
manual, so ok with the old neutral thing; never had an auto!

hopefully just a loose pipe or seal

will update when all done.
Neil

 

[c220cdi2010]

turns out pump had gone and need to find 600 notes
i have no car mechanical skills at all and so have choice but to trust garage.

all i know is ouch and car is sold soon as get back - this car has been a money pit bad experience since i bought it and unfortunately (or not) has put me of mb for ever in a day

Neil