So after the Toys for Tots run, I started a thread in maintenance asking about what people do after an off-road run. I noted that we had a light power steering whine.

Well...today while reversing and turning right, there was a clunking sound in the front. I look under the truck, and two things aren't right. One is that the sway bar became disconnected. The second is that the shaft of the power steering gear is leaking, and I assume the unit must be replaced. Looked up the price at Courtesy Nissan....about $1400. Has anyone run into this before?

Is this an area that would be protected by a skid plate? I assume that we hit a rock and that's what caused this.

Thanks as always,

Chris

Rebuild kit runs around $24, remanufactured unit from Napa is $300. I might buy the reman, rebuild the old one and hold onto it as a spare (for us or other members). This is assuming that the gearing/internals are ok.

I started this thread, now I'll kill it.

It's not possible to hit it against a rock, as the control arm would also hit the same rock and the truck would hang up on it. I assume the vibration just accelerated the wear on the seals, and it's now leaking. Doesn't sound rare, and there are rebuild threads available.

Nevermind about the skid, won't protect it but not necessary. I assume the sway bar bolt was just corroded and broke.

Chris, are you talking to your self again??

I thought I was the only one that did that

I Hope you got the leak squared away
any questions let me know

FWIW, I killed my PS gear at the Wheeling for Warriors run...pretty sure I hit the output shaft on a rock. It could happen, it just depends on how tall and upright the rock is. I feel that the output shaft/pitman arm is pretty exposed, and I was thinking of designing a skid for it as well, or a brace; similar to the idler arm brace.

I got a killer deal on a reman'd unit from Napa, my coworker friend owns a garage and gets a nice discount, he hooked me up real nice

For the money, the NAPA reman is the way to go. I got the NAPA about 7 years ago, and it lasted until the end of the truck.

If it is not leaking too bad, you may be able to buy a year of so using Lucas leak stopping fluid.

k_enn

Last June I put the napa rebuild on my X and so far its holding up pretty good. They also have the seal kits to rebuild the original which is fairly cheap as well. Either way I say is a good way to go instead of buying new from Nissan.

We actually replaced it with a NAPA unit, no complaints at all. Pump is still making noise, so we'll have to replace that too.

Mine made a noise this time of the year last year too. It was because the PS fluid was old and level was low.

Make sure you have clean fluid and fill it up to the max line. If it is making a wineing noise that means it is low so fill it up.