Power steering leak. Location assistance.

[Alex.L]

Hi,
I'm totally new to Audis so please bear with me. Having only worked on Fords and Renaults before(hobby level).

I've got a major leak from the power steering system, but I can't really figure out where it might be coming from. It's in the back of the engine and seems to congregate on the from crossmember(if that is the right term in English). I've circled the area on one photo. So it's not in the common area around the cooling pipe in the front.
As you can see in the other photo, the fluid has completely ruined the bushing in the right control arm (as in completely gone).

I would be very grateful for any ideas or tips, thanks!

The car is a 2003 Audi A3 8L1 1.8T petrol.

 

[Zans]

That bushing is disintegrated! From the photos it looks likes it's leaking from the rubber grommet you can see in the second picture. Notice how the top part of it is dry but the lower part is wet. A simple replacement won't fix the leak so I suggest you remove the grommet to investigate and most probably will have to repair your steering rack.

 

[Alex.L]

That bushing is disintegrated! From the photos it looks likes it's leaking from the rubber grommet you can see in the second picture. Notice how the top part of it is dry but the lower part is wet. A simple replacement won't fix the leak so I suggest you remove the grommet to investigate and most probably will have to repair your steering rack.

Thanks for replying.
Yes it's completely gone. There was a small piece left that just fell off when I picked at it.
The problem is that the rocker cover is leaking quite a lot as well, I'm about to replace that in the next few days. And after that, clean the engine up somewhat and then add tracer dye to the steering fluid, because I cannot find where it's leaking. I've spent hours trying to find the spot/spots. Also, a few days ago it hit me that the previous owner might have used the wrong power steering fluid, since there's not a lot of placed carrying the correct one around where I live. If he used a less viscose one, that could partly explain the amount that's been pouring out.

 

[Alex.L]

I think I've figured out where it's leaking from. Had my wife rotating the steering wheel, full lock to full lock back and forth. And after the boot (on the right side) has been compressed and is expanding again, it drips heavily from underneath the boot. It's like there's steering fluid leaking out into the boot and then through a hole in the boot down onto the control arm. Does anyone know if there's a replaceable seal where the steering rod connects to the rack?
I've tried looking for it but have come up with nothing.

 

[Alex.L]

Found this now, does anyone have any experience replacing seals in steering rack, is it super tricky?

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