My First Leak ... Help (Pic Included) ... Possibly t-case/rack-pinion

I was changing my oil last night and as usually, I look around the underneath to check for any anomalies, primarily for leaks. And after six years, I found my first.

I can't figure out where it's coming but whatever it is, it very subtle - I don't have any signs on my garage floor.

From what I saw, the best I can describe it is "oil residue" versus when something is sopping wet.

Here's exactly where I see oil residue.

1. On the driver side, front drive shaft near the front diff. That section just inside the inner CV boot is covered with residue. The CV boot looks perfectly fine, no tears and no residue on the boot itself. (See photo)

2. The area around the front diff where #1 goes into... spreading downward. Again... just very minor oil residue... no obvious leaking or wet spots... or drippings. I can see what looks like the "fill-plug". The residue goes into that area, but the plug itself is not leaking nor does the plug itself have any residue.

3. To add to this, I also see the oil residue on the rack and pinion boot. (See photo) I inspected the boot and there's no obvious tear. With the truck running, I turn the steering side to side to see if it would leak, but I saw nothing. The passenger side boot also has same type of residue just like in the photo, though not as much.

4. I see residue on the steering column "joint" just above the rack and pinion assembly. The assembly below the joint looks clean, no residue.

I'm wondering if all these residue are from the same source or completely isolated from each other.

Whatever this leak is... its gotta very small... not enough to leak onto my garage floor.

My Power Steering Fluid reservoir looks ok. Last night, the fluid was may be about 1/8 inch below the "Cold Min" line.

What do you think the culprit is?

I guess I can try to clean the area and get all the residue off and then monitor to see where it starts. Will engine Cleaner and pressure washer do the trick to clean this off? Anything I need to know before I do this?

Thanks in advance.

And also... this is a completely stock truck. No mods and moderately taken off-road.

 

typical of rack and pinion to leak

 

Looks like the rack is leaking. Mine is worse

 

Well, the steering rack doesn't have A CV in it. From what I can remember fixing the leak requires A lot of work.

 

http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/d...l?apwcid=productads-apwid9c78Rf3-apwidNRfV935

but they have a re-seal kit for 50 bucks but If your not confident in your ablities you should buy a new one. I personaly just put a little stop leak and it's worked fine for years

 

Take off the clamp on the rack's boot and look for a leak. A talc based, spray on leak checker will work well to spot leaks on a clean housing. Adding flourescent dye to one system, waiting a week, then checking with a UV light will find very small leaks. Make sure you only do one system at a time.
I suspect the rack is leaking. Since there is only wetness on the bottom of the rack's boot, I doubt it's the CV shaft seal. Make sure to clean everything and inspect. It's easy to miss something on a picture.

 

At this point... I'm pretty sure the PS is leaking. But whatever it is, the PS leak must not be that bad. I'll keep an eye on the fluids. Based on what I've read minor PS leaks are easy to live with... and mine so far seems very very subtle. But I'll monitor.

At this point, I'm concerned that my front diff (sorry, mistakenly said transfer case earlier) seal is leaking (even a little).

I've read people talk about checking the breather cap first and making sure that didn't get clogged from mud. I've just never looked at a diff before, and certainly not at a breather line/cap. Where is this at?

Also, is that the "fill-plug" on the diff housing that faces the rear? Is that where I would check/top off the fluid?

Thanks.

 

Agreed.. If the leak is severe to a point where it effects the racks perfomance, you are better off buying a new one if you are not confident in your abilities.

 

Top plug on the diff is the fill/check line, on a flat surface, should be even with the bottom of the top plug.

 

Is this the breather lines in the engine compartment? I see two lines. Is one of these for the front diff and the other for the rear diff? See attached photo.

 

Diff and T-case probably. Follow them to be sure.

 

subbed for possible solution to my issue