[IllestBeams94]

BMW said I had a leak in my power steering, but that's not why I brought my car in. How can I find out really how bad the leak is? Or if they're just trying to (B)rake (M)y (W)allet?

[Efthreeoh]

Well it's not too hard. You need a flash light. Look under the hood and find the power steering reservoir, trace the lines to the pump, trace the pump lines to the rack. You'll see leakage if there are wet spots at the fittings. All of the components are on the driver’s side of the engine compartment.

Now if the rack itself is leaking you can tell by squeezing the accordion boots ends and if they are squishy there is fluid in them. I've not heard of E90 racks having this problem though. To get a better look at the rack, you need to pull the engine belly pan, which requires lifting the car and removing about 16 small bolts.

[phillip@bmpdesign]

CHF 11s evaporates, so it could be evaporating from your reservoir, but also if you have a leak may not be immediately obvious on the lines. We haven't seen any repairs for leaks at the rack in our shop unless they were damaged from collision. A hose or fitting may develop a leak however.