Well, that's ruined my day! Any advice? (damage, oil leak, steering)

Hi folks
Still a newbie here. Took my 60 Invicta for a spin. Running fine. Turned into my garage, which is a tight fit (it was designed for British cars!) and as I gently steered it in for the last few yards the steering started making a high pitched grinding noise. I had to get the vehicle in, so made the last few turns - with that dreadful noise from the steering each time - before switching off the engine to have a look.
It's windy here, and it turns out a bloody great stick had fallen from a tree and was in the middle of the road - right outside the garage. I must have hit it. Starting a yard or two after the stick there is a trail of liquid on the ground, which runs up to the garage - i.e the route my car took. Looking under my car there's a puddle of the stuff, level with the rear part of the engine. Looks like something is truly f**cked!! Can't believe my luck.
So, I guess this will have to be towed somewhere for fixing. Any ideas what's happened? Have I broken some kind of oil line or well? (Would that explain the steering noise)? Do you think I've done any permanent damage to the steering (it was just the last few turns which created the noise)? And is that a fairly easy fix for an expert (which ain't me, as you can tell)?
I will now go and drown my sorrows with a bottle of whisky!

 

Sounds like a good explanation to me. Thanks! I guess the only good news is that this happened right outside my garage, so that I was able to get the car housed before (hopefully) doing any permanent damage to the steering. There are big storms forecase for the next few days, so the car is at least safe. I took a look under the bonnet, and from 'top down' I can't see any disconnected hoses or obvious culprits. I can't get underneath the vehicle, so can't access anything from below at all. I'm guessing I'll have to find someone who can tow the car back out of the garage and trailer it off to be looked at properly.

 

I took another look, and there is a heck of a lot of oil under the car. Hitting that stick in the road (more like half a tree!) is definitely what did the damage. Here's a quick question: if I had done something other than pop a power steering hose, for example like cracking the oil pan instead, could this still have caused that scary screeching noise each time I turned the steering wheel?

 

go drink the whiskey and calm down, it still sounds like the power steering. what color is the fluid?:bglasses:

 

whisky in hand! the fluid is brown, quite watery - not too thick.

 

still sounds like power steering hose.:bglasses: power steering fluid is thin and red or golden brown

 

PS return hose is NOT!!! NOT!!! NOT!!! "just regular fuel line hose".

PS return hose must withstand very high temperature, fuel hose does not. Fuel hose WILL deteriorate quickly when used on a PS system.

Most any parts store should stock PS return hose. Yes, it will cost more than fuel hose. Generally has a greater wall thickness, too.

If PS fluid is anything like ATF, (older cars specify ATF in the PS system, newer ones require special PS fluid) it is surprisingly flammable. You do NOT want a PS leak at a point where the wind from the fan, or vehicle movement can blow fluid mist onto an exhaust manifold.

 

Thanks for all the advice. It's late now (in the UK) and I'm off to bed. I'll have another look at the puddle of fluid tomorrow - to convince myself it is indeed the PS fluid. And then I'll mop it all up. If it's flammable then I don't want it sitting around ! - especially as I share the garage with a neighbour (his classic car is right next to mine). Regarding the hoses, I'll be cautious and use only the safest kind. But I'll probably also be asking a local specialist to help do the actual work, as I have little or no room for maneouvre in the garage itself. With the steering not working, the most likely outcome is to gently tow the car out and stick it on a trailer. At least I am ending the day fairly confident the problem has been identified. Thanks again!

 

Lets remember here,,,,, the high pressure hose on the older p/s units had to support up to 600 psi and high temps to boot.... therefore had to be the steel wire reinforced type with swaged ends and metal fittings....
The suction side that came from the resevour could be more like a fuel hose because there was little to no pressure on it, all it did was carry fluid....but it did have to be able to handel hot fluid.....
The fluid was indeed atf.... red.... about 10 wt. .... and brownish if old and had been over heated.... was supposed to be changed every 24000 miles but no one ever did....
The squealing or more correctly, groaning is caused from the pump cavitating from air in the system.... there is obviously a break in the system.... the car can be safely moved for short distances like that... it will just steer like a log wagon and make a lot of noise..... just dont try to drive at high speed or for long distances because the pump will finally get hot....
Repair the busted hose refill it and then turn from lock to lock several times to get all the air out of the system.... it will self purge with use... then ck the fluid level when it quits groaning.....

 

I can't agree with this. Transmission fluid is much harsher on rubber parts than gasoline. if you check out http://hydraulics.eaton.com/products.

Above assumes your autoparts store sells neoprene lined fuel hose.

you can see what materials are compatible with what fluids. standard fuel line WILL break down with ATF fluid. Power steering fluid is very similar.

 

:beers2:

 

I dont know what type of hose was being used but I have used fuel hose for many years in trans cooler lines and have never had one break down..... maby it is because fuel hose is not made of rubber.... it is neoprene and is made to handel petrolieum based products....:laugh: :laugh: o No:

 

Thanks again for all the advice guys! As a newbie these kind of surprises are always gonna be a shock to me, but I'm now really confident I know what has happened and how to fix it. (I mopped up the puddle this morning, and the liquid is definitely a red/brown colour - exactly as the PS fluid was described above). One day I hope I'll be able to give advice on the forum as well as gratefully receive it. Have a good day everyone!

 

Johnny, I'll be in your neck-of-the-woods Fri afternoon for a few days to see if my Saints can break 500%:spank: . Maybe we can give it a looksee. Are parts available to you over there?o No: Cause if not let me know what you need and I'll try to pick it up and throw it in the luggage.....:beer

 

Hiya J-pop! That's a great offer - thanks! I've actually got some local experts booked in to come and have a look at the car tomorrow, so I think I'm gonna be OK. You going to London for the game? That's a heck of long way to go! Hope the Saints win!

 

Eh, what else am I gonna do that day?o No: Plus I won't be back till it's time to vote. Which means I won't have to listen,see or hear any more about it.:sleep: Glad you have it handled.:TU: Maybe we can grab some pints!!!!!:beer