Hi everyone. On a recent short outing, about 8 miles, I arrived at my destination with smoke billowing from the hood and underside of the car. The engine was cool so I checked all fluid levels. In no time at all I realized the smoke was caused by Power Steering fluid.
Since the hose connections at the steering box were dry and the hose connections at the pump were also dry I concluded the problem was from one of the two hoses connecting the steering box to the pump. A trip to my local auto repair shop confirmed my diagnosis - busted hose some where in the line.
They gave me an estimate of $300 for replacement hoses and another $300 plus in labor. I decided NOT to go ahead with the repair and brought the car home. Maybe $600 plus to fix this is what it takes but I thought I'd check with you guys first. Has anyone else had this problem? Sure the hoses look tricky to access and maybe I could do the labor myself but $300 for hoses? Any ideas or experience would be welcome. Thanks.
