Hallo Herr Preiss,

Apparently my '91 Carat had the same problem.  I say apparently because
although I usually do most of the owrk on my cars I currently have run out
of time so I took it to the local dealership for other work and they
discovered the leaky rack (I knew it was leaking but didn't think it was a
safety issue  - at the time).  Bad news for me was that the PO, or more
likely the local crummy independant VW shop, put in the wrong PS fluid.
This apparently ate all the seals.  As you can imagine I'm still smarting
from the financial strain this caused (they had to cut off the metal lines
and replace them too because they were rusted onto the old rack).  I hope
your outcome is just a satisfactory, albeit cheaper.

bem
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joachim Preiss" <jp0815@EARTHLINK.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, September 17, 2002 4:16 PM
Subject: leaking power steering?

> Hi there,
>
> Crawled under my 85 westfalia last weekend, and found drops of a red fluid
on
> both of the rubber boots on the front axle, and 2 small puddles on the
ground.
> I might have found the reason why turning the wheel feels more like
lifting
> the beast around the corner rather than power steering.
>
> Is power steering fluid red? Am I risking further damage if I keep driving
> with a leaky power steerer? Most of all: is it safe to drive? Any other
tips
> besides: CYFB (Check your f.....g Bently).
>
> Thanks!
>  'chimpy
>
> '85 Westfalia 'funagon'