2 Lhm Leaks, Any ideas how to get to them?

[combwork]

Hi. I've just discovered two LHM leaks on my V6 Estate. The first looks reasonably easy to access; a few drops from the area of the front accumalator and flow distributer, but the second looks like a problem. It looks to be coming from one of two medium bore high pressure pipe junctions, just below the steering column where it goes into the steering rack. When tight turning, fluid loss is quite severe; leaves a trail on the road. My first thought was that it could be a leaky seal on the rack iotself, but like I said, it looks to be coming from the pipe union where it srews into the rack. Working from underneath the car I can get a spanner to it, but it seams dead tight so if this is the cause of the leak, I'm guessing that the little rubber compression sleeve within the union has failed. So a couple of questions please............

1). I have some rubber sleeves left over from a flow distributer overhaul kit from a BX. Would these be suitable replacements for the sleeves in this joint? If not, does anyone know where I could get the right sleeves? Going by previous experience, Citroen main dealers are finding that a lot of XM service items are no longer available.
2). If I open the bleed valve above the front flow distributer, will this fully de-pressurise connections to the steering rack?
3). These two pipes look very inaccessible. Does anyone know how best to get to them?

I really need to sort this problem sooner rather than l;ater. Apart from the cost of constantly topping up the LHM, the car is soon to need a new MOT, and LHM dripping on the testers head does seem to put them in a bad mood.

Help please?????

Jim.

[essjay]

I also had a simiilar problem on my V6 estate which turned out to be fluid leaking from the steering pinion.
At first it seemed to be faulty pipe seals but on closer investigation it was not so simple!!
The steering pinion can be removed with the steering rack in situ and a replacement pinion is available from GSF but I found it impossible to replace the pinion without removing the complete steering rack. Once the rack was out I thought it prudent to replace with a complete exchange rack & pinion as I didn't want to be doing the job again anytime soon.

Steve

[combwork]

Thanks Steve,

I managed to do the job; fitted new pipes (the pinion seal was ok) and so far after 500 miles or so all is well. Still got a slight leak from the front (MOT's not due until August so I've a bit of time) so I'll combine doing this with checking the connections to the fans. Some time in the past, a garage `cured' an inoperative automatic fan by wiring it direct from a switch hanging under the dashboard.

Hey, nobody expects everything to work ALL of the time, do they?

Jim.