My girlfriend just called to tell me that she got in her 1999 Malibu (V6 engine) this morning, started the car, heard a “clunk” from the front of the car, couldn’t turn the wheel and got out to find red fluid pouring out under the car near the front right wheel. Unfortunately, she’s about a 4 hour drive away, so it won’t be until this weekend that I can look at the car myself, and she can’t tell where the fluid is coming from. I drove the car a little over a week ago and it was fine…no steering problems or sounds at all.
A sudden, massive power steering leak/failure sounds like the high pressure hose may have blown. Any other ideas as to what might have caused this? If it is the hose, does anyone know how difficult it is to replace on this car, and what kind of PS fluid a '99 Malibu takes? Because time’s going to be short for me to fix this over the weekend, I’m going to try to gather the necessary supplies how…she’s in the middle of nowhere in upstate New York for the summer and the nearest auto parts store is about 45 minutes away.
Thanks!
-Craig