Tag Archives: steering stiffness

Power steering fluid leaks on Silverado and Sierra trucks usually start small and stay quiet until the reservoir level drops enough for the pump to start sucking air. Because these trucks run hydraulic rack-and-pinion steering on both the half-ton and heavy-duty chassis, the leak path runs from the pump through a high-pressure hose to the rack, then back to an engine-bay reservoir, and every joint in that path can weep. The leak often becomes obvious only when the pump whines on a cold morning or the wheel feels heavy in the parking lot. On GMT900 and K2XX generation trucks, the usual suspects are the rack end seals and the pump shaft seal, followed closely by the pressure-hose crimp and the return-line fittings. Heavy-duty Silverado and Sierra HD trucks use a heavier-duty rack and pump, so the leak points are similar but the parts are built for towing loads. This guide ranks the top leak points so you clean the area once, run the truck, and watch the fresh wet spot form in the right order.