Power Steering puddle under my car after first start in 6 months

[FFWD]

You got off lucky. Just weld a nut on to the end and heat up the FCAB housing a bit.

Before you replace the crossover lines, check the rack pinion seal. That is a far more likely leak point that the hardlines.

I'll check, but I suspect they're fine. The boots are still sealed and the fluid is coming out bright red. You're probably not picturing the lines looking like this:

[bigjae46]

I'll check, but I suspect they're fine. The boots are still sealed and the fluid is coming out bright red. You're probably not picturing the lines looking like this:

Damn...yeah wasn't picturing that! 🤣

[FFWD]

Clutch pipe is looking similar. Is that just a standard ISO bubble flare like the brake pipes?

[FFWD]

No, you will have to unbolt the steering column from the steering rack to get the rack to move forward.

I was away on vacation and finally had the time (and motivation) to keep at this. Today I removed the 2 bolts holding the steering rack to the subframe, and was able to push the steering rack out enough to get to the hard line flare nuts without removing the steering column. I may have undid the steering column lock before lifting it, so that might have helped, but I actually don't remember and didn't want to grab the ladder to find out. If you try to push the entire rack forward, it doesn't go far enough to expose the hidden flare nut. But pushing just the p[assenger side forward tilts the driver's side back, giving clear access to both of the passenger-side flare nuts. Then pushing tthat end back in and pushing the dirver's side forward, you get better access to the that side's flare nuts. Thankfully, I didn't need to use either a flare wrench or my nut-grip vise grips - they came off relatively easily. Installing the new long pipe was easy, but I jinxed myself for saying it to myself, and the short one gave me a headache. If I installed the passenger side nut first, it went in easy but then the driver's side couldn't clear the rack to get into the hole. But when I installed the driver's side nut first, the passenger side was really hard to align and I struggled with it for a good half hour being super careful not to cross-thread it. Eventually I installed the driver's side first, and tightened it just enough to seat the o-ring, then the passenger side went in. Maybe that's how you're supposed to do it, or maybe it was just luck, but it's finally done. Now I just need to decide how much more work I'm willing to do while everything is exposed. On the one hand, it makes sense, but on the other my work started mandating a return to office 2 days per week, so I really need to get it up and running even if it's not perfect. I'm searching for a new winter and will hopefully have something much less rust-prone to our salty roads, after which I can spend more time with my M3 on the lift.