I have a '96 960. When we purchased it, we noticed after a couple months of driving that it had a slight coolant leak at the top left corner of the radiator where the hose connects. Over time it became worse, but since we did not have the money to replace the radiator at the time, we simply kept topping off the coolant. There were a few times when the temperature got up a bit, but never driven like that for more than a couple of minutes before refilling the coolant.

Anyway, now we have a horrible sound coming from our power steering pump. A grinding sound, especially when we cut the wheels back and forth. There is also, from time to time, a bad clacking sound emanating from the pump. When I look inside it with a flash light, the fluid looks all grainy and milky. But that's not the worst of it...

The oil also now appears milky. I know this is from coolant mixing with the oil. Is there an easy way to tell what has failed? Is it possible for coolant to mix with the power steering fluid. Normally I would think now, but I'm not jumping to conclusions. I simply do not want to believe that the engine block or head is warped. That would be devastating. Anyone with experience in this area please respond.

I appreciate your time...


--
See them bow their heads to die as we would bow when they walked by...

RE: Power steering fluid looking wrong. You have a p/s leak somewhere.

I "fed" a p/s leak for a long time. During that time I found that when the fluid got too low, turning made a growling sound and the fluid got air-entrained. Looked real pink and bubbly.

Sorta like carbonated soda is CO2 entrained. Always cleared up quickly after the fluid was up to correct level. Always be careful to not overfill.

Since I fed the leak for so long thre was little of no chance of contaminated fluid.

If you must continue driving the car, check the p/s fluid every chance you get. Keep some extra in the car.

Good Luck,

Bob

:>)

Sounds like two different problems:
I would change out the power steering fluid asap and see if the steering noise goes away.

The milky oil is another matter and usually indicates what you fear: coolant and oil mixing in the engine. Tracing down the cause needs to be done before you drive the car anymore. The engines in these cars are expensive and deserve immediate attention when something goes wrong.
Let us know what you find.

'97 960 117k miles

Yup, fotajoye nailed it. Two unrelated problems. Both potentially serious to their respective systems. Damage to both needs to be minimized by changing to new oil, flushing out the old. You proably blew a head gasket by overheating your engine one too many times. If you are lucky and didn't drive it much when hot as you stated, you may not have warped the head. The gasket kit itself is only a few $$, and you can do the work yourself if you need to save $$, but better do it soon. Water in the bottom of your engine isn't a good thing.

If you don't change out your power steering fluid, you'll need a new pump and rack. Running with contaminated fluid accelerates wear.

Sorry, I meant to add, do a search for "960 head gasket" on this board and you will learn more about the topic. Unfortunately, the 6 cylinder engine does suffer this malady sometimes. If you caught the problem early enough, you probably didn't warp the head. You can check it with a straight edge when you get it off, if you decide to diy.

Replacing the gasket is not rocket science. I've done a couple. It just takes some time because you have to remove everything attached to the head before you can remove it.

I have found that removing the head is an "easy" DIY operation but as soon as I get it off I take it straight to the machine shop and have them do everything: pressure check, check for squareness, grind if necessary.

I would have to agree on two separate issues too. Sorry!

Andrew
p.s. if you are looking to unload the car I might be interested.