I have a 1988 Crown Victoria in excellent condition but.....

When was the last time you grease the chastise?

I just got it a month ago. So never how do I do that?

Is the chassis the frame how do I greased the whole frame?

The easiest way is to take it to Jiffy Lube or some place like that and tell them you want the car greased. That beats the hell out of buying a grease gun and crawling under the car and doing it your self

Really? Just ask them to grease the car and they will know what it needs? That's kinda like pushing the easy button :)

Thank you!! The day is off to a good start.

Also check your Power steering fluid

Hot or cold?

There are two different hash marks on the P.S. dip stick. The lower one is the cold mark. The top one is the hot mark. Do it with the engine running.

So how did it go?

Well the power steering hose is leaking fluid really bad. So I added power steering fluid. I phoned Napa to see if they had a new hose in stock. They don't but can order one. Then they asked if it was the hose going in or out. I don't know. I work night shift so sorry I never got back to you yet. But yeah now I need to figure out which hose it is. I'll try to take a pick and see if it shows you so you can tell me because this is amazingly helpful. I'm so not a mechanic but love this car. Working on a pic k.

Holy Man! What a mess. It seems worse than this morning :( anyway here are some pics.

Pic2

No I don't think so but ordering both isn't such a bad idea either.

Sorry but I can't tell for sure. Get both. If one hose went, the other isnt far off.

FYI check Craigslist for a mechanic.

Agreed. When Napa opens in the morning I'll call them and order both and get both replaced.

And how do I safely clean off all that gunk? The whole "under the hood" needs a wash/degreasing. And the best answer was from you but I pushed the wrong statement sorry about that. But this is a big help!,

And on days off my baby goes to Jiffy Lube! The power in this's car is amazing. I feel like "now this is a car!! Lol

Be careful of how you remove the power steering fluid from inside the hood. A certain amount of water is perfectly acceptable. If you have access to a garden hose you can remove the residue with that. Cover any electrical connections but don't go crazy. After all, that part of the vehicle is designed to get wet

Ok thanks. Maybe some dish soap and then garden hose. I can probably hook the garden hose up to hot water. That might help get rid of the grease. So just soap and hot water AFTER the hoses have been changed?

That sounds like a good combination. Remember that the residue is going to go somewhere. I'd wait on till the job is done before I cleaned up the mess. You know, if there's a self car wash near by it might be worth it to go there instead.

The pressure from the wand won't damage "under the hood"? And maybe I overfilled the power steering. There is is way more fluid leaking on the ground now than there was yesterday. I hope it's safe to drive until the hoses come in probably Monday because it's my wheels to work. It steers fine. It was just the grinding noise, now leaking.

You should be fine. Set the wand to a responsible setting. Don't hold it to close. When you park the car have the front tires as straight as possible. That way there is no pressure on the pump and less leaking. Your fuel economy will surprise you. I wouldn't be surprised if you get 25mpg on a long trip.

Haha that's great! I'm not much of a mechanic but me brain works. I can follow your instructions they are clear. Just waiting for Napa to open. Monday hopefully the hoses will be in and Ill find someone in Rocky to change them ASAP. Unless of course on tomorrow's night shift I figure out Craig's list. I use kijiji but not Craigslist yet. Thanks for your help and I'll keep you posted k.

Good work you guys! I don't want to interfere, you have it covered, but if I may add this is the High Pressure hose:....http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/Duralast-Power-Steering-Pressure-Line-Hose/1988-Ford-Crown-Victoria/_/N-ihxzxZ8oz1z?itemIdentifier=197400_238666_0_

Well thats really helpful. But the fellow at Bumper to Bumper thinks he can flange a hose up for me. Its the fastest way to fix the problem. But the pick your showing here is exactly like the one i need to replace. And I'll ask him and make sure he is putting on high pressure hoses. I really appreciate your imput on finding parts. The Gurus on this site have given me confidence with your guidance. Ive always admired older well kept vehicles. Now with the help of the people on this site I can have my own older car and keep it mechanically sound and in mint condition. So your help and imput from all of you is totally appreciated. Thank you.

So as things are I will take the car into a mechanic shop Monday and hopefully they can fit it in. I'll get them to take off the leaky hose and I'll take it to Bumper to Bumper where they will make a new hose. I'll take it back to the mechanic to put back on. In the mean time I keep adding power steering fluid so it doesnt grind when I turn the steering wheel. And I have a mat I put under the car when its parked to absorb the fluid. And yes It sure is leaking!! But not on the ground as much as I can avoid it :)

Keep the floor ityour eye on the P.S. Fluid level. Keep putting that mat under the leaking area. And kitty litter is a good for drying up any fluid that gets away from you.

Where you able to get the P.S. hose pulled and replaced today?

Short answer, no. I got off night shift and took the car to mechanic. Slept in the car waiting for them to fit it into their busy day and at the end of the day about 330 - 4 o'clock he pulled into the shop. he couldn't get the existing part off because it's rusted on. He didn't want to use a blowtorch to to get it off because you didn't want to melt parts he didn't have available to replace. He figures we do need to have the whole piece we cannot just rebuild it. From Cargurus I know What we need is the piece that looks like what FordNut has shown in the picture. Napa is expecting the holes they ordered for me in tomorrow and hopefully that's the right one. And the mechanic is trying to find one as well. But then my husband says that just the hose part can be replaced the whole thing does not need to be replaced he said to unclip it that he can unclip it and replace the hose. Now I am back at work night shift hoping somehow to get it fixed tomorrow.

I think it's that little rubber O-ring that is shown as accessories on the part that FordNut shows is what the mechanic doesn't want to melt. I'd like to just get the whole piece as shown and replace it. I can tell by comparing the picture to my car that that's the part we need. And it's probably the part that Napa figures will take a month to get in.

Where it's leaking is where the holes joins onto the metal part on the right hand and of the part that FordHut showed us.

Where the hose, sorry for all the voice to text typos :(

Whooohooo it's fixed!! My husband put in the part I ordered from Napa! Thank you car gurus for your expert advice! It runs beautifully again. No grinding no problems.

Well I'm happy for you! Take good care of your baby.

Thank you. I will. Which leads me to the next question I must post about stoppung r... I still need to take it to rapid lube Friday cuz thats important. God Bless you Cargurus. What you do is awesome :)

If I may add, Your mechanic is right, but for the wrong reason. It will melt alright, but so will the entire car. Power Steering Fluid is ATF, Automatic Transmission Fluid and a torch will ignite it. A big fire in a real hurry, ATF ignites far faster than motor oil. Also, if you mean (correct me if I misunderstood) remove the rubber hose from the steel part, no can do, it's a pressed-on hydraulic line and another rubber part with a hose clamp will blow off the first time you turn the wheel

On the return line, the other one not pictured, you MIGHT get away with that, it carries much less pressure of fluid coming back in to the P/S reservoir