Fixing Power Steering leaks in Rolls Royce and Bentley

One of the most common problems on cars is leakage.  If we can say one thing for sure, when it comes to leaks, it is this:  The higher quality the car, the greater the variety and quantity of fluids it will have to leak.  And all of them will be top grade.  If the car was built in England, its pedigree ensures that every one of those premium liquids will eventually find a path to the ground beneath the car.

While the variety of fluids that can leak may seem infinite, this post will address just one, from one kind of car:  Power steering leakage in 1990-newer Crewe built Rolls Royce and Bentley motorcars.

We see two main sources of steering leakage in these fine cars.  The first is the rack itself, which tends to leak from the input shaft seal and the bellows at either end.  The input shafts leak when dirt works its way down the shaft and ruins the seal.  The bellows leak when the bushings that guide the rack wear, and the rack begins moving more than what the seals can contain.

Here you see dry lines and wetness from the rack seals

Wet rack bellows are a sure sign of bushing and seal failure

The drip below my finger comes from the input shaft seal (above, out of photo)

Looking at the photos you see a typical scenario.  The lines into the rack in the top photo (the most common leak source on many lesser cars) are dry.  The yellow paint on the lines in this photo mark the lines and rack as original to the car. 

The rack is the only leak on this 1996 Bentley undercarriage

This rack is dripping from the input, and the output bellows.  As the photo below shows, it’s the only wet thing on an otherwise remarkably dry undercarriage.  It veritably cries out for repair!

So what do you do?

Your first thought might be to simply buy a new rack. If only you could!  At this moment Bentley’s ability to supply factory-rebuilt or new racks is limited.  When new racks are available costs are generally around $3,000 – more than many owners wish to pay for a part that history shows may be worn out and leaking in 15,000 miles.   Simple resealing of the racks is not usually a long-term fix because of the bushing wear, which happens amazingly fast on some cars.  We suspect the most vulnerable cars are those that run fast on rough roads, for that sort of driving puts the maximum stress on the big bushings in the rack.  We think they get pounded from round to oval, and once that happens, leakage is inevitable.

We’ve been sending our racks to specialist rebuilders with good success.  They change the bushings and seals, and set the clearances.  The body of the rack and the big gear pieces seem pretty indestructible. 

The next problem area is the steering fluid reservoir.  It’s a simple plastic affair located right next to the engine oil filler.  On most cars a plastic reservoir like this would be a $100 part (or less) but Bentley seems to see the situation differently.  When they ran out of cheap (figuratively and literally) molded plastic parts they commissioned the production of Professional Grade stainless steel reservoirs.  At a cost of $1,200.  Yes, you read that right.  Over one thousand dollars for a container that holds a cup of steering oil.

Leaky reservoir removed from the car.  This one was glued, unsuccessfully.  Don't waste your time.

Even in the rarefied world of Rolls Royce owners balk at things like that.  But what can you do?  We have a solution.

Old reservoir and our replacement side by side

The new reservoir in hand.  It's made from the finest molded foam plastic

Setting the reservoir in place

The finished installation looks totally stock, and works better

We have adapted the common plastic reservoir used by Land Rover, Porsche, and BMW to fit our beloved RR/B motorcars.  We modify the original mounting bracket and with a few hours fitting it looks like the car was made that way. 

In the spirit of Thanksgiving (which is about to happen, as I write this post) I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the discerning motorists who have chosen our company to care for their cars over the years. It's people like you (you know who you are) that make it possible for us to make these discoveries, and devise fixes like you see here.  It's what separates simple repair from craftsmanship, and it's what our crew does best.

John Elder Robison is the general manager of J E Robison Service Company, independent Rolls Royce and Bentley specialists in Springfield, Massachusetts.  John is a longtime technical consultant to the RROC and he’s owned and restored many of these fine vehicles.  Find him online at www.robisonservice.com or in the real world at 413-785-1665.

Trouble with tops - 2007-2011 Bentley Continental GTC convertibles

2007 Bentley Continental GTC at Robison Service

Over the years, Robison Service has acquired a reputation for knowing convertible tops on Rolls Royce and Bentley cars.  As a result, we see cars with all manner of problems.  Intellectually challenging as that may be, it sometimes makes me long for the days when service was simple and the only convertible top problems we saw were from something obvious, like vandalism.

This week we saw out first failure of a new Continental GTC top mechanism.  This car came in with an opening problem, and damage to the outer fabric.  The owner thought he needed a new outer skin and some straps he’d seen broken.  He’d done some research online and found people talking about strap breakage, and the holes in his outer skin made that part of the problem self-evident.

However, as is often the case, we found more to the story.  When we cycled the top we saw the rear edge of the top (which folds up) was scraping the edge of the swing-up boot.  This had been going on long enough to scuff the paint from the boot and cut the fabric bead of the top right through to the metal.  In addition, the top was folding wrong, and there were several patched holes to the left of the rear window. 

“The dealer I bought it from must have done that,” the owner explained.  He told me he’d assumed the car would need a top, and he’d budgeted $3-4,000 to make the change. 

When we looked closer, we saw that one of the inner securing straps was broken, and the cables and headliner were beginning to unravel on the left side.  It was cleat that something had gone wrong on the left side of the top.  It looks like the straps (which keep the top in place as it folds) had ripped away from the top, which left the top bunch up and tangle in the bows.  We’ve seen that happen on Azure cars, and it often leads to big trouble there, as the tangled fabric causes the bows to bend, and the now-misaligned top will never work smoothly no matter how you adjust it.

Indeed, when we made some measurements, we found the two rear bows were slightly out of alignment or bent.  The way Bentley engineers designed this system it does not take much misalignment to cause a collision between top and boot, with the virtual assurance of additional trouble.

Looking at the workshop manual, it appears the only reliable way to fix this problem is to install a new top assembly, at a cost of $14,500 plus installation.  Looking online, I see there are aftermarket suppliers offering the Haartz top skins alone for $2,800.  However, a skin alone won’t fix this situation.  And once you get into replacing the pad, liner, and inner bow pieces the costs quickly approach that of a complete assembly.

The owner of this car looked at three other similar Bentleys in Florida, and saw the same damage on each.   That makes me wonder if this is a designed-in problem that will plague every Bentley convertible, or if these are just four unlucky people.

So here’s my question:  How many Bentley GTC owners have experienced convertible top trouble?  What was done to fix it, and how long has the repair lasted?  

John Elder Robison

About John:

John Robison is the founder of J E Robison Service Co of Springfield, MA. His company specializes in the repair and restoration of Rolls Royce and Bentley motorcars.  John is also known as an author and advocate for people with autism and neurological differences.  His books include Look Me in the Eye, Be Different, and Raising Cubby. John has also written numerous articles on Rolls Royce service and repair, and he’s a frequent contributor to the RROC technical forums. He’s always available to advise owners about the care and feeding of their fine motorcars.  www.robisonservice.com  413-785-1665