msumms

Last weekend I put a new belt on while replacing my radiator. while there may have already been a slight leak at or around the steering gear, it is now dumping fluid pretty well, a lot more than it was before I replaced the belt.

Initially the belt wasn't tight enough and the alternator and power steering struggled audibly with the AC on. After I tightened the belt further, the problems went away and everything was functioning normally. in a couple days, I noticed the hose from the pump to the gearbox was leaking at the gearbox end (near the big metal crimped cap), and possibly the seals of the gearbox (not sure, it's pretty well soaked in oil). Could a loose belt, or a belt that was too tight, cause this problem to escalate as it did? Just time for me to replace the steering? it has had an epic life for 170k miles so far.