Power steering pressure line fix

BrianF

Original poster
Member
Jul 24, 2013
1,192
West central Sask.
So I finally found time.... to get my pressure line looked at on my 2006 with the 4.2. The line has been weeping for some time now from the connections on the flex lines. Its not enough to puddle. I was reviewing the process to replace it and the return line. Looks like a pile'O fun.... Anyways I went to my local hydraulics/tool shop in town. The owner/operator is a stand up guy and while I had to pick up some parts for another farm yard fix, I ran the problem by him. He came out, dialled up the caliper on the tube OD, measure the length and in 5 minutes rigged my up a fix. High pressure compression fittings on both ends and 180 bar flex line.

So, in the spirit of keeping my vehicle on the road and not bankrupting myself, I plan to install this fix within the next week or so. Just have to cut out the old flex section, clean up the hard line and install/tighten the compression fittings. As he explained, this was not the first, nor the last time someone came into the shop for this style of fix..

So I look at it this way: If the fix fails, it cost me 25$ and I need to by the expensive OEM line anyway. If it works, I will have saved a pile of cash and hopefully time and aggravation.

Will keep you posted.
 
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BrianF

Original poster
Member
Jul 24, 2013
1,192
West central Sask.
I was able to get the patch on today. In the span of 2 hours I drove the 25km to town, parked at my buddies place, set up got it done and made it home. The air grinder with cut off disc would not work so I resorted to using a hack saw. You cannot use the full size saw but rather the small handle that holds one end of the blade. I did not jack up the vehicle or use stands.

I removed the belt and tensioner, which gave me a decent amount of room to cut the pressure line by the pump right at the place where the flex line is attached to the hard line.

I then went under and cut the driver side where the flex and hard line meet. I then used a file to take off any large burrs and then buffed the ends with emory cloth. I tried my best to get the cut as square as possible but I was not able to. Close enough for government work.

I then wiped up any mess and attached the new segment. Make sure the hard line dead ends in the fittings and then used one wrench to steady the line and another to tighten the compression fitting. I used as much force as I could in the precarious position as I could. It was nothing crazy but worked.

I topped up the reservoir and put the tensioner and belt on. Cranked it up and checked for leaks. I did a few lock to lock and no leaks. I went to the hydraulics shop and showed the owner the fix and thanked him for saving me time and money.

I still need to bleed some air off as the power assist is sporadic still but improving none the less.

I needed a minimal amount of tools. Wrenches, emory cloth, hack saw and thats the bulk of it. Words for the next guy from what I learned: Not really to save time but to make it overall easy, drain the coolant, remove the fan, shroud and upper rad hose and you will have ample room to do this. In fact when I do my thermostat in the next month or so I will remove all of this and then I will be able to get at the bolt that retains the holder for both PS hoses under the shroud. I then will be able to attach the segment into the factory holder. I should have tried to snake it through the holder but I had to cut the factory flex line to get it to pass through. The overall length of the new hose and fittings is around the 2 foot mark. This gives you some built in length if you have to remove more hard line from either end.

2 hours it took me from when I left my house to when I pulled back in the yard. This is a far cry from the time/money needed to install a new factory pressure line. I have a crappy picture of the patch if people care to see. I can email it as I am not good enough to post it to this link.

Thanks for reading
 
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Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,257
Ottawa, ON
Could you post some pics of the patch and location? I don't think you used regular compression fittings right?
 

BrianF

Original poster
Member
Jul 24, 2013
1,192
West central Sask.
I will grab some pics soon and see if I can get some of the fittings alone. I tried to take some before and during the install but alas I was using my crappy company phone, which has a picture quality that rivals that of cameras from the turn of last century.

The fittings had a conical design and the compression fitting was all metal. No rubber or O rings to be seen.

So far I have had no leaks. The air bled out the next day and all has been well.
 

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