Original setup utilizes rubber line, just all rubber now rather then change from metal to rubber.

The repair will last for years however the truck won't, rust is/has about killed it body is the worst part. Frame and everything else is solid but likely last year it will plow snow as it sits.
Haven't decided yet but considering a trip south in the spring to by a new body for it. Pick up a high mileage truck from say Florida for example, one with a blown motor and or trans, swap my running gear to it.

Any way use of rubber line is of no concern how long it might last or for safety, over the years wouldn't be the first time driving had a vehicle that unexpectedly/suddenly lost power assist to the wheel.

Its something that will happen to everyone that drives and very likely more then once in their life time.

Be it because of a blown hose or busted/thrown accessory belt either one it will happen.

 

danr1 so true. I lost the belt for the vacuum pump and power steering at the same time on my 86 E-350. No power steering or brakes going downhill with 1000 ft. drop on the right.I was going about 60 at the time. loads of fun.

 

You should replace that rubber line for the cooling factor alone, not good for that system...the hose may also breakup inside and degrade from heat failure, causing impurities, unless it was rated the same as OEM, but still the system will be too hot causing early wear.

 

Yea its a piece of hose napa sells for exactly that purpose.

NAPA AUTO PARTS

I bought a foot and a half power steering return line off the bulk roll and the brass fitting for under 4 bucks.

Don't get me wrong not afraid of the 24 bucks for the OEM replacement just don't need it nor do I wish to go through the trouble of getting up there in place. To greasy/rusty and to much crap in the way hit my head on!

That and the cooling works when truck is running down the road, it'll be spending most of its time in parking lots with no air real air flow provided. Sure gets some from the fan but not much, mounted to low, then couple that with the fact that so called cooler is mounted flush against the front of the engine cross member.

Earlier models had actual coolers, these where done more as an after thought by comparison. Couple loops added to the return line......

 

When I did mine the metal part was still fine, but thanks to the severe so cal winters the rubber line was cracked. I used the same hose from NAPA to replace the damaged hose.

 

Unless the lines are extremely difficult to run I would prefer to replace with OE or better. the the pressure line and return line together cost less than $40. the new steering gear box is $144 before discount. So Id rather replace it and forget it. Being a Yankee of Scottish extraction I certainly appreciate saving a buck, but this truck is my only vehicle and I don't want to dick around.
@Slip Ford Man, have you ever run into any "incompatible metals" issues changing a line material? I don't know which metals will react negatively to each other so I usually avoid this. But I learned this from repairing plumbing, not trucks so it may not apply without the constant presence of water.

 

I'll have to aim my thermal gun at it on that one and see how hot it actually gets without any cooler. Gear box and pump temps.
Just for the heck of it, see what kind temps it does hit then compare it to that of my 95, that one has the fully intact system on it.

 

@darn1: depending on the condition of your cab you might be better off replacing the 1/4 panels, hood, etc. If this is a plow truck you are going to be had pressed to find a the suspension, gearing etc on a good 4x4 from a location where it doesn't snow and they don't salt the roads. My folks live in south Florida and I have never seen so many 2wd trucks in my life. Just a thought.

 

Yea the cab is kinda rough, I welded a piece of punched angle iron all the way across the back of the cab, floor to rear cab wall to hold it together there and stop making noise but now I see the cab support on the drivers side is failing.

While a two wheel drive wouldn't be my first choice it would work (price was right), swap the body over to my frame.

While its frame does have surface rust its not bad or compromised at any point.
Heck I don't need to and haven't replaced the rear most cross member, spring hangers or shackles on it, seams common everyone has rust issues with those areas bad.

I flush it top and bottom and under the hood with plenty of high pressure water regular during the season flush all the salt out/off.
I spray up behind the rear wheel until salt water/dirt is coming out around the tail lights, do so till water flows clear for example.

And I did have it rust proofed (not undercoated, rust proofed) when I bought it, bought it second hand and it had already been done before. I hand em spray it again. Even had it repainted once 3-4 years ago.

Its just really rough around the edges looks bad, fender lips, spot welded body seams rusty where it got in the end despite my best efforts to stop it.
The box floor is solid but seam floor to front wall getting bad now too.
Can't make up my mind, just buy a later model make a new plow rig or get a body for it cheap run it some more.

And yea I know about that 2w thing in Florida, bought my wife a Explorer down there and it was 2wd. No one here believe me when I'd tell em yea it's 2wd, basically unheard of around these parts. I had to show em the dash, see no 4x controls.

That and any body around here wouldn't be worth the time and effort, it if was they'd want a premium for it. Unlike Florida where it be just a "old high mileage" truck very little value with a dead motor/trans etc but solid other wise.

 

GOod luck with that man....I agree, **** happens...But no need adding fuel to the fire.....If you wanna play cat and mouse with a EASILY avoidable repair, to save $10....Be my guest....Just please warn others with a nice big sign, that reads "I threw this truck together as cheaply as possible....Sharing the road with me is almost 100% accident prone"...


I understand not putting $5,000 into a $1,000 truck, thats on its last legs.....

But I see no reason that the wrenches that put the OEM stuff ON, cannot pull it OFF and be transplanted to another truck......Just a thought to chew on...

I'm not trying to pick a fight....But I strongly advise AGAINST making what would be a 1-2 times in a lifetime thing, a everday possiblity.....

Besides....Routine maintenance, cleaning the undercarriage, etc...ANd generally, a 30 minute look over, 2 times a month, you'd catch a rotting line, in most cases....If not all the cases....

 

Side, losing power steering doesn't mean you'll lose control of the vehicle, it just means the wheel will become harder to turn, and that's if you're doing low speeds. If you're going above 20MPH, turning the wheel won't be an issue at all, the only thing you could really hurt driving like that is the pump, and later the steering box.

But i agree, safety first, and $10 aren't worth the trouble.

 

Tad on the melodramatic side for something so minor as a power steering return line ain't it?

Its a low pressure return line, wouldn't consider such a thing with the pressure line be a waste of time wouldn't work.

"I threw this truck together as cheaply as possible....Sharing the road with me is almost 100% accident prone"...

Not even close to being a true statement and is ridiculous at best.

The truck has had nothing but the best of care while I've owned it.

Motor and trans are both from Jasper, brakes are replaced/serviced with all new parts. All steel lines have been replaced twice, master twice. rotors twice drums once. Not from high miles from going back and forth in parking lots/road salt damage.
Steering gear box has been replaced twice, sector shaft seal and clip number of times? lost track how many times and pump once, again with new parts nothing "used". And that is with its fancy little cooler in place and "functioning".
Pump wasn't replaced because it wouldn't "pump" was replaced with a new one same time as second gear box be sure the pressure regulator in it wasn't functioning correctly blowing the sector shaft clip/seal out. Replaced box as clip "grove" just wasn't all that great anymore.

There isn't one thing on it that is cobbled together and to suggest otherwise is bull.

Goes to the oil and lube every 3K, complete lube, filler and fluid changes. There isn't a part on it that does not have a grease zert.

I have no doubt the steering system as is (that rubber return line) will outlast what is left of the body several times over and will be just fine.

As I mentioned just for curiosities sake I will run my temp gun on it see what the temp difference is, gotta say I doubt it will be major thinking 15-20 deg tops but even that may prove be a stretch.

Not that I'm gonna replace the hose reinstate the cooler regardless, just to see how much if any difference that cooler made. I can compare it to the other truck see the numbers. I make both trucks do the same maneuvers once up to full running temp, take temp readings.

 

@ darn1: I guess since this is your plow truck rather than your daily driver all decisions come down to whether or not you can actually turn a profit while maintaining it in a driveable condition. Other wise why bother plowing or having a dedicated plow truck? I was just thinking that it would be a whole lot easier to replace body panels rather than disconnecting all of the electronics going into the cab or replacing the engine/tranny from the old truck into the new one. Sounds like you have a good regiment of winter salt removal. I usually just hit up "the usual suspects" with a stiff brush and a 5 gal. bucket of hot soapy water. I recently started coating all rusty undercarriage parts with POR 15. Since I just did this I cannot speak with any authority about how long this product will last but it gets great reviews from people who have had it on much longer than I have. I can say this: it seems to have an excellent bond with the rusted parts. It's not cheap $48/qt @ Napa but the water simply falls off of this stuff and it's dry in seconds, even on the more course areas and places where things are attached to the frame. If you haven't tried it yet you might want to give it a try, particularly if you are going to have the truck partially disassembled and have one time access to certain areas of the truck which will be inaccessible once you have it all together. Good luck getting the body parts you need wherever you choose to source them and thank you for your input on the power steering issues I am facing.

 

Sorry man, but tryin to visualize a truck via a forum, is hard to do.....

I wasn't exactly meaning that you cobbled the truck together, just that I push safety....No harm intended, if its a limited use truck and everything else is up to par...