Power Steering Hose
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Junior User
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Power Steering Hose
Hi:
I have a '94 Aero 3.0 67k miles. I began noticing a small puddle in my driveway & at first thought it was oil. After checking more carefully, it turns out my power steering pump was leaking from a loose hose (looks like the high pressure side). The hose itself is visibly loose & although the pump did not run dry, when I checked the level there was no fluid showing on the stick at all. Since there are no visible problems with the hose other than being loose at the fitting at the pump, it seems that the o-ring(?) is bad. Can I get a replacement o-ring or do I have to replace the entire hose? Also, how can I check if the pump is going bad (since I am in there, i'm thinking I may as well change the pump out too...) or should I not worry & just fix the hose? Also, any tips on removing that hose? It didn't seem to want to budge when I tried to remove it.
Thanks
I have a '94 Aero 3.0 67k miles. I began noticing a small puddle in my driveway & at first thought it was oil. After checking more carefully, it turns out my power steering pump was leaking from a loose hose (looks like the high pressure side). The hose itself is visibly loose & although the pump did not run dry, when I checked the level there was no fluid showing on the stick at all. Since there are no visible problems with the hose other than being loose at the fitting at the pump, it seems that the o-ring(?) is bad. Can I get a replacement o-ring or do I have to replace the entire hose? Also, how can I check if the pump is going bad (since I am in there, i'm thinking I may as well change the pump out too...) or should I not worry & just fix the hose? Also, any tips on removing that hose? It didn't seem to want to budge when I tried to remove it.
Thanks
Lead Driver
Joined: Sep 2003
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From: SoCal
I'm not sure why you can't remove the hose. I've removed the hoses from other power steering pumps before, and generally had no problems. Is the fitting in the pump loose?
If you can remove the hose, and there are damaged O-rings, you should be able to find replacements at your local auto parts store.
If you can remove the hose, and there are damaged O-rings, you should be able to find replacements at your local auto parts store.
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Update:
I tried to remove the hose & it was so tight I stripped the nut. It doesn't appear to be a normal size - somewhere between 11/16 & 3/4" or 16mm. The large nut at the base (sorry, don't know the technical name for it) finally broke loose & the whole thing came out. Since I was in pretty deep, I decided to replace the hose & the pump at the same time. The new hose (napa) had labels that were VERY specific not to torque the nuts past 14 lbs. So, I did (as best I could estimate) and noticed that the new hose on the new pump still had a lot of play where it attached to the pump. So I took it apart again & put an o-ring that came with it in.
I re-torqued to aprox 14 lbs & still had the same amount of play.
So tighted it a little more - and STILL a lot of play. Is this normal??? It doesn't seem to be leaking, but I never saw a fitting behave this way. Also, the new (rebuit napa) whines more than the old one even though I am pretty sure I bled the air out per the Haynes manual. Any responses would be greatly appreciated.
I tried to remove the hose & it was so tight I stripped the nut. It doesn't appear to be a normal size - somewhere between 11/16 & 3/4" or 16mm. The large nut at the base (sorry, don't know the technical name for it) finally broke loose & the whole thing came out. Since I was in pretty deep, I decided to replace the hose & the pump at the same time. The new hose (napa) had labels that were VERY specific not to torque the nuts past 14 lbs. So, I did (as best I could estimate) and noticed that the new hose on the new pump still had a lot of play where it attached to the pump. So I took it apart again & put an o-ring that came with it in.
I re-torqued to aprox 14 lbs & still had the same amount of play.
So tighted it a little more - and STILL a lot of play. Is this normal??? It doesn't seem to be leaking, but I never saw a fitting behave this way. Also, the new (rebuit napa) whines more than the old one even though I am pretty sure I bled the air out per the Haynes manual. Any responses would be greatly appreciated.
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Joined: Aug 2003
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From: Corpus Christi, Tx. 78418
Just replaced the rack and pinion steering on my 92 3.0L 2wd...The hoses on the power steering are supposed to be what appears as "loose"...I too was a little concerned but my Chilton's manual states "The fittings' design allows the hoses to swivel when properly tightened...Do not attempt to eliminate looseness by over-tightening, since this can cause damage to the fittings"...That's probably why you had trouble removing the old hose, they were over-tightened by someone else trying to get rid of this apparent looseness...The important thing is to be sure to replace the teflon (TFE) seals...On the whine, it may decrease after use, but these pumps seem to be prone to excessive noise...So, don't be alarmed.
Ron
Ron
Last edited by rlmdad; Dec 6, 2003 at 01:27 AM.
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From: DUNDALK
the ford dealer has 2 sizes of teflon "O" rings they charge you about a dollar apeice for them and the chilton book tell you tochange them when ever you take off the hose.If you haave to change the hose make sure you take the old hos to compare they have a lot of differnt sizes Good Luck
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Had EXACTLY the same experience & also changed pump & hose (still seemed loose after attaching per spec also whiny new pump!). 6k miles later, hose is still 'loose' but no leaks. strangest hydro fitting I ever saw.
