Power Steering Pressure Line Fix

[Dogfish]

I recently bought an '88 2WD LE Auto, and soon discovered a leak in the power steering high pressure line. The general area was easy to spot, on the rubber hose near the banjo connector to the pump, but somewhere under the extra insulation on the hose. It gushed pink froth from the top of the insulation when you turned the wheels. I never had a high pressure line leak before and was surprised... this van only has 125k on it.

Unfortunately, I didn't think about taking pictures until the job was almost done. The Toyota diagram will have to do as the before pic. It shows the pump end of the line as hose that is crimped to the metal line and not easily replaced. The other end of the line has an easily replaceable hose with fittings.
As I sometimes do, I took it to a reputable shop that I deal with. It is a national franchise and offers freebie service checks. I have spent little to no money with them in the years that I have been dealing with them and they have always gone over and above to tighten a clamp or point out a leak to me a no charge. I always tell them that next time I'll spend some money with them next time.
They found a replacement line for me from Toyota and quoted me over $500 for the job. I need to find the quote but I think it was $300+ for the line and $200+ for the labor.

I ended up removing the line myself and taking it to a shop that specializes in hydraulic lines. There are a couple of things wrong with the above pic. The mounting clips are all above the line itself. In reality they need to be turned 180 degrees and point "down" for mounting. The second problem is that when the shop added the extra steel of the crimps and unions I gained rigidity and lost the flexibility of the rubber hose that was replaced. The line as it was in the above pic was impossible to install. I had to take it back to the shop, have them cut more tube from the banjo fitting end and re-braze.

This is the pic of the line after it was shortened and re-brazed. Note the connector is almost up to the curve in the line now. One problem since the length was changed was that the hose no longer fits back in the retainer clip. It is hard to see in the pic but it doesn't touch anywhere along the frame. The metal ferrule on the hose likewise doesn't touch the lower radiator hose, but they are both something I will check after driving it awhile.

If I were to do it over, I would go find a cheaper off the shelf hose that would fit as close to perfect as possible. I would then cut the line (this was the easiest way to remove it) and clearly mark where the brazing should be done and not leave so much to the "experts" to decide.

A few other pics:

A closer view of the new hose, crimping, unions and brazing. All in all they did a good job.

A closer view of the connection to the line.

A closer view of the banjo end... before it was re-sized.

A closer view of the other end of the line. This end already has an easily replaceable hose, and as per Murphy, that's why it didn't fail.

I did this job in a driveway... no lift. I did not pull the radiator or the transmission cooler. I did remove the lower mount screws of the cooler and pull it forward a little. It gets wedged on the mounts and gives you enough room. I did cut the line to make it easier to remove. It was going to be cut anyway.

This was an exercise in patience and things that weren't going well one day went a lot easier the next day.

[timsrv]

That's awesome Dogfish!!! Thank you for posting this! Very nice write up and great pics! I will be doing this same job on my cargo van soon. I just blew the headgasket, and I will tackle this job while the van is opened up for that job. I'll post some pics and comments here when I do the job. Being able to see this line out in the open (ahead of time) helps me plan for it. Thank you!!! Tim

[Dogfish]

Thanks Tim

Keep in mind that there are 2 rubber hoses on the high pressure line. If your leak is under the driver's seat then it is the same problem that I had and the hose is not easily replaced. If it is forward, after the line is heading back towards the steering gear, that line already has a union at one end and threads into the gear box at the other.

If it is the forward line, worst case you may have to remove some of the air intake ducting. I removed it when I dropped the whole line, but it may not be necessary.

I'ts a good time to clean the duct and silicone it anyway. I meant to tie wrap some nylon screen or a Scotch Brite on the end but didn't.

-Jim

[timsrv]

Mine has the same problem as yours (I'm sitting on the leak). And this is part of the reason I've been procrastinating . I think it will be more exposed when I have my head removed and I'll figure something out then. Your pics really shed some light on things. Thanks. Tim

[beubanks]

I've got the same thing going on.....and currently wanting to fix this in route to Washington state from east coast ...

however, is this not the line: http://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/198...sure_hose.html


?

I also found it at a toyota parts site....it seems like it covers the part I have a leak at (I'm sitting on it, near the pump), but doesn't include the gearbox side hose...

If you guys could let me know your thoughts I'd appreciate it... I don't have time to have the existing part rebuilt, and would love if I could drop something new/remanufactured in on the road...

-Bryan

[timsrv]

It's a lot easier, cheaper, and better to just cut the metal line at the frame, then take the pump side of it (with the flex hose) down to your local hydraulic hose shop. They will set you up with quality fittings and hose to replace the leaky part. They make compression fittings for every size tubing (including ours) and that means no welding or brazing.............unless of course you want to. Here's some pics I took while doing the job:

[beubanks]

ok thanks for this. I'm in montreal, and will be staying put in Leavenworth, WA. and Tri-Cities area for most of september. Perhaps I can do this then, I think it's fine to drive on for another couple of weeks.

To clarify....when you say "cut the metal line at the frame" is that literally cut the metal pipe? and is that the point detailed in your last photo? The nuts look new on both ends of that coupling..but not sure what that looks like there right now...

I guess what I'm asking is do I need to remove the whole line down to the gearbox hose connection? Sorry, I'm not too familiar with this part of the vehicle.

thanks,
bryan

[beubanks]

actually, I see from earlier photos in this thread that there is a nut connection after the flexible hose... okay..how much fluid is going to dump out of this point (all of it?)...

thanks,
b

[timsrv]

Yes, cut it right where the small diameter steel line ends and the flex line begins. I actually used a sawzall because I wanted to save as much steel line as possible. Of course a sawzall will leave burrs and get some grit in the line. Some fluid will leak out but this is good in a way as it will carry some of the grit from the cut out with it. After it quit dripping I carefully deburred the line, then I used Q-tips to drag out the junk that was left inside. I left the long steel line installed when I replaced the flex hose part. The steel part of the line is pretty embedded so it saved a bit of time. I took the banjo end off the pump and modified that end on the bench. I went ahead and got an extra hose and set of adapters so I could also do my 4wd van. There's other ways to do this (as you can see from dogfish's post), but this way works well & doesn't require welding or complete line removal. To save the hydraulic guy the time you may want to print these pics and take to him along with the old flex hose (after you cut it off) for length reasons. Here is a picture of everything you'll need to do the job. Tim

[foreverly]

Here is a photo of my repair. It is a Dogfish / Tim hybrid.

I didn't remove the banjo fitting because the PO owner had just had the P/S pump put in & I didn't want to disturb it.

I cut the bottom of the hose with a $6 hacksaw from the hardware store & I cut the top with one of those pipe cutters that spin around. I had to use my dremel with grinder/sander tip to clean the burns & outside of the pipe. This was necessary to get the compression fittings all the way onto the pipe.

You can see that I cut the top of the hose where Dogfish made his repair because it was right in my face & I could cut the pipe without harm to other hoses & electrical wires. To cut the hose where Tim did I would have had to remove the banjo fitting.

After one week my hose hasn't leaked a drop but it has made my p/s pump a little noisier. I believe its either because I strained the top compression fitting getting it into that tight spot or because the hydraulics shop used a 9.8mm hose. I didn't cut open the original hose but I assume it was at least 10mm inside... Perhaps those two little things combined create enough restriction for the pump to complain. I might just try to remove the banjo & loosen & retighten the compression fitting to see if that helps with the noise. Maybe a slightly longer or shorter hose would help too...

But in the end I'll take a little noise over a leaky hose.

If I were to make the repair again I think I would just remove the banjo fitting & cut the pipe right at the hose just like Tim did.

Now to fix my leaky rack...

[chrismael]

Well, I realize this thread is a year old, but i use this whole site as a reference tool, so I suppose it doesn't matter.

I just discovered this leak, after repairing many other hose repairs. I was pretty gung ho to cut as directed, but called around for a local hydro shop. The guy at Napa was friendly, but started jumping up and down about DOT etc... Apparently they have a rebuilder for these in Spokane, but first, I'm thinking about going sans PS for a while. I figure, I'll drain the system and see how much resistance I get. All these P.S. issues have me contemplating pulling it all out as most of my driving is Highway.

So, question... has anyone here gutted the entire PS? I drove a 91 toyota pu for years without it (stock), but I figure it had a better M/A than I would in this situation.

Thanks, chris

[chrismael]

And done... I'm gonna run it drained and without the belt for a while. Even with the bigger tire / winter tread, it doesn't seem bad at all. I am a little concerned whether this may stress the steering assembly a bit too much. I'm also hoping for a little better gpm.... Given the history of pump complaints/fixes, I'm guessing some other folks are running without P/S.

P/S, less is more
chris

[timsrv]

Just keep in mind these vans have a weak bevel gear (ahead of the rack) & stress on this will be amplified greatly. That being said, I drove my van for almost 2 years without power steering & didn't have any issues. Tim

[chrismael]

Thanks Tim,

Good to know. I suppose I'll take it easy and when I have time and run across a good shop, I'll fix it proper.

[mahleek87]

I recently had the high pressure power steering line replaced in my 86 Toyota Van. The first thing I tried was to contact Toyota to see if this part was still available and obviously it wasnt, so I went on to this thread to see that other members had gotten this line made at a shop that specializes in hydraulic lines. So my mechanic contacted a shop that he knew that made these and they made one for my van and charged $212.00 for it. Does that seem reasonable? My mechanic charged me $90 to install it. I ended up pay a little over $300 to fix this stupid leak. When they told me the price I went along with it because I just wanted to get it fixed.

My 89 van has the same problem and is currently leaking from the same line. I was looking on ebay and found this and was wondering if it would work. I know the 89 van has a slightly different connection to the power steering pump where the H/P line connects. I wonder if it would make a difference.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Power-Steeri...e13d3a&vxp=mtr

Do you think this is legit? I would much rather pay $34 then $212

[timsrv]

Mahleek, I don't know about different grades/qualities of line and fittings, but the ones I got are far above automotive specs regarding abrasion resistance, pressure, etc. It's been a couple years since I purchased mine, but at the time it cost me $49.82. Since I purchased 2 sets of hoses/fittings my total came to $99.64. This included the line & fittings I previously posted in this thread along with a section of the 5/8" ID hose long enough to replace the return line that goes from the reservoir to the pump (long enough to do 2 vans). Perhaps the line & fittings you got are of a higher quality, but I can't imagine needing anything better than what I put on mine. The $90 for the install sounds fair, but it's hard for me to imagine a hydraulic shop charging that much for the hoses & fittings. I'm guessing your mechanic made some extra $$$ as a middle man. Tim

[mahleek87]

For the record...

I purchased this high pressure line from ebay and had it installed 3 days ago in my 89 van with a reman power steering pump from BBB industries. Edelman makes it

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Power-Steeri...167446?vxp=mtr

It only cost $48 including shipping and after 3 days of hard driving 300miles + it works like a charm and there are no leaks at all. Steering is very smooth too.


Much better then the $212 I spent a few months ago to have this built and replaced in my 86 Van.

[timsrv]

What did your mechanic charge to install that one?

[mahleek87]

He gave me a good price since this time it was a side job

I got the power steering pump and line installed for a total of $120.


Last time his boss got involved because it was his bosses connect who knew the shop that could make the line. Also the van sat in his shop for one day because they had to remove the old line to make a copy of it.

[Wonderwagon]

I just changed my power steering pump in my 1989 4wd today, as it was leaking, but once I started up the van again, the remanufactured pump now caused the pressure hose to start gushing fluid.
Sigh.
Fortunately, I found one on eBay for $29 including shipping!!!
It's a slightly different part number than the one Mahleek linked to, as that one didn't look like it had the right bend at the banjo fitting. There's one more at that price on eBay, somebody grab it:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Edelmann-915...d32666&vxp=mtr

Just search for "Power Steering 91594" if it's gone. It was a bit hard to find since nothing is listed for 1989 vans, but it looks correct in the picture.