How-To: Replace the High-Pressure Power Steering Hose

Chythar

Recently finished repairing my rear
Dirt-Old 20+Year Member
Aug 26, 2004
2,370
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113
Foothill Ranch, CA
Just replaced this hose today. I had a leak in the rubber o-ring inside the swivel fitting at the pump, which is not replaceable; new hose time. Picked up an AC Delco hose form Rock Auto, part number 36366450, for $32 + shipping. Today was a gorgeous day in Los Angeles, 80* warm, so it was a good day to crawl under the car and replace the hose.

After you jack up the car and put the front on jack stands, drain out the power steering fluid. Take the cap off the pump, then disconnect the return line from the cooler. Here's a photo of my line - yours may have one of the squeeze clamps instead of the screw clamp I have. I'd replace the squeeze clamp while you have a chance, I hate those things. :fuss:

01-linetocooler.jpg


Drain the fluid into an oil drain pan, unless you like getting power steering fluid all over the floor and your clothes.

04-drainoil.jpg


Once you've drained the fluid, remove the bolt from the bracket that holds the high-pressure line to the frame rail. One 10mm bolt and it's loose. Next, disconnect the high-pressure hose from the pump. The level in the pump should be very low now, so it shouldn't leak much when disconnected. You'll need an 18mm wrench for the high-pressure hose fitting, and a 15/16 wrench to hold on to the adapter that stays in the pump. A bit of effort and the fitting comes loose. Carefully push the hose down through the engine bay and put the now-unbolted fitting in to the oil drain pan from earlier. You may have to twist the hose around to get the oil to drain. The more oil you can get out, the less there will be to dribble all over when you unhook the end still attached to the steering rack.

The biggest problem with this job is removing and replacing the hose fitting on the steering rack itself. After thinking about it a bit, I realized the job would be much easier if I loosened the rack-to-crossmember bolts and slid the rack forward. You'll need an 18mm deep socket for the nut and a 15mm for the bolt head on the other side of the crossmember. If you don't put a socket on the bolt, it'll rotate when you try to loosen the nut. Here's my rack pulled forward but still resting on the bolts. It's filthy under there - this hose has been leaking for a long while.

02-slide_rack_forward.jpg


The red bushings are Prothane polyurethane bushings I put in some time ago. This is a shot showing how much room I have behind the rack. It's more than enough to get a wrench on to the fitting.

03-roomforwrench.jpg


Use the same 18mm wrench you used to remove the other fitting. This part does still take a bit of patience, but the fitting does come off easily if not quickly. Set the hose aside, but we're not done with it yet. Here's the old and new hoses hide-by-side:

05-oldandnewhoses.jpg


Note that the new hose has a metal fitting to hold the bracket that's still on the old hose. I used some wire snips to bend the crimped metal away and pried the bracket off. The new hose was thicker than the old one, but it will still do its job and hold the hose in place.

06-newhosethicker.jpg


If you're just reading for the pictures, you're out of luck; that was the last one. Installation of the hose is basically the reverse of the instructions above. You'll need more patience to align the fitting on to the steering rack - took me about 10 minutes of trying to finally catch the threads by hand. Tighten the fitting up, but careful of making it too tight - you can strip the threads. If you want to use a torque wrench, you'll need a 18mm crow foot - View attachment 141539 , not the flare-nut style - View attachment 141540 There isn't enough room for the flare-nut crows foot to turn. Torque to 20-25 ft-lbs.

(I lied about there not being any more photos)

You're nearly done. Snake the hose back up through the engine bay and thread the fitting into the pump. Again, be careful not to over tighten the fitting. Torque settings are 25-34 ft-lbs, and this time you can use the flare-nut crows foot if you like.

Slide the rack back into place and tighten up the mounting bolts. Torque specs are 30-40 ft-lbs. Don't forget to re-attach the high-pressure hose bracket back to the frame rail. If you haven't already, plug the return line in and put the clamp back on.

While the car is still on the jack stands, it's time to fill the pump, check for leaks and try to get some of the air out of the lines. Fill up the reservoir on the pump, then start the car. Turn the steering wheel all the way to one side until it stops (hits the lock), then turn it the other way until you hit the other lock. Don't hold it at lock for too long, just turn the wheel from lock to lock a few times. Shut the engine off and check for leaks. I wrap a paper towel around the fitting and see if there's any fluid on the towel. If there is, you may need to tighten the fittings a bit more. I used a torque wrench to tighten my fittings and I had no leaks. Next, check to make sure the reservoir isn't empty. If it is, refill it then restart the car and turn the steering wheel lock to lock a few times. Repeat until the reservoir isn't empty anymore.

You're all done! Take the car off the jack stands and put it down on the ground. I decided to take the car out for a test drive to make sure all the air was out of the lines. The pump whined loudly for a couple of minutes, then quieted down.
 
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The parts store hoses always come with those stupid rubber O-rings. The oem one is a teflon O-ring. You can pick up a teflon O-ring at a Ford dealership for around 50 cents.

Kurt
 
The parts store hoses always come with those stupid rubber O-rings. The oem one is a teflon O-ring. You can pick up a teflon O-ring at a Ford dealership for around 50 cents.

Kurt
yeah but you cant replace the o ring or can you?

bout to replace my hose coming up soon, have to order one
 
Glad I could help.
just looking at the car from the top with hood up, working on my heads , block so everything is off. Looking at it from the top it looked sort of hard but i was going to get the car up in the air and inspect. i would hate to even loosen the rack if I don't have to. Is it a must and will it affect the alignment?
 
Yeah, the O-ring comes right off. It's easy to change.

Kurt

how though? I moved the hose back and forth as far as it would go inside the nut, back and forth. Taking it loose at the pump, I still dont see how the o ring would get on there other than sliding it over the nut but it might be stretched???
 
from what i have been reading on different links some say its hard to find the proper O ring and others say it wasnt easy to get on, had to make up something to properly get the o ring on there so not sure i want to go thru all that either and will probably just change the hose but when i take it loose from the pump i will inspect it to see how it looks and what i think about maybe trying an o ring
 
Sorry, I thought you were talking about the external O-ring. Just buy a new hose. I think it's $18 last time I checked. Then buy the teflon external o-ring at the dealership.

Kurt
 
Sorry, I thought you were talking about the external O-ring. Just buy a new hose. I think it's $18 last time I checked. Then buy the teflon external o-ring at the dealership.

Kurt

are there ones on both ends of the hose that you are saying would be best to change
 
are there ones on both ends of the hose that you are saying would be best to change

There are teflon rings at either end of the hose. ALWAYS replace teflon washer if high pressure line is removed! The washer deforms to seal and will not seal properly again. The teflon washer on nut between high pressure hose & pump is part number 388898-S. You can buy it from Ford dealership, for approx $2. The teflon washer between the high pressure hose and steering rack is 388897-S, I forget the cost, but it's about the same as the other washer.

You'll also need a teflon seal installer/spreader tool, or some way to stretch the teflon washer a bit without damaging it. If you don't, it'll be really hard to get the washer on and you might damage it.
 
There are teflon rings at either end of the hose. ALWAYS replace teflon washer if high pressure line is removed! The washer deforms to seal and will not seal properly again. The teflon washer on nut between high pressure hose & pump is part number 388898-S. You can buy it from Ford dealership, for approx $2. The teflon washer between the high pressure hose and steering rack is 388897-S, I forget the cost, but it's about the same as the other washer.

You'll also need a teflon seal installer/spreader tool, or some way to stretch the teflon washer a bit without damaging it. If you don't, it'll be really hard to get the washer on and you might damage it.
well i think its safe to say i will just get a new hose then man ;) to hell with all that fighting getting a new ring on but i will look at it when i take it off. I read on another link about someone who had to make somethign to be able to stretch the o ring on there too also so there is a risk IMO.