Post by Aurora40 on May 11, 2011 6:33:09 GMT -6
So my power steering pressure hose started leaking on the Aurora at about 85k miles. It sounds like on the 3.5 cars, it is from a bracket rubbing through the hose. This was not the case on mine, it appeared to be leaking at the crimped connection.
It went from adding a little fluid a couple times a year to leaving puddles in the garage fairly suddenly. This made replacing it fun, as everything was covered in power steering fluid.
You'll need:
- 25737839 power steering hose
- 16mm and 18mm flare-nut wrench (or open end, but flare is better)
- 10mm small socket (1/4")
- 10mm box wrench
- 13mm socket for the endlink lower
- huge cresent wrench (12") or >>1"/22mm socket for endlink upper
- eternal patience
- optionally, you may want to get new endlinks for the swaybar. Mine were super rusted/corroded (as evidenced by one snapping).
Anyway, to replace it, you need to do the following:
- Loosen all front lugnuts
- Jack up both sides of the front of the car, and support it on jackstands
- Remove the front wheels/tires
- Remove the passenger side wheelwell liner (it is much easier with this out of the way)
- Remove the swaybar endlinks (mine disintegrated on one side)
Now, you can start to see the whole pressure line. It is attached at the power steering pump, at the steering rack, and then clipped in place on the side of the back cylinder head, and under the car roughly in the middle of it.
You will need to undo the two clips, and loosen the end at the rack. Put a pan under the rack side, it will leak a fair bit of fluid, and for a while. Both clip bolts/nuts are 10mm. The rack fitting is 18mm.
The cylinder head clip is a huge pain. I could put two fingers on it, but not a finger and thumb. I managed to fish a 10mm wrench in and get it turned, then could finger turn it off (thankfully). This is where removing the wheelwell liner helps.
Now, you need to remove the heat shield that goes between the power steering line and the exhaust downpipe. There are just two 10mm bolts holding it on, and one electrical wire retainer you need to unclip.
Then push the swaybar middle down as far as you can (ends will go up), and pull the heat shield out. You are now ready to remove the hose.
Unscrew the hose at the pump, and it will be completely disconnected from the car. The pump fitting is 16mm.
I pulled the old hose out the bottom of the car. The middle pipe is bent in such a way, I couldn't imagine it coming out the top. It is not easy to get the line through, you really have to twist and turn it. You could opt to cut it in half if you wanted. I did get it out in one piece though.
Now the new hose can be installed. The hose is redesigned and is much easier to install. Make sure to tape/bag the ends of the new hose so they don't get dirty as you are running it through the car.
I installed the new hose from the top. It has less compound bends and was pretty easy to fish it through. Make sure to run it over top of the steering rack/tie rods, not under.
Then it's just a matter of doing the reverse. I got the hose lined up where the two retainers are, then screwed in the rack fitting. Then I secured the two retainers, and finally attached the pump fitting. The fittings, just turn them tight. It's hard to tighten the rack end, but there is a little room under the car parallel to the floorpan, and a little room coming in from the wheelwell. Between the two I managed to tighten it up pretty good (and to loosen it in the first place).
Reinstall the heat shield, clip the wire retainer back, and attach the swaybar endlinks. Now might be a good time to add some fluid, and start the car. Watch for leaks from the fittings. God willing there are none.
Then, install the wheelwell liner, snug the wheels on, lower the car, and torque the lug nuts to 100 lb-ft. You should be done.
It took me about 5 hours all told, though it would have been a bit less if the sway bar end links didn't need to be replaced. They were a pain to remove from the lower A-arm, which wouldn't have been necessary if they stayed in-tact.
Here is the redesigned hose next to the original:
It went from adding a little fluid a couple times a year to leaving puddles in the garage fairly suddenly. This made replacing it fun, as everything was covered in power steering fluid.
You'll need:
- 25737839 power steering hose
- 16mm and 18mm flare-nut wrench (or open end, but flare is better)
- 10mm small socket (1/4")
- 10mm box wrench
- 13mm socket for the endlink lower
- huge cresent wrench (12") or >>1"/22mm socket for endlink upper
- eternal patience
- optionally, you may want to get new endlinks for the swaybar. Mine were super rusted/corroded (as evidenced by one snapping).
Anyway, to replace it, you need to do the following:
- Loosen all front lugnuts
- Jack up both sides of the front of the car, and support it on jackstands
- Remove the front wheels/tires
- Remove the passenger side wheelwell liner (it is much easier with this out of the way)
- Remove the swaybar endlinks (mine disintegrated on one side)
Now, you can start to see the whole pressure line. It is attached at the power steering pump, at the steering rack, and then clipped in place on the side of the back cylinder head, and under the car roughly in the middle of it.
You will need to undo the two clips, and loosen the end at the rack. Put a pan under the rack side, it will leak a fair bit of fluid, and for a while. Both clip bolts/nuts are 10mm. The rack fitting is 18mm.
The cylinder head clip is a huge pain. I could put two fingers on it, but not a finger and thumb. I managed to fish a 10mm wrench in and get it turned, then could finger turn it off (thankfully). This is where removing the wheelwell liner helps.
Now, you need to remove the heat shield that goes between the power steering line and the exhaust downpipe. There are just two 10mm bolts holding it on, and one electrical wire retainer you need to unclip.
Then push the swaybar middle down as far as you can (ends will go up), and pull the heat shield out. You are now ready to remove the hose.
Unscrew the hose at the pump, and it will be completely disconnected from the car. The pump fitting is 16mm.
I pulled the old hose out the bottom of the car. The middle pipe is bent in such a way, I couldn't imagine it coming out the top. It is not easy to get the line through, you really have to twist and turn it. You could opt to cut it in half if you wanted. I did get it out in one piece though.
Now the new hose can be installed. The hose is redesigned and is much easier to install. Make sure to tape/bag the ends of the new hose so they don't get dirty as you are running it through the car.
I installed the new hose from the top. It has less compound bends and was pretty easy to fish it through. Make sure to run it over top of the steering rack/tie rods, not under.
Then it's just a matter of doing the reverse. I got the hose lined up where the two retainers are, then screwed in the rack fitting. Then I secured the two retainers, and finally attached the pump fitting. The fittings, just turn them tight. It's hard to tighten the rack end, but there is a little room under the car parallel to the floorpan, and a little room coming in from the wheelwell. Between the two I managed to tighten it up pretty good (and to loosen it in the first place).
Reinstall the heat shield, clip the wire retainer back, and attach the swaybar endlinks. Now might be a good time to add some fluid, and start the car. Watch for leaks from the fittings. God willing there are none.
Then, install the wheelwell liner, snug the wheels on, lower the car, and torque the lug nuts to 100 lb-ft. You should be done.
It took me about 5 hours all told, though it would have been a bit less if the sway bar end links didn't need to be replaced. They were a pain to remove from the lower A-arm, which wouldn't have been necessary if they stayed in-tact.
Here is the redesigned hose next to the original: