[Mikester]

Hey all!
Been in a bit of a pickle here as im currently trying to fix an issue that the previous owner created when he last worked on the car. Included is a picture that is highlighting the line that seems to be leaking all of my power steering fluid. When i had bought the vehicle the PS pump did not have a belt attached, after I had attached said belt the power steering was fine until the fluid began pouring out of the point i have highlighted in the image below. from what i see this is a return line and i think just has a rubber hose with no special fitting that joins to the line that runs to the cooler afterwards. My only problem with this is that the location of what i have highlighted is right behind the sub-frame against the firewall. I have removed the rear engine mount to get better access to it but i think the rubber is so old that it feels too stiff to move. Should i just buy a new line for this or will I need to drop the sub-frame to get/replace this line?
I would like to note that it is right near this section where the two hoses are clamped down. Because this is a return hose i was looking at the rock auto part (SUNSONG 3405063 )
Im certain this is the correct part but how should i go about doing this? just replace the old one since the rubber feels to tough to move with pliers?

 

[Mikester]

So im pretty certain this post sounds vague but as far as i cant tell the return line looks to have some sort of crimped connector from the gearbox to the crimp before going around to the front. It is right next to the point I have highlighted. Any idea how i would replace this or would i replace both lines at the same time?

 

[Mikester]

So im pretty certain this post sounds vague but as far as i cant tell the return line looks to have some sort of crimped connector from the gearbox to the crimp before going around to the front. It is right next to the point I have highlighted. Any idea how i would replace this or would i replace both lines at the same time?

Okay, just getting tired at this point but my idiocy has gotten to me again. It looks like the SUNSONG kit on rockauto would replace the end with the fitting that connects to the gearbox and the other end connects to a metal tube that will then go to the PS cooler. How should i go about remove the old lines? After looking at the FSM i dont see any bolts that hold this line in place other than the one near the engine mount.

 

[Mikester]

Well I was able to properly identify what was causing the leak on the car. My last posts on this were confusing because the placement of this line is in a bit of a tight spot as is everything else on the 6G72 variants. What i found is that in the original return line there is a rubber outer layer on the entire metal line, now if there is a kink anywhere in that metal, the power steering fluid is so corrosive that it will eat the paint away and rust through. Once it does that it starts leaking around that rubber coating and leaking out one of the ends. Unfortunately, stock there is a crimped section for the return all the way back to the passenger side near the back cam gear. I was worried i may have had to drop the sub-frame to access it all but i managed to work around it. I went about fixing this by first removing the Intake, Battery tray, lower cross-member, and then the rear engine mount. The rear engine mounts are almost never replaced because they are in a bad spot as the two lower bolts practically need the cross-member removed to access them. I would highly recommend soaking them with a penetrating fluid for some hours due to never being replaced, this was the worst part for me. Heat and air hammers work well to break things loose
Once the engine mount is out of the way there is one clamp next to the mount that holds both the pressurized and return line in place, and this needs removed. Next disconnect both ends of the entire section (Gearbox end and the hose clamp section near the cam gear). then just snake the entire lines back through the drivers side wheel well. You could cut the lines but i decided against cutting them to prevent fluid from getting everywhere. I found the pinhole in the metal line after i had cut back some of the material.

Fortunately though there is a kit on rock-auto that replaces the threaded line, and a rubber line all the way back to the other side. There are three variants for this kit that i found:
SUNSONG 3405063
EDELMANN 81057
GATES 352675
The GATES and EDELMANN kits are from the exact same factory and the EDELMANN was the cheaper of the two. The only difference i can see with the SUNSONG is that it does not use a copper/bronze fastener to the gearbox itself. I bought this one as im working on a budget to fix this car, so hopefully i shouldn't have any more problems.

 

[Sisyphus58]

On mine, the cooler tube loop in front of the radiator sprung a leak due to corrosion, so I just bypassed it for now.

 

[Mikester]

On mine, the cooler tube loop in front of the radiator sprung a leak due to corrosion, so I just bypassed it for now.

Thats another spot that gets it pretty bad most of the time, fortunately mine is pretty clean. Does the PS fluid even get that hot to really need a cooling line?

 

[Sisyphus58]

Thats another spot that gets it pretty bad most of the time, fortunately mine is pretty clean. Does the PS fluid even get that hot to really need a cooling line?

Not for a daily driver car under normal driving conditions in temperate areas of the country.
Tracking the car is a different story.
I already bought a new cooler line and will be installing soon. I nixed the idea of an aftermarket fin-style cooler precisely because it's overkill, especially since I'm already using a high protection full synthetic fluid and temps rarely get over 90° where I live.

 

[Mikester]

Not for a daily driver car under normal driving conditions in temperate areas of the country.
Tracking the car is a different story.
I already bought a new cooler line and will be installing soon. I nixed the idea of an aftermarket fin-style cooler precisely because it's overkill, especially since I'm already using a high protection full synthetic fluid and temps rarely get over 90° where I live.

Also on the topic of PS cooling, etc, do you know if there is a filter inside of the reservoir? I've heard some mention that adding an inline filter would be wise. I know how to go about doing it, just not sure how many have actually done it.

 

[Sisyphus58]

Also on the topic of PS cooling, etc, do you know if there is a filter inside of the reservoir? I've heard some mention that adding an inline filter would be wise. I know how to go about doing it, just not sure how many have actually done it.

When recently cleaning the inside of the reservoir, there didn’t seem to be an actual filter. I used a solvent and brushes to get it looking almost new. Shortly after that, when the cooler tube began leaking, I bypassed the tube and installed a good quality metal filter. When I reinstall the cooler tube, I will keep the filter which is installed a few inches from the reservoir and easily accessible. Just make sure you use a good quality metal filter that is “directional.”
The fluid flow in the flexible hose between the cooler and reservoir is towards the reservoir, so match the arrow on the filter to point towards the reservoir.