Anyone redone their P/S setup?

[Eric VerValin]

Ok, so I'm looking at swapping a rack... my high pressure hose is soggy, so I'm assuming its just seeping, but I'm going to swap that... and the return hose from what I read and find online... is just bulk 3/8" hose?

Then I guess my next question is this.... I want to delete the "factory p/s cooler" and use the atx cooler that is bolted up there. Not because I think I need it, just because its there and I want to put it to use. I am also thinking of re routing the lines, but I'm wondering if I shouldn't just buy a 25' roll of 3/8" hose...

Now my next question is about the hose's... I can't remember exactally how they are ran... I remember 2 threaded fittings on the rack, but only see one hose that I can buy with a threaded end.. which is the pressure hose. Dosen't it go out of the rack, into the cooler, then back to the resivour? (sp) I know there are just clamps on the cooler, but whats up with the other threaded end on the rack?

Also anyone know if the atx cooler's "*******" are the right size for what I'm thinking or am I going to have to get some sort of adapter for it...

 

[gmorrell]

The return hose is just 3/8" ID hose, but make sure you get hose that is rated for oil service, if the lining material isn't correct, it will weep oil forever and fail prematurely before forever gets here.

I guess my first question is why would you want to fully re-arrange the plumbing? While I've maintained for many years that the PS cooler is in a rotten place, it's pretty effective for everything but all-out open tracking/road racing, where extended high RPM operation puts a lot of heat into the PS fluid.

What I did to clean up the engine bay plumbing was to move the factory PS cooler in front of the radiator on the passenger side, then run the return line from the rack around the back side of the engine following the PS high pressure line, then across the pass side front frame member, to the cooler, and from the cooler back to the PS reservoir.

You also want to be careful about putting a lot of flow restriction in the return side of the PS system between the rack and PS reservoir, as this can cause all manner of power steering functional problems, this is why the factory PS cooler is just a simple, low-restriction U-bend. ATX fluid coolers are designed with a long fluid path to maximize cooling, but they aren't necessarily optimized for the higher flow rates of a PS system.

 

[Eric VerValin]

Well, thats basically the routing I was planning on, but was going to use that cooler instead. Just because its a bit larger, and the cooler I have looks like its been beat to death years ago.. When I seen the other lines are bulk hose, I figured I would use the larger cooler that is already hanging on the car..