Power Steering lines/leak

[dstig1]

Well it looks for sure like I have a PS leak as the fluid level drops enough to make the pump moan every few weeks, and it's getting more frequent.

The rack is only a year old, and there is no sign of it leaking, plus the PS fittings into the rack are bone dry. I know it's probably a hose somewhere, but the pump is so buried, I can't tell if it is the source. The cooler is crudded with some stuff, so it's leaking down that way - either running down the hose or that is the source. I figure the hoses are old, so it probably just pays to do them all.

Question: what is the path of the lines - from where to where to where? Helms manual doesn't really show the whole system. Is it resevoir>pump>high pressure to rack>cooler>resevoir? What's the other fitting on the rack then? I should have looked more at this when I had it all aaprt, but now it's impossible to see anything...

And what is involved here - the rack has fittings on it, but a lot of the rest is just hose, so what do you need to get to replace this stuff?

Thanks,

 

[rigol2000]

I don't have an answer for you. I heard the PS pump is hard to get to. I had a fluid leak toward the rear of the motor. The mechanic I regularly use was glad to find out it was the valve cover seal and NOT the PS pump. From what I understand, it's quite the under taking..patience needed.

 

[NotSoSlowSHO]

ANYTHING powersteering related on these cars is a PITA.

dstig1, check out autozone.com The "repair guides" there has a decent amount of info on swapping power steering equipment.

 

[dstig1]

Uh yeah the PS pump is "hard" to get to. You can say that again... You can't even see the damn hoses, so the pump is "right out"

Thanks, but I guess what I'm looking for here is some specifics. I know all too well about dealing with the PS system, but I just haven't paid much attention to the hydraulic lines themselves.

I guess what I need is what is standard, and what is SHO-specific. I'm guessing that the lines that end in the fittings on the rack are special as I doubt I can find those easily or do the crimps on the hose, etc... So what is just "plain hose" (tranny/PS hose) and what needs to be special?

And what exactly runs where? I don't want to have to take the car fully out of service for a week or two to figure out and obtain the correct parts, if I can avoid it.

I also plan to try to pressure test the PS cooler, if I can figure out a good way to pressurize it and hold the pressure with a gauge on it. Will need some good hose and a few fittings, I guess.

Autozone had nothing that didn't look like a copy of the Helm's manual. And the Helm's manual didn't have a good layout of the hoses and routing for the whole system, oddly enough.