Power Steering Pressure Hose Step by Step

[SilverMK3]

I posted this on the "other forum", and thought I would post it here also. Where was all of this information a week ago .

Here is how I changed my power steering pressure hose, with an OEM replacement from Advanced Auto. It is helpful to degrease the areas you’ll be working around, especially the steering gear.

1. The air intake needs to be removed to be able to get to the hose where it connects to the pump.
2. Then the two brackets that hold the return and pressure hoses to the frame need to be taken off. There is a small bolt that holds the top half of the clamp (8mm).
3. Separate the banjo bolt (22mm), from the Pressure Port Union on the pump (27mm). Fluid will pour out so be ready. On mine the Pressure port union also backed out of the pump with the banjo bolt attached, so I had to separate them once the whole line was off. Be careful there is an O-ring that goes between the union and pump.
4. Next the return line on the driver’s side (17mm) needs to be separated from the gear housing to get a socket onto the pressure line banjo bolt (22mm) which also has to be removed from the gear housing. I had to access the return line from above, and the banjo bolt from below.
5. Then the steering rack needs to be separated so the old hose can be pulled out and the new one can be put in. There are two bolts (17mm) on the top of the rack on the passenger side, and one on top on the driver side, and one that is accessed through a hole in the bottom side of the frame on the driver’s side. Unbolting the steering rack also let me turn it slightly so I could get the sockets on the steering gear banjo bolt easier.
6. Once I had the old pressure line out, I removed the return and suction line on the reservoir and the three mounting bolts (10mm) so I could remove the reservoir and clean the inside of it with carb cleaner and brake cleaner. Mine was really nasty on the inside and had to keep working it to get all of the grime off of the screen by rinsing it at the right angle so the dirt ran out of the return line port. It didn’t come out perfect, but it is a lot better than when I started.
7. I remounted the reservoir, and reattached the lines to it.
8. I had to reattach the pressure port union to the pump (51ft-lbs) (27mm). Be careful as you finger tighten it so the O-ring doesn’t get pinched.
9. Route the new pressure hose by lifting up on the steering rack to get enough clearance to feed the pump end of the hose up above the rack. Just get it close to how it originally was routed for now.
10. Reattach the banjo bolt to the Pressure Port Union, now on the pump. Use the new copper washers that came with the new hose. As you finger tighten the banjo bolt, slightly wiggle the end of the hose to make sure that the copper crush washers seat flat on the fitting. Tighten to 36 ft lbs (22 mm). Clearance can be kind-of tricky.
11. Reattach the banjo bolt on the driver’s side to the steering gear. This will be angled slightly toward the driver’s side wheel. The key on the end of the hose has to go to the left (as you are looking from the front). Again as you finger tighten the banjo bolt with new copper washers, you’ll want to wiggle the end of the line to get everything to seat flat. I actually even turned the end of the hose slightly extra towards the driver’s side to make sure everything seated properly. Tighten to 36 ft lbs (22 mm), and as with the other side, clearance is a pain because of the A/C lines directly above it. This is where I slightly twisted the steering rack to get the right angle for the torque wrench.
12. Reattach the return line to the steering gear housing (17 mm). Supposed to be torqued to 33 ft lbs, but there was no way I was going to get my torque wrench to fit down inside of there. I just snugged it up because it looked like soft metal.
13. Reattach the rack to the frame. The driver’s side clamp has a tab on the back side that needs to fit into a slotted “ear” on the top side of the frame. Make sure the rack is sitting flat and proper, and torque the four bolts to 56 ft lbs (17mm).
14. Reattach the pressure and return lines to the two mounting brackets, make sure you have the small rubber isolators in place and put the top of the clamps back on and tighten (8mm). The replacement one fits fine, but not exactly like the original.
15. Reattach the air intake, and vacuum lines on it.
16. Fill the reservoir with ATF ( I used Dexron III). When you start the car, it will drink it quickly. As I topped it off with the car running it spit a little bit out of the top of the reservoir, and made some whining and gurgling as it forced the air out of the system. To bleed it, just turn you wheels from full left to full right a bunch of times with the car running, and have somebody keeping the reservoir at its proper level so you don’t overfill it and you don’t let it suck air back into the lines. I did notice as it cycled through that it was a little foamy at first, but it is good now.
17. Pray to the banjo bolt gods and check for leaks—following these steps, I didn’t have any.

Even though I didn’t take step by step photos, between the instructions above and the photos below, you should be able to get the job done.

[cre]

Thank you very much for sharing! I have to admit, I haven't read everything yet, but I'm sure once I, or another mod, do it will be going in the FAQ.

I'd like to add that this is a good time to thoroughly flush out the cooler (or replace with a better aftermarket unit) and add an inline oil filter.