Question on power steering / what would you do?

[Kelly_H]

Couple of weeks ago, I came home for the weekend and all of my power steering fluid had been dumped on the floor by the illustrious Ms. Jane. Come to find out that the return line on my power steering rack had gotten a slight kink in it (which I knew about, couldn't explain, and just kind of ignored in hopes that it would quit being kinked) which had then turned into a hole, which then subsequently let all of the fluid displace itself... elsewhere.

Just got off the phone with the Unisteer rep and he was... somewhat helpful? My thoughts were along the lines of "screw this car, if it is going to poke holes in stainless steel braided hose, then it doesn't get any more and I'm switching to rubber because my wallet is going to start hiding from me". He proceeded to inform me that the return line is still under pressure and... I have no idea what else, really. He was convinced that the return line is -8AN (bigger than the pressure line) going to a -6AN banjo fitting on the rack. Good thing that I know first hand that the pressure line is larger than the return line and that the banjo fitting is most definitely larger than -6AN. Nice guy and he tried to explain things as best he could from the manual, but the manual does not line up with what is in my hand.

I am somewhat confused about what to do now. The return line goes to the pump and slips onto a barb, so it seems to me that it would NOT be under pressure because otherwise it would pop right off the barb (and I didn't think that you could really clamp a stainless steel line onto a barb anyways, and while I succeeded as per the instructions in the kit I'm not really sure if it should be done). But the rep says that it is a pressurized line, and thus I should not use rubber hose and a barb on the rack side of things - despite the fact that the end is a barb on the pump side of things.

He recommended I check out fittings from Gotta Show and have a new hydraulic line made, or use high-pressure line, or something along these lines. At that point during the call my wallet was frantically looking for a place to hide and I was seeing red, so I admit that I was not listening quite as well as I should have been. I am so, SO done with this rack and wish that I had gone TCP or better yet, Borgeson (now that they have released their own z-bar to get around that problem for manual trans people). Unfortunately, I do not have the cash at this point to fix that problem (nor did I have the cash to buy the TCP rack in the first place, I guess). All I wanted when I did this install was a simple, easy-to-maintain power steering system that would last, and instead I ended up with... this. No other person I know who has put in a Unisteer system has had even half the problems that I have.

So I guess my question is... if you guys were me and had put yourself in this situation, what would you do about that line? I'm looking for cost effective solutions and opinions. I got the impression that since the line was kinked, Unisteer is no longer responsible for fixing it.

Thanks in advance for the help! I would like to be able to drive this f*&^ing car to school for at least one week this year... and you guys have never let me down

[djsprinklesnjo]

oh man i feel your pain. i suffered with a leaky steering hoses for a few years until finally this winter i decided to convert to tcp power rack and pinion. i wanted to use the stock pump for the mean time, but the fittings didnt match up. so durring the install i had to buy an aftermarket pump and make my own lines.
i recommend going to summitracing or jegs. make sure you get power steering braided lines. (can handle higher psi than regular braided lines) then piece together -6an fittings or whatever size you need.

very key piece of advice i received. if you buy one name brand hose, make sure you buy the same brand name fittings. for example. russel hose with russel fittings. dont use a summit brand fitting on a russel hose. that increases the chance of not making a secure seal and possibly leaking.

[bartl]

You're almost right....the return line is NOT under pressure, unless you restrict the flow with a kink. Then it's under the same amount of pressure as the rest of the system for the most part. I'd find a place that makes up GOOD hydraulic lines, like maybe an industrial (excavator/crawler/backhoe) shop or aircraft shop and have a steel and rubber line made where you have a steel bend instead of the rubber kink and just a short section of rubber long enough to take are of the flexing of the motor on the mounts, etc.

Cheap option 2 would be to cut 6" or so out of the old line where it's kinked and have a piece of steel crimped in that you can bend with a tubing bender instead of having a kink form there.

[mustanggarage]

tcp sells these two power steering hose kits. they are not free but not that expensive either. I like the look of the stainless steel. it has some kind of plastic liner that makes it good for high pressure situations, it is also smaller in outside diameter despite the same internal diameter and it is crush and abrasion resistent due to the steel braiding. it is one solution at least. and the ends are russel hose ends so you can get any style or size end you need.

http://www.totalcontrolproducts.com/hose.html

[djsprinklesnjo]

yea that kit from tcp sells for $169. if you get the same stuff from summit direct. you will save some money. but thats what i was talking about. so much easier to deal with.

[CHOCK]

Getting quite a chuckle out of this post.

Here we have a Brand New, as many think better< power steering system that leaks.

The Old 40 year old worn out system leaks, People curse it, call it a bad system only because it needs updated/rebuilt
. The newly rebuilt Original system installed correctly does not leak

Where did the gain come from Drilling, cutting, hacking a classic to get poor results, I just can't understand.

Dan @ Chockostang

[Kelly_H]

Well, my pressure line is fine so I think that a kit would be overkill for me. Summit sells varying brands of power steering line rated up to 2500psi for around $30 in the length I need, which is not too bad. I'm capable of putting ends on my own lines, so that seems a bit more cost effective.

The problem I am currently running into is that the banjo fitting that the hose goes to is -8AN (I believe? a 3/4" wrench fits just around the threads, in any case, so that ballparks it) but the hose itself does not look like it's -8AN. Of course, I could be wrong - it's the type of high pressure hose that Mustanggarage listed, so I can't really go by OD. It could be that in my enraged state I blew everything out of proportion and this is really just a simple matter of buying myself 3' of hose and one fitting in order to get myself back out of the hole.

Bartl - your solution is a good one - if running new lines ends up not working because of fitting issues, then the bent steel tubing section could work for me.

[slim]

The drain/return line is fine even if just a rubber hose until there's an obstruction. Then something's gotta give!

[Kelly_H]

Originally Posted by CHOCK

Getting quite a chuckle out of this post.

Here we have a Brand New, as many think better< power steering system that leaks.

The Old 40 year old worn out system leaks, People curse it, call it a bad system only because it needs updated/rebuilt
. The newly rebuilt Original system installed correctly does not leak

Where did the gain come from Drilling, cutting, hacking a classic to get poor results, I just can't understand.

Dan @ Chockostang

Glad that amused you Dan

In fact, the reason I switched to the Unisteer system had to do directly with the things you stated above.
1) The factory system requires a very strong knowledge in order to keep it properly maintained and leak-free, and when it does leak it is very expensive to fix (depending on what's leaking, I guess). I have neither strong knowledge of 45 year old power steering systems nor a bottomless pocket, so the $1200 rack and pinion that can be easily replaced with auto store parts in an emergency seemed like a better option. I can appreciate the merits in a stock setup, but that is not the route I wanted to go with a daily driven car.
2) The Unisteer system requires NO hacking, cutting, drilling, etc. It uses the stock crossmember mounts and directly replaces the entire steering system. Though I have chosen to go the restomod route with my car (which I know some do not like), that does not mean I have completely lost respect for the old vintage steel. In the year and a half that I have been working on this car, the only things that have been 'hacked' were my lower quarters... because they were made out of bondo and fiberglass, and I wanted to replace that with proper stock metal.

[ajzride]

There return line should not be pressurized. Go pick up a rubber hose from auto zone and clamp it on, have someone else start the car while you watch the hose. Yell STOP STOP STOP if the hose blows off.

[CHOCK]

)" The Unisteer system requires NO hacking, cutting, drilling, etc. It uses the stock crossmember mounts and directly replaces the entire steering system"

Kelly, that statement ius not true--You are misleading Folks. Please correct this.

Dan

[ajzride]

Originally Posted by CHOCK

)" The Unisteer system requires NO hacking, cutting, drilling, etc. It uses the stock crossmember mounts and directly replaces the entire steering system"

Kelly, that statement ius not true--You are misleading Folks. Please correct this.

Dan

Depending on how lucky you are (how straight your car is), the only thing you SHOULD have to do is trim the steering column. But it could still be re-used, if you ever put the stock box back in.

[lunarweasel]

Originally Posted by CHOCK

Getting quite a chuckle out of this post.

Here we have a Brand New, as many think better< power steering system that leaks.

The Old 40 year old worn out system leaks, People curse it, call it a bad system only because it needs updated/rebuilt
. The newly rebuilt Original system installed correctly does not leak

Where did the gain come from Drilling, cutting, hacking a classic to get poor results, I just can't understand.

Dan @ Chockostang

Originally Posted by CHOCK

)" The Unisteer system requires NO hacking, cutting, drilling, etc. It uses the stock crossmember mounts and directly replaces the entire steering system"

Kelly, that statement ius not true--You are misleading Folks. Please correct this.

Dan

Hey Dan,

Why would you publically "chuckle" at a regular and liked member of this online community? How is that kind of attitude presented in front of potentional customers for your business constructive in any way? Comes across as bitter. You attitude isn't a great advertising tool. "Please correct this."

[JohnnyK]

Originally Posted by lunarweasel

Hey Dan,

Why would you publically "chuckle" at a regular and liked member of this online community? How is that kind of attitude presented in front of potentional customers for your business constructive in any way? Comes across as bitter. You attitude isn't a great advertising tool. "Please correct this."

No crap eh... Take a lesson from this.

As to why you'd replace it? I'm not sure? Maybe to have a better (read, r&p) system?

[slim]

Apparantly Dan like many of us is not perfect.