Power Steering hose replacement

Guys,

I changed the power steering hoses on my 88 XJ. I had sucked the fluid out of my reservoir 3 times and it still was black. I decided I may be having hose break down and the only way to fix it is to replace them. I figure 15 years is respectable service.

I went to one of the real parts stores in town and picked up the replacement hoses. I found something nice in the box, they included a cap to cover the return line nipple on the reservoir. They instructed you to purge the system once you have the new hoses installed, they also recommend you replace all the hoses if one is bad.

I got out my flare wrenches and check the fitting at the pump, my 5/8" fit like a glove. I get to the garage and pull out the air cleaner and remove the return line. I then try the pressure line and the fitting at the pump came right out. The fitting in the steering box was a 18 mm. I checked and had up to a 17 mm but no 18 mm. I ended up using a vice grip to break the joint then a 18 mm open end wrench to back out the fitting.

I installed the pressure line first. I then connected the return line to the power steering box and let the other end drop down into a 2 liter soda bottle.

I then filled the reservoir, that cap they gave me sure does keep stuff from leaking out, and then had my buddy bumped the starter. I got dark brown fluid out. We then decided to just rotate the steering wheel with the engine off and saw what happened.

I went through two quarts and the fluid was still coming out colored. First it was black then it went to a yellow like cream soda. I then switched out bottles and collected another quart and finally it was running out the blue tint of new fuild. So took me 3 quarts to get clear fluid and that with only one pass through the system.

I then filled the the reservoir with my 4th quart of power steering fluid and brought it to the cold line, let the engine idle for a couple of minutes and topped it off again to the cold line. I then went for a 20 mile drive and check, added some more till I was at the hot line.

So no way with a turkey baister would I have ever got rid of the dirty fluid. I thought i'd pass on what i learned.

Items I used for this job:

* New Pressure hose, came with O rings and cap for the return line
* New return line hoses, I puchased the part but bulk hose would of worked just as well. I would of purchased 3 feet and use dthe old one as the pattern
* power steering fluid - 4 quarts
* 3/4" hose clamps - 2 for the return line
* 5/8" flare wrench
* vice grip, wish I had a 18 mm flare wrench but used the work around.
* Empty 2 liter soda bottle - I used 2 of them

Things you may want to pick up at the parts store:
Additional O rings, my pressure hose came with O rings but I had to leave the hard line for the return line in the power steering box since I did not have a replacement ring. It would of been easier to remove the low pressure hard line from the steering box. They used a band one time use clamp and it was a little difficult to get at from above, lucky for me I had use of lift and could get it from the bottom. It would of made installing the new clamp easier also.

HTH

Martin

You could also flush the system with ATF, the hi deturgent content would remove alot of the varnish from inside the system. drain it all out and refill it with power steering fluid

Well, when I did my 89 power steering setup last Summer (compleat system - pump, gear, hoses,) I changed a few things...

Box fittings - M14x1.5 and M16x1.5 oring boss. Got adapters at the local Parker-Hannifin dealer to go to -6 AN.

Pump fittings - left return line fitting as was (for now,) and cut pressure line just before the hose crimp. Drilled -6AN plug to accept 3/8" with a slight stop/step, and brazed in place. Pump drops right behind pump housing.

Hoses - used 2-braid 3Kpsi hose with removable -6AN swivel fittings. Cut to length +2" for vibration (not much, the engine and box are both mounted to the frame...) and installed.

Notes -
Use LocTite 545 (or equivalent) on fitting to steering gear.
Considerably less hose than OEM required.
Cost of making hoses, including fittings - $30. $20 worth of fittings are reusable or semi-permanent, and hose was bought in 6' length. Sufficient for approximately 4 sets of hoses.

There was a requirement for some angle fittings, and I, honestly, don't feel like going outside to look at the setup right now (just came down from the mountains, and trying to get my core temperature back up where I like it...) I would use 45* swivels instead of straights, as this would give more clearance and make it easier to route the hose (and would eliminate some more hose, but only slightly.)

The principal advantage to this setup is the "field repairability" of the hoses, and the simple fact that I find -AN fittings easier to work with - and more common than - the metric oring boss fittings. Also, the -AN fittings are capable of taking more pressure and more abuse. I suppose it would be possible to do this job with the exotic alloy racing fittings, but all the fittings I used are steel, as I am not concerned about the couple ounces or so to be gained from the use of alloy (and I prefer steel and brass to Aluminum anyhow.)

Sometime in the next couple days, I'll have to remeasure and redo the writeup I was working on...

5-90

:repair:I am working with my grandson on his 1992 Cherokee 4.0. The forum is great and we used it recently when changing the P/S hoses. You must remove the air box to get to the hoses. I tried a 18mm open end but could not loosen the nuts. I then tried a croysfoot witha 14" xetension without success. Finally is decided to break offthe tube at the head of the bolts by bending back and forward. I had to break off a remaoning short peice of tubing using a visegrip. I then used a 18mm deep socket on a 1/2" drive with a 12" extension. After about tens wacks with a hammer the nuts finally broke free. Twenty years of rust and dirt is tough to break. Hope this tip helps other guys.