Power Steering Pressure Line Fix

[mahleek87]

Ive always wondered why the connections on the 89 vans to the pump is a little curved outwards while the 86 is a direct curve in. Maybe Tim or someone else can chime in on this? Regardless it still worked out fine. My mechanic pointed it out immediately once he removed the line and showed me that it was different. I told him it will still work out because this is the way it is on the 86 van. He said ok and as he was installing it, it was fine.

But lucky you Wonderwagon, you got a better deal then me!

[timsrv]

Nice hearing from you again Wonderwagon . They are different because Toyota switched to the Banjo fitting for the 88 - 89 models. Why did they switch? Not sure, but I suspect it was due to leak problems with the inverted flare fitting. Is the Banjo better? IMO, yes. The soft copper crush washers make it easier to seal. With steel on steel used with the inverted flare, if there's any imperfections, it's hard tightening enough to make a seal. The reason for the extra bend at the pump end (88 - 89) is because Banjo fittings come in from the side, where-as inverted flare comes in straight-on. As long as you have the pump adapter piece from the year van the hose is for you can use either hose. Tim

[Wonderwagon]

I put the new power steering line in today. It was made for a 2wd, but it still goes on the 4wd, and some zip ties keep it from rattling around. It doesn't leak!

However, the remanufactured power steering pump I put in make a horrible high-pitched scream when over 2500 rpms. Guess they forgot to change a bearing in it or something.
...And my radiator I got recored 5 years ago is dripping from where the rows meet the tank on the lower driver's side and has rust all over. Time to see if Toyota really has restocked 4wd radiators.

So in one month I will have replaced: Battery, alternator, power steering pump twice, pressure line, radiator and hoses.
Oh well, that should keep her going for awhile longer.

I think I'd like to replace the brake hoses and cylinders later this year, as they're still originals in the rear.

[mahleek87]

I feel your pain WW, I had my mechanic do my power steering pump on my 86 van 3 times. First time I bought a re seal kit from ebay. Everything worked except the wheep hole was still leaking. Then we took it out again and welded shut the wheep hole installed it. Still leaking. Then I went on ebay and bought a BBB industries reman one and have had good results with it so far that I bought another one for my 89 van recently. In my 86 my radiator is leaking, curved hose going to it is also leaking. May have a leak coming from the freeze plug so probably no point in re coring the radiator if the plug will have more pressure to it. The list goes on blah blah blah.

[brentlehr]

I'm getting ready to replace the long line from the power steering pump to the rack. Any tips? I decided against taking it to the local hydraulic shop again b/c it didn't work out so well. So I tracked down the part through Toyota. Haven't looked closely but it looks like it could be a PITA so any advice is appreciated.

[highwind]

I'm getting ready to replace the long line from the power steering pump to the rack. Any tips? I decided against taking it to the local hydraulic shop again b/c it didn't work out so well. So I tracked down the part through Toyota. Haven't looked closely but it looks like it could be a PITA so any advice is appreciated.

i just pulled one off a Van at the junkyard it wasnt easy from the steering pump to the rack you need to remove (or loosen, not sure if it can be done just by loosening) the radiator and condenser. Tim might know a better way.

[timsrv]

Tim might know a better way..............

Yeah, go to a hydraulic shop and get the parts to fix your original line. If done correctly this is superior and easier than replacing the entire line. Are you saying this didn't work out for you before? Tim

http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/s...=5237#post5237

[brentlehr]

Tim, I've had trouble with the local shops I've visited. So now I have the new Toyota part. Right now it's all loose but getting the line through past the radiator and frame is the challenging and I can't really figure out what to do next.

So far I have the alternator, PS pump, radiator hose and some of the air intake tubing off. I have a few ideas but I might have to remove the radiator. Will let ya know.

[brentlehr]

Ok, it's confirmed. Replacing this line requires radiator removal. I'm just going to order the hydraulic fittings and save the line for if/when I have cooling issues down the road. Thanks everyone.

[Jlhollowx13]

Has anyone tried or considered just hose clamping the soft line to the hard line? Is there too much pressure or any other down falls to this? Ive got a leaky hose with a slit right near the junction of the hard and soft lines. Im considering going the Tim's fix route bit was wondering if hose clamping it would work. Thought id ask before i take it all apart and into a hydraulic shop.

[originalkwyjibo]

This is a high pressure line and hose clamps won't hold. According to the FSM, the minimum pump outlet pressure is 1067 psi.

[Jlhollowx13]

This is a high pressure line and hose clamps won't hold. According to the FSM, the minimum pump outlet pressure is 1067 psi.

Thanks i figured but wasnt too sure.

[highwind]

Tim do you remember how long that hose was? I'm having my local hydraulic shop do it they said itll be $50-60 but I need a good length size

[timsrv]

I just guessed when I had mine made up, and was so afraid of getting it too short, I went with 22 1/2", but that ended up being a bit long. I was able to stuff it all in there and find a reasonable path, but if I did it again I'd probably take about 6" off as that would be closer to the factory length of the flexible part. Tim

[Jlhollowx13]

I had one made a couple days ago. Still need to put it in but i just guessed on length too, but i had them make it 12 inches of rubber plus the fittings. Hope it fits! Looks like it should...

[timsrv]

Okay, I just went out and unpacked a new 1989 van power steering hose I have on the shelf. I measured the rubber part and it's 13". Allowing for the rigid end parts and for the overlap onto the steel line, I would guess 15" - 16" (total length) would be a good size. There are differences through the years though that mostly affect the pump end of the line. I only mention this as it's possible you would need different lengths depending on year. It would also depend on where you cut the metal part, but if you leave as much there as possible, I would recommend getting a 16" line.......at least for a 1989 van. Tim

PS: Jlhollow, please follow-up to let us know how yours fits. My 22 1/2" one is acceptable, but the next one will be 16"...........unless you get good results with 12". Tim

[Jlhollowx13]

Havent had a chance to do mine yet but i will update when i do with total length of hose and if it works.

[Jlhollowx13]

FINALLY got around to putting the hose in. I had to order different fittings than I had, once those came I put the pump end hard line onto the rubber line. Looked like it would fit and with a bit of bending of the hard line on the pump side it fit nicely. Having a longer hose would probably be easier to route with, and I don't think I'd go any shorter than I went as it was pretty close.

[AD2101]

I just wanted to share my experience with this as it was an incredible pain in my ass and questionable as to whether or not it was worth it at all. Fair warning, I'm about to go off here, feel free to skip to the bottom if you need to, I won't be offended

Anyways, I noticed some time ago that my power steering pressure line had a small but obviously present leak that I had been putting off. In November, my radiator gave up the ghost and while I had the radiator, radiator shroud, and everything else out of the van I figured "why not?" and cut the metal line at the frame, removed the banjo line and headed over to the hydraulic shop by my work.

First mistake, I didn't shop around, but in my defense I didn't really have a chance. Second mistake, I fell victim to the old "you can have it fast, cheap, or good. Pick two" axiom and paid out the nose for a part I would have gladly waited a week or more for if it was done well and affordably. I had printed out all of Tim's pictures and showed the guys at the shop EXACTLY what I wanted; the kid working there looked at the line, looked at the pictures, shrugged his head, and walked into the back of the shop with my line. Confused, I asked the other guy working what the kid was doing, he told me was "probably making the hose." Didn't discuss price or anything, just walked off with my part.

15 minutes and $91 later (seriously), the kid walks back in with the part basically all done up; basically being the operative word here. He says, "it's all done up you just need the 3/8 to 10mm compression fitting and we don't have that here but x, y, and z stores in town should have it." Ok, so it's a bit more than I was hoping to pay, but I'm over a barrel here, he did it in all on my lunch break, and the work he did appears to be high quality. Little did I know that finding said compression fitting was nearly impossible. Nowhere had it locally, tons of places online had it for cheap, but only with BSP threads and that's a British thing that won't thread up with what I got. The end of the line he made was NPS female instead of NPT and I'm fairly positive a correct compression fitting in NPS thread type does not exist anywhere in the world. NPT fittings will thread in together with NPS, but I've read they won't seal properly and won't hold a seal under pressure.

Defeated and in way too deep at this point, I bite the bullet and get the $25 NPT compression fitting from Israel, go back to the hydraulic shop to ask if my NPT compression fitting will hold pressure and play nice with the NPS line they made. He assured me it would while at the same time not knowing what the difference is between the two or why he made it the way he did instead of using NPT in the first place. I installed everything this past weekend and while it *seems* to be working just fine and sealing properly, I am so bummed with the whole experience. Admittedly, some of this was my fault but still this seems like a job someone in any country that works in metric could do in their sleep with 0 chance of messing up.

If I had to do it over again, I would seriously order some bulk 10mm hydraulic hose and all the 10mm BSP fittings from somewhere in Europe or Japan and have them crimped here. Again, not sure if that's even possible but it'd be a lot cheaper than what I did here and would have been able to work for other members here who are or will be in a similar situation in the future.

TLDR; If you are serious about doing this, shop around, ask if they have all of the parts on hand, and read up on the different thread types commonly used in this business (NPT, NPS, and BSP). My ride cost me about $120 all in, which isn't great but isn't the ripoff of the century either, as long as it works.

[daverave64]

Hello All
I replaced the pressure hose tonight on my 1987 as an assembly, it was a 3 hour job...hardest part was getting the new line in place. I loosened the lower radiator mounting bolts to get a bit of clearance and was able to get just enough room for one of my friends to snake it in as I guided it from in front of the radiator. I was able to use a drive on lift (very lucky) otherwise I think the radiator might have to be removed, it is a very tight fit between the frame and radiator side tank...just thought I would add to this thread, great information.
Also, the new line I purchased did not have the 3 mounting tabs, which actually allowed a little bit more room to get in it, I made some replacement tabs from cushion clamps.