Power Steering Steel Return Line has a small hole in it. *help*

[Mirad]

I would have posted this in handling, but I'm still a new member and restricted to this forum :S

My car was slowly leaking power steering fluid and I was able to locate the leak. It turns out the Power Steering Steel Return Line? had a small hole in it due to rust damage. I wiped the area down were the hole was at and a really small piece of the return line came off which made the leak even worse.
___
1. The small hole is located at the near the top of the curved section ___)

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

2. What can I use to temporary patch the hole till I get the part in? Would JB weld work?

3. From this picture, the part is 48862. Can I still buy this part? How much? From where? Who sells it? What is the part number? I'm not sure if that is the right one.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

4. If I can no longer purchase this part, what are my alternatives to fix it?

If patching doesn't work, I figured that I'll cut the steel return line, hook up about 6 inches long of rubber tubing to both ends, and tighten both ends with a steel gas clamp. If that doesn't work, then buying one is the only option.

Any suggestions and information is greatly appreciated.

I found this site quite useful for 2g Eclipse/Talon diagrams.

2g Power Steering Lines

 

[mike96]

You could cut it and put a piece of rubber line on it for now or you can bypass it for the time being. I ran mine for almost a year without it before my car went de-commission status. All you need to do is pull the rubber line from the bottom of the reservoir and run the other line from the PS rack back into the reservoir. If you don’t want to get an expensive cooler for it you might be able to get some larger fuel hard line from Napa or another auto parts store and bend your own.

 

[DSM nOOb]

You can cut out the broken section and patch it with some sort of high pressure hose. What mike said will work As well

As far as replacement parts look up jnztuning.

 

[95TalonOwner]

Just take the whole thing out and loop the line with a rubber section. Also that diagram you have is for a turbo model so that would not be the right one for you.

 

[JusMX141]

Eliminate the cooler line altogether and loop it at the bottom of the reservoir using a piece of rubber hose and two clamps. Problem solved.

I've done this two a few cars now including my girlfriend's 1G non-turbo daily driver and none of the vehicles have shown an ill effects.

 

[jahjahSQC]

Eliminate the cooler line altogether and loop it at the bottom of the reservoir using a piece of rubber hose and two clamps. Problem solved.

I've done this two a few cars now including my girlfriend's 1G non-turbo daily driver and none of the vehicles have shown an ill effects.

That loop up front is to cool the hydraulic fluid after its heated by the pump and rack. The fluid is made to take some abuse but you will burn the fluid in a much shorter period of time. Meaning you'll need to drain the fluid more often than if you had that section in there. And if you run with burned fluid you can ruin things and/or have poor steering.

That being said... I've seen many people do it with zero short term consequences.

 

[miguelmcv]

Just cut that peace, and put a regular hose and clamp it, It does not need to be a High Pressure Hose,
there is no High Pressure oil at that area, that is the return line which it has no Pressure, Pressure oil present only from the Power Steering Pump to the Rack,. Cut the line and put a peace of hose 3" Long and clamp both sides, that way you kill the leak and will still have the oil cooling system, it might take you only 15 20 minutes..

 

[JusMX141]

Just cut that peace, and put a regular hose and clamp it, It does not need to be a High Pressure Hose

....but it does need to be hose intended for use with Transmission fluid and Power Steering fluid. Regular fuel line will fail in a very short period of time.

 

[miguelmcv]

....but it does need to be hose intended for use with Transmission fluid and Power Steering fluid. Regular fuel line will fail in a very short period of time.

Yes, You are right, But not all oil hoses are made for High Pressure,
That's why I was saying to use any hose, (OIL HOSE)
Sorry about not specify hose type.

 

[Mirad]

Thanks for the suggestions and corrections. The consensus seems to be here is to hack off the tubing, stick a hose, and clamp it down on both ends which is what I did.

Time: Less than an hour.

Supplies:
Transmission Oil Cooler Hose 3/8" = $17.98 :S (They don't sell it by the foot here.)
Two clamps = The store gave them to me for free.
12oz Power Steering fluid = $2.99 (I needed the 32 oz...)
Hack saw blade or dremel
Screwdriver
Sharp knife (To cut the hose.)
A file (To smooth down the sharp edges.)
Rag (So it soaks up the leaking fluid.)
Q-Tips

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

Cut the tubing off with the hack saw blade. I wish I had a dremel.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

Next, use a file to smooth down the rough edges on the tubing. I cleaned the inside of the tubing with Q-Tips and wiped the outside with the rag. You don't want any metal bits in the power steering return line.

I cut about 6" of the hose and hooked it up like so:

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

I added fluid, checked for any leaks in the tubing I just added, and finally, I cycled the power steering fluid by slowly backing up the car while turning the wheel completely to the left and then to the right. I also drove forward doing the same thing till my steering was cherry once more. Now I can move on to the next thing on my list!

Couldn't I just do as two people said? Hook up the hose from 48827C to 48827D? Therefore, eliminating the ps return line altogether?

I didn't quite get what jahjahSOC mentioned:

That loop up front is to cool the hydraulic fluid after its heated by the pump and rack. The fluid is made to take some abuse but you will burn the fluid in a much shorter period of time. Meaning you'll need to drain the fluid more often than if you had that section in there. And if you run with burned fluid you can ruin things and/or have poor steering.

That being said... I've seen many people do it with zero short term consequences.

The loop is used to cool the fluid? The worker at Napa raised an eyebrow when I said that to him. Any thoughts about this?

 

[turbo tim1]

I would have used a plumbers pipe cutter. It would be a lot easier to cut with than a hack saw blade, cleaner too.

Nice job looks like it will work fine.

 

[cookmeup272]

If you look at the diagram, you can see that all that line does is take the fluid from the rack, route it to the front of the car (to cool it) then put it back in the reservoir. So yea you can just delete that whole system entirely.

 

[JusMX141]

The loop is used to cool the fluid? The worker at Napa raised an eyebrow when I said that to him. Any thoughts about this?

Absolutely.

Apparently that parts counter worker had never sold a power steering return line for a Ford truck with a tow package:

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

Why else would this line have such a drastic loop to it when all it really has to do is go 8" from the steering gear to the reservoir on the left-hand side of the picture?


That's bullshit that they don't sell the hose you need by the foot...at my parts store it's $2.99/ft, and I'll sell you three inches for 75 cents if that's all you need. I guess that's the difference between our store and the chain stores where everything is prepackaged like WalMart so the 'tards behind the counter just have to scan it and put it into the bag instead of use a ruler and a hose cutter.

 

[jahjahSQC]

The loop is used to cool the fluid? The worker at Napa raised an eyebrow when I said that to him. Any thoughts about this?

Heres a thought, The guy who works the counter at Napa doesn't really know anything about cars. He knows just enough to sell wipers and air filters.

 

[Mirad]

I don't have a plumbers pipe cutter and I didn't think of it till you mentioned it turbo tim1. I cracked open the tool box and made use with what I have.

A day will come when I will remove that part completely, cookmeup272. Probably after I'm done with everything else on my list.

They have the cooling hose which was sold by the foot. About $1.50/ft. But when I mentioned power steering fluid. They recommended the one I got. Thanks for the offer jusmx141. I'm good though. I'll be using the rest to start changing more hoses over the next few days.

jahjahSOC. Lets just say he wasn't equipped with the knowledge that you shared. I had an idea that the reason why the line was put there was to cool it. Otherwise, they would have just curved the line with a hose.

Thanks again folks!

Next on my to do list: Suspension. The torch and I are going to have a field day.