93 3.4L power steering hose replacement

[65comet]

One of the power steering lines has a leak in it. Empties the pump of fluid in no time. Can't see the leak to tell exactly which one of the lines it is. Has anyone replaced one before that can give some pointers? With the 3.4L motor, there isn't any room. The info from Mitchell's wasn't very helpful. They had a procedure to remove the entire power steering rack. It basically says that you raise the car, unbolt the rear of the front frame section while supporting it with a jack and lower the frame section 4 inches to give you room to work on it. I'm wanting to know if there is something extra I should do, or something I should make sure I don't do that could really mess things up.

[93dropcutty]

testing

[93dropcutty]

OK, now that I see it works. The prob is rarely in the rack unless you see an obvoious leak in the boots in the rack. If not, check the ps fluid container for leaks. If there is none, Check the low pressure hose, running from the ps pump and ensure there is no leak from the top to bottom. Do the same for the high pressure hose. If still no leak still, take off the passenger wheel. There will be a pair of metal lines that may have been pinched due to the axle grinding it when the car bottoms (I know, the engineers were d*@#s). This is actually one loop of the same low pressure hose but looks like 2. Use degreaser to clean the wheel well where the lines run. I suspect your leak will be here. You can either then replace the entire metal hose with an OEM one or reroute over the axle with 3/8 hose. Hope this helps!

[93dropcutty]

testing

[65comet]

Thanks for your reply, I knew I had a leak in a line, not a problem with the rack. I was just saying that the only information I could find, close to what I needed, was on how to remove the rack and nothing about replacing a line. The leak is, I'm sure, from the high pressure line in the braided line area a few inches up from the horizontal run to the rack between the engine and the firewall, but until I get the time to take it all apart I can't be 100% certain it isn't the low pressure line in that area. I had already unbolted the sway bar to get at the bolts holding the heat shield in place and removed it to see where the lines attach to the rack. But I couldn't exactly see where the leak was. Not enough room to get my hands and a wrench in there to loosen those lines without doing the frame lowering they mention in the rack replacement instructions. I think once a car is built, the engineers should be given the tools the average weekender has and be forced to remove and reinstall each part on the car that may break or wear out. Maybe they would learn something!

[themindbender]

Hey, how did that work out? I have a leak in the braided line as well. I have no idea how to get it off. There is a band around the braided hose and I can push it up a little, but I have no idea how the metal line feeds into the rubber and of course, out the other end. I can fill it up, start the car, turn the wheels about three maybe four times and it looks like a horse is doing it's business under the car. Any info would be great. Down to one car for 2 people to get to work. Thanks

[jaguar5229]

I have the same problem. My car has a horrible PS fluid leak. I was told to replace the rack. First, where did you find the directions to remove it and second, did that work?

[themindbender]

I will let you know tomarrow. I will be replacing the line instead of watching football. What is this world coming to? Well, my team plays on monday anyhow, the early monday night game. Go Giants.

[93dropcutty]

I have since gone back and cut the remaining piece of metal power steering line that ran under the passenger axle and ran it on top. I replaced the same length with 3/8 hose and clamped it good. I haven't have a problem since.

[themindbender]

ok, so after buying the "line wrench" I was told to get to make the job so much easier, I resorted to a regular 16mm for the top. The bottom on the other hand was a little harder. I went to autozone and checker and neither had a 18mm stubby which is what you need because there is no room for a regular size wrench down there. I took off the heat shield with a 10mm wrench and used a grinder on an existing 18mm I had and made my own stubby. Now, with much pain due to the throttle body, I eventually got the bottom off. Now, I can't get the new one to thread on correct. Should I get the top on first? I have worked for at least 2 hours a day just to get the bottom 18mm to start it's threads and to no avail. I think it is just laughing at me. Any ideas? Sorry it took so long, but life happened over the last few days.

[65comet]

My son blew the tranny in his car, so I pulled the Cutlass out of winter storage and fixed the power steering line. Jacked the car up as high as my tallest jack stands, that I placed in the front jack cradles. I used two bottle jacks that I positioned under the plates where the swaybar is attached to the frame, and left them there. Loosened the lugnuts on the front wheels before jacking it up, then once in the air, removed the front tires. I loosened the two bolts attaching the front of the motor/tranny frame about two full turns. I then took out the two rear bolts and slowly lowered the rear of the frame about an inch. Going through the drivers side wheel well, I pulled up the boot covering the steering column universal connector to the power steering rack. I took out the bolt right at the rack then slid the universal up off the shaft. If you don’t do this, the universal has an intermediary sliding shaft up between the universal joints and it could come apart when you are putting everything back together. I lowered the frame slowly as far as it would go. The book says it will come down four inches, but mine stopped at two and three quarters as the motor touched the firewall. I took off the heat shield over the rack. On the passenger side of the motor right at the frame there is a bracket holding the lines in place. The 10mm nut will have to come off. I used a quarter inch drive ratchet. Can be time consuming. Next I suggest getting one of those hacksaw handles that just clamp onto one end of the blade and cut the line at the fitting connecting it to the rack. It is a 18mm fitting nut and I tried fitting wrenches, stubby wrenches to no avail. They were certain to round over that nut. After cutting the line I got a six point socket on it and it came pretty easily. A plastic clamp holding the line to the rack came off as well as another small one up top at the pump. Unbolted the line at the pump. Pull the old line out through the top, watch where it is coming from. I put my new line down too far passed another line and had to pull it back out again to reinsert it correctly. Now connect the line back at the rack, don’t forget the o-rings on the new line. It took a little wiggling to get it in the correct position for the threads to meet up. I moved it further back and down at the top than what it looks like it needs to and then it started to thread. That was also a big time consumer. The top fitting, not forgetting it’s o-ring also, was attached loosely. The bracket for the lines was put back on at the top then slid down to its point at the frame. Then from underneath the nut was put back on. The line had to be pushed over into position to get the bracket back in place. The top fitting was tightened and the plastic clamps put back on. The heat shield was reinstalled. The frame was jacked back up to within an inch of being all the way up and the steering universal was reinstalled. Completed jacking up the frame and tightened up all the frame bolts. Filled the power steering reservior and started the engine. Turned the wheel back and forth a couple of times, turned off the engine and rechecked the fluid. Checked for leaks with it running again and someone else turning the wheel. Put the tires back on and put it back on the ground. Tested again with the resistance of the weight of the car against the pump. Went for a test drive. The alignment of the steering wheel had shifted because the nuts inside the frame that the frame bolts connect to have some movement to them. Jacked the car back up, loosened those bolts and shifted the frame with a prybar to a point that I thought would line it back up again. Testing showed I went a little too far, so had to repeat it again. Been on the road for a couple of days now.