Trooper Power Steering Leak

[PeteCal]

My Trooper just developed a leak in the power steering line. A picture is
at:

http://home.adelphia.net/~pjcalinski/PWRStrLeak.jpg


One drop of pink fluid can be seen hanging from the tubing about two inches
to the left of the bracket holding the tubing.

I believe I can patch it by sliding some rubber hose over the area where the
leak is.

Note, I already did this with the transmission fluid lines to the radiator
after they rusted out.

Before I proceed, I have some questions.

1) Is this the high pressure side? It is difficult to tell by following the
routing of the tubes but I think it is the high pressure side. I don't know
if I can get rubber hose that can take the pressure. According to the shop
manual, the normal operating pressure is around 580 psi.

2) Why did they route the tubing like this? Everything associated with the
power steering system is on the drivers side. That includes the pump,
reservoir, and steering box. For some reason they brought the tubing across
the front of the vehicle, behind and just below the radiator and then made a
"U" turn and took it back. The "U" turn is the black section of tubing in
the right of the picture.

Did they do this for cooling purposes? Did they do it to reduce the
pressure by making the flow cover a longer distance? Frankly I'm stumped.

The answers to these questions might impact how I solve the problem.

Thanks in advance,

PeteCal

[rodeo02]

Yep, that's all I can figure is it's a cooling loop. My 2002 rodeo has a similar thing, I'd splice in a pc of copper tubing or the likes. Gotta love the rust belt . I go thu the same pains.

Joel

[PeteCal]

Originally Posted by rodeo02

Yep, that's all I can figure is it's a cooling loop. My 2002 rodeo has a similar thing, I'd splice in a pc of copper tubing or the likes. Gotta love the rust belt . I go thu the same pains.

Joel

Well, the guy at CarQuest said that it IS a cooling loop and it is in the LOW pressure side so it can be patched with a piece of hose and clamps.

Well, I tried and it didn't work. I believe it is the low pressure side but when you turn the wheel all the way to the stops there is a valve that bypasses the steering gear and routes the fluid right through.

Anyway, when the wheel got to the stop, the hose blew off and sprayed the fluid all over. I guess a clamp over a hose over a tube isn't very strong when the joint is placed under tension. The joint is primarly to keep oil from ozing by.

I may have to do something like you said with copper tubing. I wonder if copper can hold the pressure. Like 580 PSI.

Maybe I can get some type of screw on fitting to put in the splice. I don't look forward to trying to solder steel to copper lying upside down, with all the cables and other stuff just dying to catch fire.

I considered getting the full replacemet tube set but I don't know how I would ever get it changed. It looks like I would have to pull the steering box and a whole lot more.

Any other thoughts?

Thanks
Petecal

[PeteCal]

Well, I guess it is time for a little update on this problem just in case someone else has to face it. The bottom line first, I found that the "cooler" is a replaceable part. I have one on order for $58 + $15 for overnight delivery. I didn't know that there was such a replaceable part because the shop manual doesn't show it in the diagram. Also, I searched a bunch of the Isuzu parts websites and none list the cooler or anything similar.

Things I found out in the process.

1) The cooler is on the high pressure side contrary to what the parts guys say. I wasn't sure of this until much later when I pulled off a lot of parts and traced the lines.

2) Rubber hose replacements slide off the ends of the tube as described initially.

3) I tried Swagelok fittings. Years ago I used the stainless steel versions on a high pressure system, like 2500 psi, and they worked fine. I was not able to get the stainless version so I tried the brass version. I gather they were too soft because I couldn't tighten them enough to stop them from leaking.

4) You can keep the rubber hose from sliding off the end by soldering a "ring" of number 18 wire around the tube, near the end. This will act like the "rib" normally used on tubing where hose is attached. When you do this, the hose no longer slides off as described on #2 but the hose blows out because of the high pressure.

5) I could use 1/4" copper unions to splice the tubes together but then another rust hole developed an inch or so away from where I made the splice.

6) To remove the old cooler, remove the big tube from the air filter to the intake, remove the plastic shroud around the radiator, disconnect the three electrical connectors behind the air cleaner, remove the fan, and remove the pulley from the PS pump. There may be a few other little things to get out of the way. Then, if the cooler is still in one piece, I would break it somewhere because that will make the next step easier. There is a single bolt on a clamp holding the ends of the cooler to the frame. Remove the bolt and, since the cooler is in two parts, swing the end that is attached to the high pressure rubber PS hose up to where you can get to it and unscrew the cooler end from the PS hose. The other end of the cooler is a ridged tube screwed into the steering box. I had to heat that end with a torch to get it loose. All this may sound complicated but everything in this step 6 took less than 1.5 hours total.

Now I will see how the new one installs.

After I ordered the new cooler, I got to thinking that $58+$15 is a lot for a few feet of bent tubing with some standard fittings on the ends. Another alternative might be to cut back all the bad parts of the cooler to unrusted metal. (A lot of the cooler is covered in plastic. Only a part is exposed to rust.) Then get a length of 3/8 steel tubing and bend it in a loop and weld it or use the copper unions to join it to the good ends. The loop doesn't have to have the sharp bends that the original does, there is a lot of space to make more gradual bends. Just thinking out loud of course.

PeteCal

[rodeo02]

Good info Pete! Did you order the cooler from stcharlesauto.com by chance? You wont find a better price for OEM parts. The local isuzu dealer parts depts (Towne and Northtown) are sometimes twice as much.

Joel

[PeteCal]

Originally Posted by rodeo02

Good info Pete! Did you order the cooler from stcharlesauto.com by chance? You wont find a better price for OEM parts. The local isuzu dealer parts depts (Towne and Northtown) are sometimes twice as much.

Joel

I ordered it form Towne. I didn't know Northtown still handled Isuzu. I thought I got a letter from them saying they wouldn't handle Isuzu anymore.

I didn't know about stcharlesauto.com. I thought I could just tool over to Towne and get the part. Then I thought I could get it drop shipped to my home but no deal I have to drive over there. Odd don't you think, $15 shipping and they can't send it to me?

[rodeo02]

I didn't realize northtown doesn't do isuzu's anymore. We are down to one now in the Buffalo area! I'm out in the southtowns & our 2002 came new from Towne. They are decent to deal with & their service dept is good, their parts tend to be expensive. If you ever need parts, St. Charles is the place to mail-order + they offer free shipping.

Joel