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Another power steering question

Joined
Apr 4, 2003
Messages
174
Location
So Cal
Corvette
1996 LT4 Collector Edition
Folks,

I know this has been posted to death, but please bear with me.

I have a power steering leak right where the high pressure line goes into the top of the pump. The fluid is actually coming up between the steel pipe and the threaded fitting that holds the pipe to the pump. I removed the pump and the pressure hose from the car, and other than a crappy little O ring, I can’t see why this thing wouldn’t leak all the time! The pipe itself isn’t tweaked or split, and looks perfectly fine, but the O ring is very small and kinda squashed looking. Is that little O ring what makes the seal?

I did a search, and found several threads that talk about the pressure hose leaking at the pump, but the only fix seems to have been replacing the entire hose (about $100). Since the pipe looks OK, it seems to me that I should be able to replace the O ring and be good to go. Before I bolt it all back together, I wanted to find out if anyone has done this and been successful. To those of you that have replaced the hose to fix this problem, was there something you noticed on the hose itself that prompted you to replace it?

Thanks for your feedback (and putting up with yet another power steering post!).

Barry
 
Hi Ken, yeah I tried that this weekend, still leaks. I have two things yet to try before I give in and buy a hose. First, I want to try a slightly larger O ring- same ID, but larger OD. The other thing is, I can't get 55 lb/ft of torque on that fitting like the book suggests, because I can't get the pulley off. I'm searching for a puller, and once that's off, I'll try to get the fitting tighter.

The upside is, with all that stuff off the front of the engine, I finally was able to get the plug wires changed out! :)

Downside is, no Vette for going on two weeks now. :cry

Still lookin' to hear from someone that has done all this. Maybe save me a step or two...
Barry
 
Update: The Vette is still down!

OK, normally it shouldn't take this long to fix a power steering leak, but since I plan to keep this car a while, and continue taking it to the track, I wanted to spend some time to find the root cause of the problem.

Turns out my statement about the hose being OK was incorrect. After I bolted it all back together (again!) with the larger O ring, it still leaked! With a magnifying lense, I finally found a hairline crack in the metal part of the hose, right above the flange where it fits into the pump. :mad New hose from Ecklers should be here today, and I should have the car back together in a day or two.

So the next question is, has anybody tried anything other than a stock replacement hose to keep this from being a recurring problem? I have read in other threads that some folks routinely replace the hose before it becomes a problem, but it just seems that there should be a better solution. Custom braded-stainless hose? Just looking for some ideas.

Thanks!
 
Is it just me or is it that C4's seem have to have problem with power steering fluid leaks?

How hard is it to replace the hose?

I find it discouraging that a car as recent as a '96 would have a leak. My '88 has a PS leak right where you described that it's 8 years older. I'm looking into getting an LT4 when I finally sell my '88.:D
 
Edmund, it seems that for cars that aren't flogged on a race track or autocross, the power steering will probably last many years. For me, this is the second high-pressure hose in as many years, and others have experienced the same.

Now I hear from Ecklers that "Oh, that part is back ordered, we can't get it to you until next week". Aarrgghhh! Autozone seems to have the part, and they can get it to me tomorrow, so if that works, then I'm canceling the Eckler's order, and never going back there again!

As a further update, the Doug Rippie Motorsports site (www.dougrippie.com) has a kit that includes the braided-stainless hose, and the correct ends to use to build a custom hose. The downside is you have to build the hose yourself, but the upside just might be a bullet-proof power steering hose! Anybody tried this?

Barry
 
Barry,

Do you track your car?

Every time I go to Auto Zone for something, it's a long wait! One time, I was searching for an exhaust pipe for a Buick and they told me 10-14 days!:L
 
Edmund,

I do track my car, six or eight weekends out of the year, plus it's my daily driver.

Autozone figured out a way to get a few more bucks out of you- If you say you need it sooner, they can "expedite" shipping for a few extra dollars! Sometimes I'm willing to pay it, other times not.

Barry
 
Barry,

How close to stock is your LT4?

How much power are you putting to the rear wheels?
 
Can a high pressure hose shop redo the piece? You might get better quality at a lower cost. I know a good one in Costa Mesa.
 
Other than a K&N filter, the engine is totally stock. I never had a chance to dyno it, so I don't really know what it's putting down at the wheels. This is my first Corvette, so I don't even have anything to compare it to, although I did have a change to drive a supercharged Cobra at Willow Springs, and I don't think it pulled as hard as my car! :)
As for re-doing the hose, if it was the rubber part that split, I would be all over that. Unfortunately, it's the metal part that cracked, and it seems like that would be a tough thing to duplicate. Might be worth looking into though.

Thanks,
Barry
 
I know there are more of us C4 owners here who have had the power steering fluid leak.

Mine did leak but it would stop leaking. Or it would be a slow leak and then stop leaking again.
 

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