I developed a pretty good oil leak from my power steering system about a month ago. I jacked up the car to take a look yesterday.
I was afraid it was at the pump or a bad hose, but it turned out to be a small crack in the tubing of the power steering cooler on the driver's side of it. (Where the tube meets the first cooling fin).
(Sorry, I didn't get a pic of it before, but I got the camera out after I tore into it).


I couldn't find any new coolers anywhere and wasn't willing to shell-out the bucks for a used one, either. So, that leaves trying to fix what I have.
I took it to a radiator shop and they told me that it couldn't be fixed, because it just burns through.

I got to looking at it and being born "naturally cheap", I thought, If I could get rid of some of the cooling fins in the way, I could just put it back together with some fuel line and a couple of clamps.
Using a cutter bit in a Dremel tool and a small file, I cut the fins out and smoothed the tubing for the hose.


Finished repair.


Pic back on car.


Total cost about $2.00 for parts and $4.00 for ps fluid.

The factory return hose from the ps pump was about 3/4" too long and was pushing down on the tube since it was built. I cut the hose so the screw holes lined up with very little tension.

I know it's not the best answer to the problem, but it'll keep me going for a while. Hope somebody else can use this if they're stuck.
(Sorry for the long post)

 

Hey Johnny, nice fix. I've got many of those "fixes" at 165,000+ miles.

 

No need to feel uneasy about this repair. Personally, I enjoy seeing someone getting their hands dirty and repairing/modifying something, rather than instinctively reaching for the credit card.

Good show!

 

Looks good! I would have done the same thing.

 

Good job McGyver! I'm sure you plugged the cooling tube while you were doing the grinding.