I have a 2001 Z with then power steering cooler. I changed the power steering fluid about a month ago shortly before storage for the winter. About a month ago I noticed a small puddle under the car. The puddle psf and it looks to be coming from the small section of rubber hose connecting two lengths of hard pipe leading to the power steering cooler. The clamps are the cinch style which are one and done. Looks like the best course of action is to get the dremel down there and release the cinch clamps and then replace the section of rubber hose and use some new gold seal clamps. Does anyone know what the ID of the rubber hose is and is there anything to know about replacing this small section? Thanks.

 

It's not sold separately. You have to buy the whole unit. Here's the part number. (It's not sold black anymore. Only silver.) I had leaks from both lines so I bought the whole thing. Still waiting to have it installed. if you don't want to replace the whole thing I would just cut the small hose off and take it to autozone to duplicate.

 

Thanks. Yes that short section on mine is the leaker I believe. Looks to not be to hard to get at if I pull the belt.

 

doesnt look like the clamps are reusable. Make sure your problem is the hose before the clamp.

 

Yeah they are cinch clamps like you can use for pex fittings. You tighten them down and that’s it, can’t release them without cutting. I wiped all around the area and let it sit for a few daps. The hard line at the bottom was dry over to the fitting and the rubber was wet and it was wet down to the hard pipe and then dripped off the bottom. Not sure if the rubber has got old and brittle from 20 years of life or if the clamps have loosened. Strange that it begin after bleeding the old fluid out and replacing with new.

 

I replaced the upper (longer) hose on my '00 FRC during an engine swap as it was weeping. I used normal power steering return line, 3/8" (I think), and installed with new cinch clamps. No leaks, works fine. Unless your PS cooler is leaking from the heat exchanger there's no reason to buy the whole unit!

 

Any idea what was leaking on the hose? Was it
coming around the clamp or?

 

I think the hose was old and the material and hardened/dry rotted, so the fluid was weeping out at the point where the clamp was crimped. I had clamps left over from another project and a 12" length of hose from the auto parts store was less than $10

 

I just took another look. It maybe the top hose that you replaced. How did you get the bend in the hose without kinking when it leaves the tank?

 

I believe I ran a longer length of hose, and looped it so that it wouldn't kink.

 

Sounds good. What did you use for clamps? Worm drive or something else?

 

You could use worm drive, but you risk the teeth of the band biting into the hose and deforming it over time, causing a leak.

I would recommend the Oetiker style that you clamp. Buy an assortment on Amazon and have spares for your next project.

 

Thanks. They look just like pex cinch clamps which I have the tool for. I wonder if 1/2 inch pex clamps are the sAme size.

 

The hoses seem to deteriorate and simply leak through the hose. My pressure hose was leaking and I had one off a parts car so I swapped it on and it leaked even worse. The first one was seeping and it took 1000's of miles before the system needed fluid added so not a big leak. That hose pretty much needs the whole hose assembly to get the crimped ends that will hold-up to the pressure. It's fairly cheap so not worth attempting a cheaper repair. I'd actually recommend you replace it with the system open to avoid having it possibly causing issues in the near future.

On the return hoses, just do as already suggested and get hose from the parts store and clamp it on using whatever clamps work for you. So, keep going as you are planning and save the money that whole cooler assembly costs.

Flush the system. Lift the front wheels off the ground and re-route the return line to a container. Then, fill the reservoir full with fluid and start it while cranking the wheels full lock to lock. Dump some more fluid through it with the running, either while cranking the wheel or right after. An assistant would be a big help while doing this. That will get a fair bit of the old fluid out of the system.

 

My car was leaking from this short hose when I bought it. I could actually wiggle the hose around on the tube. Replacing the cooler for this problem is ridiculous, and there's no need to remove the belt or flush the system. . Don't overthink this; get a short piece of hose rated for fuel (looks to be 5/16") and two clamps (any parts store, not Home Depot). The Oetiker clamps mentioned above are not necessary if you don't overtighten regular clamps so they dig into the hose to the point where rubber is pushing through the slots in the clamp. Cut the old clamps off and slit the hose lengthwise to ease removal over the barbs and take it off. Install the new hose, refill the resevoir and drive the car for a bit and retighten the clamps another 1/4 turn or so. There is no pressure on this line so you don't have to kill the clamps. 15 minutes is enough for this job.

 

Thanks everyone. I picked up the supplies today at the local Napa. I’ll let you know how it goes!

 

I completed the small project yesterday. I started with the top longer hose that connects to the reservoir. I removed the hose and quickly capped the outlet with a 3/8 vacuum line plug. I then cut the crimped section of the clamps on the lower connection with my dremel and a cut off wheel. After slicing through the crimp I was able to just peel off the clamps. I held the hard line and pulled the rubber line off relatively easily. I then put the new section of 3/8 line on the lower connection and Tightened the clamp. I then ran the hose a little longer than the original so that I could make a sweeping turn without kinking it. I pulled the plug and replaced it with the new hose. I had to use one of the new clamps up top because the oem spring clamp was for the larger OD oem line. After I got under the car and was able to snip off
the lower clamps in the same fashion. I cut the rubber line in half to aid in removal. I cut a new section of hose to match the old length. I pushed this up onto the upper line first, then I was able to get enough flex down to get the rubber onto the lower line. I tightened up the clamps and brought the reservoir back up to
the cold full line. I started the car and turned the wheel back and forth for a while and let
the car warm up. I rechecked the lines and had no leaks. Came back the next day to a small quarter sized puddle on the floor. I found that it looked like each of my clamps were allowing some weeping. I tightened the clamps up much tighter and ran the car again. Left the car overnight again and all is well. I was afriad
to go to tight on the clamps for the first go round. Thanks for everyone help.

 

Good to hear the problem is solved, and you saved some money on it too.

 

Yes, about $8 in parts!