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Replacing Power Steering Hoses

BobMurphy

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2010
Messages
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scotland
Ah, the joys of running a 14-year-old 'Amazon', this thing will be the death of me :icon-rolleyes:.

I (we) had a narrow escape the other day. I took No. 1 daughter and a friend of hers to a horse competition. That was three adults, a load of 'tack', a large horse trailer and two large horses on the road.

We covered just over 100 miles with everything running fine. After I got home I noticed a puddle forming under the front of the car . . . :shock: . . Here we go again.


There was ATF dripping from the output hose union on top of the Power Steering Pump. Naturally I couldn't see this until I had removed the thick protective covers from the Diesel Injector Pump.

The union is branched, with the high-pressure line going to the steering rack and with a pressure switch sticking out the side. The fluid seemed to be coming from the switch - which looked a bit 'cruddy'.

Its a simple arrangement on paper:


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I undid the Banjo bolt (22mm socket) and had a look. The union was quite corroded but I thought a new Banjo bolt and sealing washers plus a new switch would sort it. An e-mail to Simon Holton set the wheels in motion.

The new bits arrived, were fitted and . . . It still leaked. It wasn't the switch it was the union on the end of the hose that was corroded :doh:.

Another e-mail to Simon procured a replacement hose set plus more sealing washers. The set includes both the feed and return pipes, a pressure switch and all the brackets. The price (are you sitting down ???) £463 after Simon's Club Discount :scared-eek: .

Now to replace the pipes:


After removing the sump guard the hoses can be seen running along the front of the Steering Rack.


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They rise on the N/s to the Power Steering Pump. The high Pressure pipe goes to the top of the Pump, the return goes to the side of the ATF Reservoir. It is bolted to the chassis on its way.


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The upper (12mm) bolt holds the bracket to the chassis, the lower (10mm) one simply clamps the bracket around the hose. There is a hole in the chassis for the pointy-end but that isn't connected and doesn't need to be undone.


The mounting bolt has an 8mm thread with one of Toyota's famous 'small' 12mm collapsing heads. Getting that out is going to be a challenge.



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I wire-brushed the heads and applied penetrating oil. When that didn't work I sawed through the bracket in order to release the hose and get it out of the way and then used a 2Kw Hot Air Gun to heat the bolts and chassis. Eventually I got the 10mm one loose and clear of the hole in the chassis.


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I then tapped the bracket in an anti-clockwise direction and it turned - along with the mounting bolt - job done

The Toyota bolt was replaced with a standard 8mm stainless Set Screw, with lots of 'Optimol TA' anti-sieze paste.


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Next the ATF Reservoir was removed from the Inlet Manifold - three 8mm Sets (with 12mm heads).


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This allowed me to reach the Banjo Union on the high-pressure hose - a 22mm socket on a long extension bar. Access is a bit restricted but not too bad if you take it carefully.


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The Return Pipe was removed from the ATF Reservoir. The hose was so hard I had to slice it vertically with a Stanley Knife to get it off. I was careful not to score the metal pipe on the Reservoir .


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There is another bracket on the hoses. This bolts to the top of the Steering Rack just under the sump. Being nice and oily it came undone relatively easily.


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So now the attention focusses on the hose connections at the steering rack end. This has to be in the least-accessible part of the whole truck. To get near it from above I had to remove the airbox.


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From underneath, it is just possible to get a socket or spanner on the unions but there is only about 10 degrees of movement possible.

The Return Pipe passes through a hollow bolt and has a flared end. There was no way I was getting that undone with a spanner so I sawed the pipe off the top and then used a 17mm deep 6-point socket on it with a Power Bar. Success.

The High-Pressure Banjo Union also has a 17mm hex head. It came away quite easily with an 18 inch bar.

And that was the old hoses removed


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The High-Pressure hose Banjos. The threads are the same but the lower-end has a 17mm head whereas the upper one has a 22mm head.


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With all the corroded old stuff removed, it was time to bring in the new. If you can see £463-worth here please tell me where :?.


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Fitting the new stuff is straightforward, if a little fiddly when trying to reach the Steering rack from below.


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The upper end is a bit easier. One has to be careful to get the sealing washers positioned correctly above and below the union as once your hand is down there you can't see what's going on. Wipe everything scrupulously clean before fitting as well.


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The new, soft rubber hose slips onto the Reservoir pipe easily as well.


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And the brackets are bolted to the chassis / Steering Rack as well.


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The next job is to re-fill the Reservoir with ATF and bleed the system. To do this jack up the front wheels under the lower wishbones and, without the engine running, turn the steering full lock left to right repeatedly.

Every so often check the fluid level and top up.

Eventually it will stop dropping and you can try it with the engine running and give it a careful test drive.

It takes a while to get all the air out.

Note: Just starting it up and driving around a yard in figures of eight doesn't work - DAMHIK :icon-rolleyes:.



So now for the Autopsy . . . Why was the pipe union leaking near the Pressure Switch ???

See the hole ???


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The extension piece that has the Pressure Switch in it should have parallel sides. It has been quietly rusting away underneath the Injector Pump and has rusted through just inboard of the Pressure Switches sealing ring. Even the original Banjo Bolt had a deep rust pit on top.


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I had been doing 60 MPH down a motorway with a 2.5 ton trailer on behind. If I had run out of Power Steering Fluid I'd have been in deep 'Doo-Doo'. If you want to see why, try rolling your 100-Series down a gently slope without the engine running and see if you can steer it (or stop it, come to that).

With these 3-ton trucks we are wholly dependant on the power assistance we get from the gadgetry. It can all go pear-shaped very quickly and I was lucky this time.

So - If you have a 100-Series that has spent its life North of Watford where there is road salt in the winter I seriously suggest you check this pipe union it could be a disaster waiting to happen.

I hope this helps

Bob.
 
I'm with you there Bob, I was with all the family traveling in my 80 on the national road, dual carriageway but no central reserve, when I approached the only tight curve on the 110km journey.

Only doing 100 kph, but when I came to take the right hand curve (and we drive on the right here) I had no power steering. :icon-surprised:

I heaved on the wheel and luckily got some steer out of it. I made the curve, but I was on the wrong side of the road!

Believe it or not, I drove the truck for another week before I could get the leaking flexi hose repaired. It's a beast to get any steering without power assistance, it's a fact. A guy made one up for me, but I'm not surprised at the Mr T price.

At at least you have it sorted now, and a good and informative post Bob :thumbup:
 
Disaster averted. Nice clear write up as ever Bob. The price for what you got made my eyes water, as I'm sure it did yours. I bought a perfectly serviceable year 2000 Vw Golf Tdi for just over half that the other week!
 
The price for what you got made my eyes water, as I'm sure it did yours. I bought a perfectly serviceable year 2000 Vw Golf Tdi for just over half that the other week!

There are 'Money Pits' and then there is this thing :doh:.

I paid just under £9,000 for the 2001 100-Series 'VX' 11 months ago. It is a beautiful car - on the topside. I knew the underside had been neglected but thought "Hey-Ho, I can fix that".

I have been surprised at the damage the rust has done. Most of the obscure parts only come from Toyota and they can be horrendously expensive (i.e. Rear brake dust shields at £460 EACH!).

Total cost to date is £17,200 :shock:. I could have bought a couple of small, new cars for that.

Next I have to replace a leaking rear axle oil seal on the N/s then replace the ARB bushes and drop links. The ARB bolts are just small lumps of rust and will take hours to free-off/drill-out/helecoil/fit Rivnuts.

Then I have to tackle the AHC. I have two leaking suspension struts, the globes are shot and the height sensors are showing odd readings on the Diagnostic checker. Naturally, nothing is going to come undone easily.

The MOT is due on 28th April.

This is going to hurt :cry:.

At least when its all done it should last another fifteen years :icon-biggrin:.

I bought my 1998 LWB '90' in 2008. It was also very rusty underneath and I have had to do a lot of work on it (see myriad posts here and elsewhere). Total cost to date on that is over £16,000. I guess its the price we pay for living in the Frozen North with all the road salt.

Bob.
 
We also have to remember that these trucks of ours are "lifetime" acquisitions, or at least longer term items, unlike cars which come and go.

At least that's how I view it. If one starts to add up the purchase price and all the bits and pieces, most of our trucks would have been sold on or scrapped long ago.

I know that what I've spent on mine would have bought a small town car new, but I hope my 80 will last longer than I will :lol:.
 
I know that what I've spent on mine would have bought a small town car new, but I hope my 80 will last longer than I will :lol:.

I think what I've spent on mine in 10 years of ownership would buy a small house let alone a car. :icon-surprised:
 
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I think what I've spent on mine in 10 years of ownership would buy a small house let alone a car. :icon-surprised:

My mistake is to record in detail everything I spend on each vehicle/trailer/machine tool.

I currently have four cars, five motorcycles, five trailers, a tractor and a well-equipped workshop.

Then there are my daughters' houses, cars, horses.

Keeping detailed records of expenditure on each is a sobering experience; its like having an accusing finger pointing at me all the time. When I think what I could have done instead . . . . . . .

Anyway, I keep repairing the trucks in the hope that one day they will be reliable.

Bob.
 
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