My max is leaking power steering fluid. The hose pictured is where the main leak is. My mechanic said the pump's main seal may be leaking too but I'll address that after I get the hose fixed (it's dumping all my fluid on the floor right now).

Is this the power steering pressure hose?
How hard is it to replace? Do I need to get any other parts to make this fix work? What kind of tools do I need? Will I have to remove a bunch of stuff to get at it?

I have the Haynes and Chilton manuals but they only cover the pump, not the hose s.

The biggest difficulty seems like the lower end of the hose. My ratchet w/24mm socket can't fit over it -- frame is too close. If I manage to get it off with a wrench, not sure how to get it torqued properly back to 51 ftlbs (what Haynes says for pressure hose), since the torque wrench+socket won't fit over it. Suggestions?

Thanks. The pictured hose is on the passenger side, by the strut tower, against the firewall.

 

yeah, that's the high pressure P/S hose
you can get it for something like $40 from pepboys

It is 24mm, I was able to find a wrench that size at Ace Hardware and that worked. I just torqued it back on pretty tight since I couldn't get the wrench in there either on the lower bolt.

Take the lower bolt off and have something ready to catch the fluid from it. Then take off the upper one and just put new one in it's place. The new one should include new copper washers so be sure to use those. I found it easier to put the lower bolt on first and then the top one because of the twist in the hose.

It's pretty simple but a little messy.

refill with ATF (as recommended by owner's manual)

 

Ditto. I'd recommend marking the bolts so you know where the hole is so you can line the hole up with the hose. I didn't do this and I bet that's why it makes noise now.

 

Thanks for the tips. Went to Kragen's and they had one for $60. Was a ***** to get the lower joint, especially tightening it.

Unfortunately, I didn't see the tip about marking the bolts until after I finished. Now I'm wondering if that's a problem. I know the receiver nut has a channel, but the channel is tiny and that's gotta make for a lot less flow than hole-to-hole. Maybe it doesn't matter though?

Unfortunately I don't remember what my system sounded like before the leak well enough to judge whether or not it sounds funny now.

Not looking forward to it but maybe I'll have to take it off and put it back on again to line the holes.. unless someone can verify it doesn't matter.. one would think Chilton's or Haynes would mention it if it did matter.

Hrmmmm.

 

wowzers.. thats EXACTLY where mine sprung a leak. Luckily, with my Student ID from UTI, i got mine for 36 bucks at NAPA. Lifetime warrenty too! s00t!

 

Nice.
Not really suprising that if a part of the power steering system were to spring a leak, it'd be the *pressure* hose.

I could have gotten the hose for about $43 if I wanted to mail order it, but being able to return it locally, and get it *right now* was worth $20.

First non-normal maintenace repair my Max has needed.

 

Jesse, do you have that squeal still or did it go away after replacing the belt? My PS belt just broke, and I was having problems before with a bad squeal when the engine was cold. Just trying to eliminate possibilities before spending money for a new hose. Thanks.

 

The squeal (it was really more of a really loud whine -- not high pitched enough to be what I'd call a squeal, but not low enough to be a groan) went away anytime I had enough fluid in the reservoir. Before replacing the pressure hose though, two short trips would empty it.

I didn't replace the power steering belt. I'm going to do that when I replace my timing belt and water pump, but that's another project (coming soon).

I wouldn't replace the hose hoping to stop the squeal. Just made sure you have the proper amount of fluid in your PS reservoir. Again, the new hose didn't stop the whine, it stopped the leaking, which stopped the low-fluid situation, which stopped the whining.

 

Crap, I don't what my problem is...I meant your hose instead of your belt. Anway, I have to replace the belts tomorrow and hopes that stops my squeal. Reservoir is full and there seem to be no leaks in the hose. I wish I had a UDP to go along with those new belts.

 

I saw this person hasn't posted since 2009. However, I'm sure someone else has done this between then and now. I'm having the exactly same problem and I really want to do it myself. I would like to know exactly what tools were used and precisely which bolts need to be taken off. Thank you all very much.

EDIT: Looks like I found it here.

http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...ml?ref=esp-img

 

Just to add. I found a 5/8" short/stubby wrench fits perfectly underneath the car in removing the bolt holding the lower portion of the hose to the pump. Also, I found it helpful to inpect the return hose off the bottom of the pump. In my case, the hose above the clamp seemed a bit swollen and I noted some fluid leaking from the connection. I remved the hose, cut about 1/2" off it and reattached with the same clamp, no more leaking from the return line....which is good to go ahead and fix because this leak can sometimes cause some air to enter the system and contribute to the whine. It's just too simple a fix not to go ahead and do while you're under the car.