Last week I changed my tranny out (er, twice) and also changed the power steering pump since I had a good low mileage spare. The hoses had been leaking a little bit, but I couldn't tell if it was the pump, hoses, or just the hose connections.

On disassembly, I found it was the hose connections. (I'm glad I didn't buy new hoses) The rubber under the hose clamps had deformed and taken a set so that the clamps were no longer keeping tension, and there is a limit to how far the clamps can be turned. To fix it, simply loosen the clamp and reposition it 1/4" up or down the hose and retighten outside the grooves in the hose rubber.

It appears that later Max's have different hose clamps which should not have this problem, but I'm convinced the original clamps should hold well for another 100k

Dave

 

I am having the same problem and not sure where the leak is coming from. I suspect it is the hose as well (err I hope it is the hose b/c a pump is gonna cost me a pretty penny). Which of your hose was leaking and where? I have a slow leak by the driver side and fluid is accumulating on the tie rod bushing... Where did you get the hose from?

 

I did not replace the hose - I only repositioned and retightened the clamps. Several of the hose connections were leaking - try repositioning all the clamps first.

Dave

 

If tightening the hose clamps does not fix it, try replacing the o-ring where the inlet attaches to the P/S pump. I did both, plus replaced the copper washers on the outlet hose, and I don't know which fixed the leak.