I'm still fiddling with a decent-sized dripping leak on my p/s system. It's at the connections on the soft lines that connect the cooling loop to the rest of the system. I've replaced the two rubber hoses with OEM parts, tried some new replacement clamps from nissan and no matter what it still drips and gets all over the front of the radiator, undercar splash shield and really makes a mess.

It was suggested to me that perhaps since no matter how snug I tighten the clamps and it still leaks that I've got abnormally high pressure. The person did not have an idea of what would cause it, but thought it would explain why I get the leak(s) at that spot no matter what.

FWIW, my high pressure line is surprisingly NOT leaking at this point in time yet.

thanks for any ideas/thoughts, etc..

 

i don't think the pressure is the problem. same thing happened to one guy on nico - new hoses, oem and a bunch of different kinds of high pressure clamps and it was still leaking. idk but maybe bleeding the system would help?

 

PS is a self-bleeding system.

OP: The highest pressure you would see (at full lock) is ~1200 PSI. For some reason I doubt you've got an abnormally high pressure system. That loop shouldn't be under any sort of high pressure anyway.

Have you inspected the PS cooler for any sorts of nicks/gouges where the hoses connect? Maybe slightly crimped, or oval shaped?

 

You have a picture? The loop you refer to is probably the cooler. I have to ask but do you have the hose all the way on and the clamp as close to the end of the hose as possible?

 

It's the cooler yes. The hose is up to the raised crimped area about 1 inch in from the end of the pipe. I've tried using both 'airplane' style and the OEM ones. I've got them maybe 1/4" from the end of the hose.

You are saying they should be at the very end then?

I have not checked for out of round on the cooler ends. Will check that hopefully tomorrow. Thanks

 

I'll check the out of round idea, thanks

 

if my p/s problem ends up being a damaged p/s cooling loop, is that something you can get?

 

ok took the hoses and clamps off. Man those hoses have a tight fit , they were hard as hell to get off, lots of wiggling, pulling. The hard metal ends they install on to for both the cooling loop and hard lines going to the reservoir and nice and round, no nicks, scratches, etc.

Best clamps to use? I have the OEM and some band-style "airplane"?

 

I have a leaky ps system also. My leaks are on the lines to/from the reservoir and ps cooler, which work under very little pressure. I've repositioned the clamps a couple times to restore the squeeze on the lines but it hasn't helped for very long. The hoses aren't damaged but they are deeply marked from the clamps.

I suspect that my mistake was changing to some Mobil1 synthetic ATF I had lying around instead of regular ATF per the manual. It's just a guess but it would make a little sense if the PS hoses simply don't hold synthetic ATF as well as the basic stuff. As you know synthetic likes to leak more than dino.

I do know my ps rack and pump aren't well. I replaced the pump and rack a couple years ago with lower mileage parts, and it was better for a while, but now the rack is super responsive like before. I believe my mistake was not thorougly flushing the lines of the metal shavings left from the original parts. So with a worn out rack or pump maybe the line pressure everywhere else goes up?

Dave

 

no synth here, I put it all back together and changed the position of the clamps.. give it another try tonight..

 

A very wise man once said that if your leak doesn't stop after you have replaced the part, start looking upwards as gravity often plays a big role.

 

Higher than the PS reservoir?

I fail to see the wisdom in looking at the underside of my hood.

 

Well at least I know it's not transmission fluid from the cooler in the radiator because A: the trans level is just where it was about 3 months ago when I checked, and B: a 200 mile drive drops the reservoir level of the PS by 1/2"


Can you elaborate? thank you

 

Might be worthless, but how is the cap on the PS res? Might as well check it.

 

yes, and I've checked the lines back up to the res as well, it's coming from the hose/loop connection(s).

 

Is it just leaking from one line or both of them? Can you see where the leak is coming from? If not disconnect both lines from the reservoir leading to the cooler and do a pressure test on them.

 

Well I MIGHT have finally stopped it. I pushed the hoses about 1/3-1/2" farther on and tightened the oem clamps down as far as they would go. I'm now at 24hrs and the ends of the hoses are bone dry on all 4 ends.

I did nothing different except push them a little farther on than I had been. I had been installing them until the end of the hose butted up against the little raised 'ring' which sits about an inch in from the hard line ends on both the cooling loop and the hard lines leading out of the reservoir.

The problem had become bad enough that the RF wheel was constantly turning dark from the residue, the wheel well looked like it had been undercoated, the splash shield on the passenger side would drip atf. Also the scary part is that the brake caliper and pads would get this stuff misted on them as well.

I"ve gone over and used 50/50 mix degreaser on everything and cleaned it all up.

time will tell if it's gone for good this time.