I just installed a reman ACDelco rack and pinion. I had to remove it once to recalibrate it to the neutral position and then reinstall it. Now the high pressure line is draining fluid. It seems to be okay when I'm turning the steering wheel until I hit a bump stop, then it splatters fluid everywhere. I installed a new o-ring from Nissan since it didn't come with one, but it's still leaking .

The only thing that's out of the ordinary with the old rack is that the nut that holds the HP line doesn't thread all the way down like it did on the old rack. There are more exposed threads this time than with the old rack. I've tightened it down to the torque specs in the service manual, and the line isn't moving, but I'm afraid that tightening it down further will strip the threads. Any ideas?

Replace the line.

Why the line and not the rack? The rack is the only thing that has changed. Also I put on a piece of the end of the line that I got from the junkyard and had the same issue.

Replace the line and the new one might thread in better

You didnt cross thread it did you?

Did the original have an o-ring? On some domestics, it just uses the steel fiting and aluminum body to create a seal.

I am very certain it is not stripped or cross threaded. It did not originally come with an o-ring, although there is one for it in the Nissan parts catalog. I had no problems with the line initially. It just started leaking for some reason. The o-ring helps, but its still too much of a leak. I'm going to loosen the rack, try to fit the line in first, and bolt it back up. The fact that so many threads are exposed this time but the line is still tight just bothers me.

If there was no o-ring originally, and it didn't leak then, than try without one. What's the worst that could happen, a leak??

Yeah I installed it w/o the o-ring initially, and it was leaking like crazy. So I put one on and the leak improved a bit. It busts out of the line when I turn the steering wheel all the way to its end.

was it leaking before you took it back off to recalibrate it? why won't it / what's preventing the nut from going on more? can a differnet nut be used? how about a pic of old vs new?

The only pic I have at the moment is what the end of the line looks like when it's off the rack:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73830923@N02/6861228114/
If you look closely at the threads, you can see the rusted portion that was the exposed portion of the threads on the OEM rack. Now imagine that more of those white-colored threads are showing now on this ACDelco rack. The nut is on as tight as it can go without stripping. My only hope is that the line is not seated correctly in the rack because the bend in the line is "used" to the old rack. So I'll take the rack off and try to reseat it that way instead of trying to correctly seat it with the rack on. I should be doing that next weekend. I'll update then.

i have just installed a reman rack on our 97 i30. I'm not sure, but it might be leaking just a tad (noticed a small wet spot under the rack).
I've noticed the hi-pressure side did not have an o-ring, as opposed to low pressure one, when I was installing it. I was baffled since FSM talks about both sides having o-rings, but installed it anyway, as I was short on time. Anyone have experience with this? Do these come with the o-rings or not? If they do, anyone has a part # handy?
I did tighten the line snug (FSM says 11-18 ft/lb).

Thanks, guys!

get a new o-ring, oem

Yup, I believe this is the correct part#: 49745-01E00 (4974501E00).

EDIT: Looks like the little o-ring did the trick. $2 at the dealer.