So I looked and looked and found several posts with instructions and discussion about the PS high pressure hose and how to replace and stuff but no pictures that help me out, I am loosing PS fluid and I know I need to replace something, just don't know what, I looked in the engine bay and everything is soaked in PS fluid so hard to tell where it is coming from. The car is in storage right now but coming out soon so I need this fixed, I washed the engine somewhat good, I just looked today and realized I need to clean more, but when I looked at the reservoir tank I saw one of the connectors for the hoses is wet, which one is that? Is it the high pressure? (see where my finger points, the hose in the right of the picture) I tried to follow the hose to no avail, and I ran out of time to investigate more, I figure I'd ask here as I've been trying to find threads that lead me to a resolution but haven't found it yet. If it is the high pressure hose I think I could change it in 5 mins after all the reading I've done lol

 

Those hoses go to the power steering oil cooler that is in front of the air conditioner condenser coil. Replace those spring type hose clamps with this type:

 

If your car is an 02 then it's likely that the HP hose will need replacing. Factory ones cost a pile of money but a specialist shop should be able to fab one up for you.

 

The hose you are pointing to in that picture is the Suction Hose. The high pressure hose is behind that and more difficult to replace, though more commonly the hose that will go bad.

 

the high pressure hose, is it the one behind the strut tower and in front of the firewall (with the electrical sensor thing)? how could I diagnose which hose it is? is the crack commonly in the same place? easy to see if it is?

I am just trying to do as much homework ahead of time, before I take things apart, thanks guys

 

Yes, the high pressure hose runs along the firewall. I think the common place that the hose fails is where the hose and metal fitting are joined, but you most likely won't see a crack. The joint between the hose and fitting usually just goes bad. Push back the foam sleeve that covers the hose and see if it's wet. Most likely will be.

This pic is a '01 but the hose will be the same for '00-'03.

 

Excellent, thank you. I will check this out over the weekend and will post back if questions arise.

 

So I checked the HP hose and under the foam and it is all dry so the area pointed out in the pic does not seem to be the problem, I had washed the engine bay about 3 weeks before to get a more clear (and clean) engine bay to look at and troubleshoot, that HP hose seems to be ok, it is wet by the pump but everything else is wet too by that area, so I washed again yesterday with special attention to the pump area and the hoses to see if anything else drips. if it is the suction hose, can I get that at any AZ or AA or is it going to cause whining and problems like the aftermarket HP hoses?

 

my plan is then, once everything is dry, to put more PS fluid and turn the wheels lock to lock and hopefully see where the fluid is coming out, any other suggestions?

 

I wouldn't think an aftermarket Suction Hose would cause any whine problems. It's just a piece of molded tubing so there's nothing special about it. It's a relatively easy hose to change. I changed mine before changing my HP hose as I had the same issue as you with the suction hose weeping fluid. The HP hose could also be failing at the bottom where it connects to the pump.

 

OK sounds good, I have a whine but it is because the fluid is so low so never mind for now, as for the HP hose leaking on the bottom I thought about that too and that is why I washed again the engine bay, specially the pump area, but what really threw me off was the fluid coming of where my finger points to in the picture, I know fluid leaks and goes down not up.

Now I have to wait 'till the weekend to look at the car again, but sir you are being very helpful, I will report back

 

All 5th gen maximas leak at one or both hoses going to the reservoir. If someone's hasn't, yet, it will.

 

Do you know if any of those will cause the dreaded whine the aftermarket HP hoses causes if I get them aftermarket? those are low pressure right?

 

Wash yor engine bay down again and follow up with some brake cleaner and compressed air! You may need to remove the HP hose's protective wrap (which maybe full of oil). Make sure everything is clean, then run it and you should find your source in less than 5 minutes! If you have a Hose repair shop that can reuse your OEM fitting then Great! Aftermarket crap is just that crap and usually cause whining noises or high pitch frequencies when turning hard! If you can't get it rebuilt using your OEM fitting the best solution is an Oem Hp hose and a larger 4th gen oil cooler or aftermarket oil cooler!

 

Engine has been washed (should be dry now lol) dont have compressed air but we'll see what I can do. So far it looks to me like a leaky return hose. the wrap on the HP hose looked dry underneath before washing the engine, will look again. I don't think an aftermarket return hose would cause whining right?

My time during the week is short so I only have the weekends to work on the car but all your input during the week is kept in mind on the weekend, keep it coming

 

The whine is from high pressure. Yes, those two are low pressure.

 

The whine is from high pressure. Yes, those two are low pressure.

 

Low P/S fluid will cause whining! Ok if it clean then plug your supply fitting of the reservoir 1/2" rubber plug will reduce the mess or drain out the reservior...remove the supply hose cut back about 1-2" and reinstall with American worm clamps (both ends)!

 

After further inspection it seems to be that the return hose (the one I am pointing at on the first picture) has radial cracks by the reservoir tank, so I would have to cut the tip of the hose, reinstall it and be done with it, everything seemed to be dry, granted I didn't turn on the car and check for leaks because I wanted to fix that first, but this was the only part that was leaking, after cleaning it with a rag fluid starts oozing out

I was going to do that but I was also trying to replace the belts and the tensioner didn't feel like letting go, so PB blaster is working right now, I need those changed too

 

PB blaster did not do the job and the adjuster bolt snapped, so I had to go to car heaven and get a "new" one, now the new belt is on and tight.

As for the power steering hose, yes, the hose I pointed in the picture is the only hose that was leaking, so I cut the tip of the hose, no more cracks on it. Re-installed it and filled up the fluid, turned on the car for a while to let it warm up and check the hose. After the car was warm I touched the hose end and there was a tiny bit of fluid coming out; but since I turned it off last weekend I've been checking it everyday and no sign of fluid coming out.

So, this leads to: when the fluid is warm it get thinner, thin enough to escape I guess, so what is next? My two options right now (since I ran out of time) are to get a clamp of the type that DennisMik said, or put a poop-load of silicone around it to seal the joint. At this point I don't feel like changing the hose anymore, next year. Any other suggestions?

 

It has been two weeks already that I fixed the return hose with no issue whatsoever, I've been checking almost every day (decreasingly) and not a single drop of PS fluid, and all I did was cutting the top off the hose by the reservoir tank. Additional to that I put some silicone around it-which didnt stick too well on the bottom but ohh well it is fixed now

 

the low pressure power steering hoses tend to leak when the hoses get stiff. on my car I ended up putting new universal 3/8 fuel hose and new clamps. the clamps that come from the factory also lose tension so it's good to replace them with good clamps, even the ones for the cooling system.

the large hose that goes from the reservoir to the pump is reinforced so don't use a universal hose on it. I tried it once and the hose will collapse and restrict flow.

 

Uptown’s right. Replace the 3/8 hose & clamp. And drain / replace the power steering fluid with fresh if you’ve never done it before.

 

Touch the HP P/S hose especially if it has the black foam cover sleeve. Touch it and feel it if it's soaked with P/S fluid! Or your P/S lines at the pump or the pump itself is leaking excessively. Good Luck!

 

edelmann or sunsong are what i use the most in the shop. i avoid dorman like the plague. way too many repeat failures with them.

 

why are you changing the steering shaft? unless the u-joint is seized (extremely rare) or its otherwise physically damaged...they dont go bad.

 

I'm at 358,000 miles and I'm still on the OE steering rack and inner tie rods. the original pump started leaking when I flushed out the old power steering fluid in 2015. when I swapped in the 2014 engine I picked up an aluminum SKP pump from Rockauto..

 

that doesnt look too bad. OE pumps are extremely easy to reseal though. seal kit is like 20 bucks and takes about 15 minutes. i need to find a good OEM pump. some dip**** replaced mine with reman before i got it. no problems with it but i dont like junk on my cars.

 

power steering pumps are such a simple device no need to stress if it's OEM or not. I mainly stick to OEM or reputable brands when it comes to engine electronics and fuel components. also internal engine and transmission parts..

 

im aware. this has been my day job for 25 years now. im just picky.