power steering /trans line leak
 

I believe one of my power steering hoses has cracks which is leaking from the upper hose. upon further inspection the same type of hose from the transmission (under the radiator) had a little red fluid on it to.

99 xj 185000

Is this common to replace these hoses?

Are there better hose replacements rather than stock?

Is it difficult to replace the hose for the power steering and what does this entail?

The trans line i dont know if i even want to mess with.

I have a leak from somewhere on my steering pump as well, I need to check into it and see exactly where its coming from.

As far as replacing the lines its not very difficult with basic hand tools. You will just need to burp the air out of the system, there are some videos on youtube that will walk you through the process. I would just replace them with stock style lines. They should last you a long while.

Transmission lines are easy. You can use rubber hose that's rated for it, and common hose clamps. The pressure is very low. No problem at all.

Power steering lines are another matter. I don't know what kind of pressure they hold, so I can't comment. What I do know is, the originals have lasted 18 years for you, so OEM quality should get you another 15 or so, don't you think?

Before i bought my 97, i found the hose on the underside had split where it was clamped to the pump. Also, the fitting on top of the pump was a tad loose.

i have found 2-3 small splits on the back (outer bow) of the pressure line which leaked down the hose to where i had originally thought it was faulty.

Is there any danger to disconnecting power steering hoses?

if i can find the part i will replace this tomorrow if it is safe to.

They are pretty easy to replace. You will need a crows foot wrench to get a grip at the steering box end. There really isn't enough room to get anything else in there. It's a piece of cake with a crows foot wrench from above. I don't recall the size. I bought a multi set from homedepot. I used replacements from the local advance and haven't had any problems. I needed it quick so didn't have a lot of options.
Open the power steering cap to release any pressure and then just disconnect the hoses and catch all the fluid that drips out. Make sure you bleed all the air out BEFORE you put the cap back on. If you don't you'll be searching for "power steering pump sounds like wailing banshees". I bled mine by raising the two front wheels and moving the steering wheel from lock to lock a few times. Then started it and repeated with the motor running. then put the cap on. Of course that was after I read about proper bleeding technique.
Lesson learned: air bubble that makes its way to the power steering pump will cause the engine to not run and make sounds like screaming banshees.

i dont plan on flushing the fluid so i should be able to just pull the line and replace the lost fluid/ burp air right?
can this be done with open end wrenches?

I did, but it was a bit of a PITA. Certainly doable, though. I did end up having to pull the return line off as well, as I couldn't get the pressure line out from under it. Not enough clearance without pulling the pressure line too.

can anyone confirm the size on the nuts. Im thinking 16mm up top and 18mm below because i have every size in between.

well i bought two wrenches and the new hose is on after maybe 30 minutes. I was actually able to loosen the return line just enough to allow the pressure line to come out from the gear box! lost maybe 2-3 0z of fluid. turned the wheel lock to lock with engine on 10-15 times and added some fluid to the hot mark. so far so good.

:thumbsup:

Were 16 and 18 the correct size?

yes 16mm and 18mm got the job done. I tried to buy the appropriate sized crows feet but no one local sells them with the needed sizes. so for any that want ease of the job its doable without them but they will REALLY make your access to the gear box side much easier.

Good stuff! :thumbsup:

after replacing the power steering line i have experienced a break in steering. 12 on to the right is as smooth as ever. 12-1 feels like a bump/tough then is instantly easy to turn. it wasnt like this before i replaced the hp PS hose but i have read after replacing steering can be a little rough. its been over 400 miles since and when i replaced the line i jacked up the front end twice and went full clock L to R 20 times each with the PS cap loose. any ideas on whats causing this steering issue?