YM13

I started replacing the rack and pinion and about two weeks later I am attempting to fabricate a power steering line (high-pressure) because mine was rusted and looked like it would fail very soon.

I did many hours of research and it seems that the removal of the high-pressure line is a universal pain for almost everyone that has seen a salted road (my 4runner spent a little while in NY). I have also seen many cut off the low pressure line too, which is unnecessary as it is held on by a hose clamp and slides off a little further from rack (I did not know this and tormented myself with the removal until I pulled the rack out further). My advice for anyone who has trouble removing the lines from below to unbolt the lines from the frame and simply pull them out along with the rack and then unscrew them away from the vehicle. This is what I did and it worked very well. However the line, nearest to the rack, was heavily rusted and would have surely presented a problem down the road in a couple of years. For this reason I decided I would try and put together a "custom" line assembled from a combination of Russell products and some hydraulic fittings.

I would like to post the progress here as I go so that others, with more knowledge or those who may run into the same dilemma, may chime in and let me know if I am setting myself up for inevitable failure once I put everything together.

First, I recommend this tech write-up:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Plumbing/

I chose to use a Tube to 1/4" NPT compression tube fitting from McMaster Part #5269K313:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#5269k313/=nslajg

From that fitting I had to figure out how to adapt to -6AN male, which is the size of the Russell hose-ends, and I ended up using a 1/4" NPT to -6AN adapter from Parker that a local hydraulic distributer had in stock (I will post the part number later as I need to look it up).

Now, the issue comes in with the Banjo fitting that bolts onto the steering pump. It shares a connection with an "Air control valve" which bumps up the rpm during idle when steering (as I understand it):

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/b...-valve-246778/

I would have like to bolt directly into the power-steering pump, and this is still an option, however I am unsure about the consequences of eliminating this valve. I have read that people are fine without it. I believe the thread into the pump is M16x1.5 and Parker does carry a fitting that goes directly to a -6AN which would be ideal. I decided to cut close to the banjo fitting and use the adapters to get to a -6AN and from there will route to the rack and pinion. Here's what it looks like so far:

With the compression tube fitting



With the 1/4" to -6AN fitting (NOT TIGHTENED)



The rest of the parts are as follows:

Russell-620411-PowerFlex 45 (hose-end)

Russell Powerflex 6' hose (2500 psi)

Russell 648060 Power Steering Adapter

I'm unsure about the above fitting, specifically the o-ring, and hope it works out ok.

Russell-620421-Powerflex-90-Degree (hose-end)

and I've read a filter is recommended for the return line so I bought a 3/8" Magnefine filter for Automatic transmissions and power steering. My old fluid was black from shavings btw.

Let me know what you guys think and hopefully I'm not setting myself up for catastrophic failure. I would be especially interested in eliminating the air valve and if anyone has any experience with it disabled. My understanding is it can leak out some fluid from the PS, which i'm certain has been occurring with mine as the inside of the lines were fairly gunked up.

YM13

I'm having doubts about the length of the attachments. It will probably work out technically but I would like a more "flush" attachement. Will probably go to the hydraulic shop and see if they can attach a -6an straight to the 10mm tube this way I can go directly to the Russell hose fitting. I may pick up the M16x1.5 to -6AN that will go straight into the pump so I can test the option of bypassing the air control valve.

All comments suggestions are appreciated.

YM13

Should have done this from the beginning but ended up getting the hydraulic shop to braze a -6an fitting to the tube. Cost ~25 and about 15min of waiting. The original compression sleeve was ~$10 + the other adapter fitting put it around the same amount and maybe a little over. This is what it looks like now.





Looks much cleaner and more compact. Hopefully it will hold up nicely. The guy said it was not even a question especially for something around 1,200 psi (what the pump puts out).

Ended up ordering the fitting for the rack from TrailGear. Although their "High Pressure Steering Box Fitting" isn't for the rack and pinion, I called and was told that it's threaded to M16x1.5 by -6AN. I couldn't find this fitting elsewhere in a inverted flare on the metric side, only straight. It seems the inverted flare is needed going into the rack and the threading matches up so hopefully this will work. The Russell o-ring adapter didn't fit and it was aluminum anyways.

It seems I will be able to use the banjo fitting with the air-valve however I ordered two fittings from TrailGear and plan on testing it with the line directly tapped into the steering pump, eliminating the valve.

Edit: The hydraulic shop that did the work is called Hydradyne and they have many locations all over the Southeast. They may have other locations across the US but thats all I looked at on the map. They also work directly with Parker and could probably work up a cheaper hose assembly than the Russell ones (~$70) but I didn't look into that.

YM13

Here is the banjo fitting connected to the steering pump. I decided to go ahead and rebuild the steering pump with a Toyota rebuild kit (~$15). Wasn't hard at all there is a write-up on how to do it online somewhere but it came with a diagram as well.



New return tube that goes to steering rack with part # in the picture as well as the M16x1.5 to -6JIC fitting:



Line routed to rack. BTW I mentioned this earlier but I recommend removing the rack along with the line and remove the high pressure line away from the vehicle...its much easier this way. Likewise its much easier assembling the line before you bolt up the rack:



Routing of the line using stock location:





This is how the low pressure side attaches to the return tube:



Hope this helps someone considering to do this project. If I had to do it again I would have had a shop do the line for me with swivel ends. I had a little leak with the Russell fittings and while you would think they are hassle free I found it impossible to tighten to a good seal without spinning the actual hose. I ended up getting lucky and it tightened right where I wanted it finally. Before, it was a lot of red fluid on the garage floor. I've been driving like this for a couple of weeks and so far everything is fine (knock on wood). If anyone has any question i'd be happy to respond. Took me over 2 weeks to research and try out everything (waiting on parts and going back and forth between hydraulic shops...etc) Luckily I had a few weeks to kill before my last semester in school so I wasn't too pressed for time. However this shouldn't be more than a weekend project if you are prepared ahead of time and gather everything you need.

aowRS

Excellent info - thank you!



Andreas

Greg_Canada

Great work, but you know rockauto sells new lines for 100 bucks, right?

YM13

haha!! No i had no idea! This would have saved me an incredible amount of time and effort and now I feel like an idiot. Oh well...I learned a lot in the process.

reaj

iTrader: (6)

I think those soft flex lines look awesome! Good info too!