3.4L LQ1 Power Steering hose replacement

[JiggaFan]

I know there are a few threads for this already. just wanted to add my 2 cents.

 

There was a suggestion in another thread on here for an 18mm crows foot that made this job very, very doable without lowering the subframe or any parts of the steering rack.

I should mention, though, that I only have one 10mm screw in my steering gear heat shield. When I was putting the car back together from a previous job, I must've said the hell with the 2nd 10mm screw that holds that Heat Shield in place. One 10mm screw--the easier one to get to--has seemed to be fine for me over the last 20k miles or so.

 

So I used a 3/8 inch drive ratchet, standard 3/8" socket extension, and an 18mm crows foot to loosen the power steering line CLOSEST TO THE FIREWALL from the steering wheel. I had to use the ratchet/crows foot combination the entire time as the nut never seemed to get loose enough to loosen by hand. I was working from above where I gained access to the line by removing the air filter box and air intake rubber tube. One must be patient. This ratchet and crows foot combination will only give you about 1/4 to 1/3 turn of the nut before you have to remove he ratchet/crows foot combination, reposition the crows foot by hand, and stick the combination back down there to get another 1/4 to 1/3 turn of the pressure line's nut.

 

My high pressure hose did not fail at the rubber parts. It failed in the metal nearest the transmission's filler tube. Either myself, or my dad's mechanic (or the muffler shop that did the catalytic converter OR the alignment shop that also tightened up the two loose bolts to my steering rack) apparently bent the high pressure hose when reassembling the car. This bend had the metal line rubbing up against the transmission filler tube to a point where it finally wore down the metal enough to develop a hairline fracture in the metal allowing my power steering fluid to escape whenever the wheel was turned.

 

I should also add that the new (Master Pro from O'reilly Auto) high pressure line was much, much easier for me to get threaded by hand into the steering wheel/shaft. And it was routed perfectly around the transmission filler tube, exhaust, and other components crammed down there near the steering gear. After hand-tightening the high pressure line's nut into the steering shaft, I feel like I only had to use the above ratchet/crow foot combination about 1 complete turn--if that much--to get a good tightness. Obviously, I couldn't get any specific torque measurement in that f'ed up position down on the steering shaft.

 

Just thought this might be useful to the next person who has to tackle this for whatever reason.

 

And for those of you (like me) that ARE NOT tool snobs, Autozone sells a metric crows foot set for $15.99. Even though I have a Craftsman ratchet pictured, I DID NOT spring for the $69.99 craftsman crows foot set!

[Galaxie500XL]

I totally missed this when you posted it...IIRC, I was the poster that had originally mentioned using an 18mm crow's foot for replacing that line...but it didn't occur to me to go from ABOVE, I did it from below. What you did looks much easier.

 

Thanks for the tip!

[Psych0matt]

I was going to tackle this, but the guy I take my car to when I'm lazy or don't have the proper tools did it for $75 and had the car back to me in less than a day.

[Galaxie500XL]

It's not the worst job I've ever done on an LQ1, but if you're the least bit impatient, it's worth $75.00 to get someone else to do it.

[94 olds vert]

Good post. If I have to do mine again I will buy that tool.

[Steve]

When I replaced mine I used a hacksaw blade & cut the tube off at the nut which allowed a socket over the nut but for $75.00 I would have let someone else struggle with it.

[tsilney]

When I replaced mine I used a hacksaw blade & cut the tube off at the nut which allowed a socket over the nut but for $75.00 I would have let someone else struggle with it.

 

I did the exact same thing.. got.it done in about 30mins..but damn 75 bucks..the hose alone is 25..lol

 

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