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How To -- High Pressure Power Steering Hose

111K views 96 replies 41 participants last post by  Pilgrim 
#1 ·
Greetings everybody:

So I'm writing up a new How To because pictures were lost when another forum member used an outside picture storage site for the pictures. I don't want these pictures to get lost so they're imbedded in the thread itself. Nothing sucks more than to read a fantastic thread to only see the picture missing. I think there is another series of pictures out there but they're not very easy to find. Since I did this a couple weeks ago with good results then I figured I would post my expriences.

So, to start...

I redid the High Pressure Power Steering (P/S) Hose on my 2004 Nissan Murano SL AWD; 133K miles. I noticed some dribbles on my garage floor and low power steering fluid. After getting it up on ramps I most definitely knew it was my High Pressure P/S Hose becuase the silver heat shielding mesh on the hose itself was completely saturated red-ish and drips coming off of the power steering retainer bolt. I also noticed quite a bit of mess on the other side as the hose was dripping onto my transfer case flange and flinging the fluid all over the place.

I consulted my local dealership and they wanted waaaaaaaay too much for the hose, fluids, copper washers, and o-ring. Around $275 if I went local. I went on Ebay and another dealership in California was selling the exact same Nissan OEM part numbers for a lot cheaper! They also included 2 bottles of their P/S fluid which you'll need due to what you'll loose during the rework.

IF you have an 04 AWD like me, you'll need the following parts for this job:
49720-CC10C -- High Pressure P/S Hose with Brackets
49345-6N200 -- P/S Sensor O-Ring
49726-Y0100 x2 -- Copper Washers
Nissan P/S Fluid x2

TOTAL COST: $113.98 including shipping :29:

I thought about going the cheaper way with AutoZone parts and fluids but I read complaints that the inner hose diameter was too small which caused whining in the pump. Plus they don't come with the brackets, rings, fluid, etc. It would have come out to about the same anyway so I went with OEM parts.

To start, there is a difference between the 2WD and AWD hoses. The AWD hoses have a bracket that bolts down to the back plate of the back/center motor mount (Pic A). Both the 2WD and AWD models are pretty much the same everywhere else. I also show the locations of the sensor o-ring and where the 2 copper washers go on the power steerig pump (Pic B). The 2 pictures also show all torque specs which are important to follow at all times!

The first picture is of the actual hose itself (Pic 1). Here is the proof of what you'll get if you find the kit on EBay. You can see the center bracket, the nice curved area to the right that screws into the rack on teh drivers side, and the bulb on the left that bolts to the P/S pump itself.

In hind sight, I would probably use jack stands and remove the passenger side wheel and splash guard. I used ramps for this which probably restricted my access to the P/S pump (Pic 2). If I were to do it again, I'd go for the jack stands.

To start, you'll have to remove the wiper arms, wiper motor, plastic covers, etc to expose the back part of the engine compartment (Pic 3). If you want to know the step by step procedure to do this, reference my other thread, post 1 pictures 5-8:

http://www.nissanmurano.org/forums/...le-body-spark-plugs-firewall-valve-cover.html

Next take a wrench and remove the bolt that retains the P/S hose. It's just behind the upper intake plenum. YOu can see where the wrench engages and the red arrow shows where the bolt is (Pic 4).

You'll then need to remove the "banjo bolt" (as people have been calling it online) and catch all of the P/S fluid that comes out of the hose and pump (Pic 5). You can also see the proof of where one of the leaks was coming from!

After all of the fluid has drained out, you'll move to the other side and unscrew the inlet fitting on the rack itself and the 2 retainer bolts on the back of the engine mount (Pic 6). More fluid will come pouring out of both the rack and the hose so be prepared to catch it. If you don't, you'll fill up your frame and it will make a mess.

Now that the hose is loose, pull it out from the passenger side. Be careful not to damage anything while pulling it out, maneuver the lines accordingly. There are a lot of small lines in this area you don't want to damage.

The next picture (Pic 7) shows the difference between the 2 P/S lines. They both seem to be shaped about the same. I didn't take the time to analyze them in detail as I started the project early afternoon on a Sunday. They were close enough so I moved on.

I wanted to show everybody the anatomy of the banjo bolt itself. It has a hole in the bottom and the sides (Pic 8).

Continued in next post...
 

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#2 ·
The bulb side of the new hose has a channel in it so the fluid can move past the bolt and into the hose (Pic 9). I wanted to make sure there would be no restrictions in this area hence the double check.

The sensor will be a PITA to take off of the old hose with just hand tools. It has a very odd shape! I took a deep well air socket and my impact hammer air tool, put it on the lowest setting, held the block in place with a cresent wrench and BAM...it came off. After you get the sensor off the old hose, replace the rubber o-ring and install it on the new hose. I put it on the same way I took it off (Pic 10).

Installation is same as removal but with a twist. I found it easier to put the P/S side on first as the stack-up between the bolt, bulb, and 2 copper washers made things more complicated. The hose will not want to stay in place very long, it has to be twisted in 2 different directions (Pic 11). I had my wife help me out with this as she has skinner arms than me. She helped to manuever the hose while I put in the bolt.

I know...I know...sounds kind of kinky! :cool:

It's important to follow the service manual and ensure the 2 copper washers are installed in the right place (Pic 12). If not I guess you'll risk a leak.

After the P/S side of the hose is installed, you can move to the other side where the hose goes into the rack itself (Pic 13). Line things up and loosely install the 2 bracket bolts on the back of the motor mount, then install the fitting into the P/S rack itself. Be sure to use teflon tape here so you don't get any leaking around the threads.

After you're done then tighten down the 2 motor mount bolts to spec and then tighten down the upper bracket bolt to the back of the intake plenum (Pic 4).

Triple check that everything is in place before moving on. Make sure that there is no binding in the hose on the rack side. That side of the hose has some interesting bends in it so a double check is in order!

Last thing to do is fill up the P/S resivour with the supplied fluid. Fill it up to the max cold line and let it feed into the P/S pump. Give it a few minutes to work its way into the pump, then top it off again. I put in some Lucas leak seal and conditioner since my MO has a lot of miles on it. It was a recommendation from a seasoned auto mechanic friend of mine, so what the heck right?

Give everything a quick double check again and then fire it up!

You will get a rather loud scream out of your pump when you first fire it up. Don't be afraid, it will go away.

After I got my MO on the ground again, I followed the Service Manual procedure to bleed air out of the P/S system (Pic C). Follow the procedure but don't rush through it. Hold the steering wheel at both left/right extremes for a few seconds before turning it the other way. If you move too fast you'll probably keep some air bubbles in the fluid. Take your time and the air will work its way out if you keep the resivour topped off. I made sure to put cardboard under my tires when I performed the procedure so as to not wear out the treads of my front tires on the concrete floor in my garage. The whining in my P/S system did eventually go down to nothing and the bubbles eventually subsided. Now everything is smooth running again and there are no more leaks!

After you're done, put everything back together like it was before.

FYI...you will get some residual dripping if you got some P/S fluid caught up in the chassis. I didn't catch the fluid very well so I got a lot in the nooks/crannies of the chassis that did eventually work its way out. Just keep an eye on it and wipe things down periodically. I did also give everything in the area a power wash a couple times since so much was flung around while it was dripping.

Now enjoy your quiet and non-leakey power steering system! May it last another 100K+ miles like my original one did.
 

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#3 ·
Excellent job! You are very handy:29:
 
#5 ·
Jacking up the front end will make moving the steering wheel much easier when bleeding the air bubbles off the system.

I don't think its necessary to add teflon tape on the hard tubing line end. If I remember correctly its either compression fit or there is an o ring inside of it. The teflon tape may just make it harder to turn the nut.

Lastly, for those without power/air tools, 2 big wrenches going opposite ways will do the job in separating the old sensor once the assembly is out of the car.
 
#6 ·
Woohoo! Another sticky! :D Thanks!

Nitely, you're right in that I probably didn't need teflon tape on the threads. There is a feature on the metal tubing that will push the o-ring while screwing in the pipe fitting. I've just done so much pipe work over the years that the little voice in my head gave me a warning while putting it together. So I gave in and put some teflon tape on the threads and turned the fitting until it felt right. If anything, the leak would probably come out between the pipe and the fitting anyway, so the tape is most likely redundant.
 
#7 ·
I am changing plugs next weekend and thought I might as well do this also. (about 140,000 miles). I keep seeing a power steering filter on the parts list but no one ever talks about replacing it. The actual part seems pretty pricy for what it is. Anyone replace this? I assume it goes on the return line somewhere. Also... anyone ever need to replace the return line? I am thinking it would be good forever, but since I have it torn apart. Thanks
 
#9 ·
I am changing plugs next weekend and thought I might as well do this also. (about 140,000 miles). I keep seeing a power steering filter on the parts list but no one ever talks about replacing it. Thanks
This is not a maintenance part. You change it when you get a leak. The leak usually comes out of the crimped ends of the hose. I think clamping that hose will be better than having it crimped when assembled. That way you can just change the hose/rubber part not the entire assembly which seems to be in good condition upon my inspection when I changed my pressure line.

No filter or a need for it. Furthermore, the 03-04 MOs had issues with a "weak" PS pump. During parking speed a sudden harder steering occurs when doing full turns -much like having no ps at all - so they changed pumps on the 05 and up. Adding a filter can exacerbate the issue. Good luck.
 
#8 ·
I see no filter on the parts diagram I attached in my first post. Plus I did a search on the word "filter" in the Power Steering section of the service manual and came up with nothing. If you've seen it, provide a picture or something so we know what you're referring to.

Thanks!

The only thing you need to check in the rest of the piping/tubing is the clamps and rubber connector hoses. Just make sure you don't see any leaks in those areas and you'll be set. You'll see the rest of the lines running around to the front then back to the P/S tank at the top. Many places for leaks to occur, but on mine I was fine.
 
#11 ·
I've seen those before but you really don't need them unless you're opening/closing your revisour a lot. If you have junk in your system that needs to be filtered out, it's time to get it flushed out. Little particulates in your PS system will only wear out things and cause it to fail. I've seen screens on the top of the resivour before that is used to keep junk out when you pour in fluid. Also used if you have one of those caps that don't fit very tight.
 
#12 ·
Thanks WarHammer for this great write up. I replaced the PS hose on my 2WD Mo today. Your thread helped a lot.
 
#14 ·
Reading through your thread again I realized that I Installed the rack connection first and then the banjo bolt connection second. I guess this is why I had such a hard time getting the bolt in.

Also, I didn't use Teflon on the threads of the connection to the rack. Will I have problems here?

Also, didn't use any torque specs on either the banjo bolt, the connection to the rack, or the bolts that hold the hose to the rear motor mount. Is this bad?
 
#15 ·
The torque specs were covered in pics 1 & 2 in the first post and I even circled the bolts in red. The banjo bolt is 37-50 ft-lbs and the 2 bolts on the back end of the motor mount is 27-34 ft-lbs. I'd just double check them. If you tightened them down to where it felt right then no worries. Should hold fine.

I put teflon tape on the rack side becuase I'm used to working with plumbing. Just felt right. I probably didn't need to since I tightened things down correctly. It's just me I guess! :)
 
#16 ·
I made sure that the banjo bolt was as tight as I could get it. I made sure that the banjo bolt holes aligned with the holes on the hose.

I also made sure that the connection to the rack was also nice and tight. I was a bit nervous while tightening this connection as I didn't want to strip it or anything.

And the bolts holding the hose to the rear motor mount I also made sure they were nice and tight too.

I don't own a torque wrench but will need to get one as I plan to replace the spark plugs in the spring. For that I believe I have to torque the bolts down to the exact amount.
 
#17 ·
Sounds like you've been working on cars long enough to know when things are tight enough. My dad had me by his side since I was 6-7 years old working on our cars. 30 years later and multiple cars of his and mine, I've seen a lot. He never really torked things down either. The only time I saw him torque something was when I saw him working on the heads of our 1984 Ford Crown Victoria LTD. And that tool looked wierd to me in that it had an analog dial on it! :)

Spark plugs are no issue. I torque them down now because I have 2 nice Craftsman torque wrenches that have been calibrated to aerospace standards. ;) Before I got them, I used to just the plugs based on feel alone. I did this for all vehicles my wife and I have owned over the years: 1982 Ford Granada V6, 2002 Nissan Sentra I4, 2002 Nissan Frontier V6, 2004 Murano V6. And have had zero issues.

You're probably fine. Just be sure to clean everything out and keep an eye on the hose. If it doesn't leak, then you're golden!
 
#18 ·
Been out of it for a while but I've just to remark what an excellent thread this is - love seeing D-I-Y's with great pictures. Mine was replaced at the $tealership at around 70,000 miles. Now I'm at 118,000 miles, still chugging along.
 
#19 ·
Since there are some jobs for which torque readings are really important, having a torque wrench in the toolbox is necessary for anyone who does much DIY work.

If you have it, then it's a good idea to use it. I like the "click"type since needle/scale models are often used in positions where it's hard to read the scale.

OTOH, I have more faith in the needle/scale models to retain their settings over a period of some years.
 
#20 ·
Has anyone fabricated their own hose assembly? I'm trying to wrap my mind around why the engineers would have it go so far up along the back of the engine and not just down along the rack unit. I can see an issue with heat, but wrap it in a few layers or add a shield. Just seems ridiculous to me.
 
#22 ·
Those prices seem pretty decent for a dealer. The labor sounds quite fair, as I doubt that the job can be done in less than 2 hours. If I needed a PS hose replaced and didn't have a full day available to do the job, I'd have taken them up on it.
 
#24 ·
How about just tightening the bolts?

My 2004 Murano AWD with 109K miles has been leaking P/S fluid for about a year. I am not sure exactly where it leaks, but I am wondering if anybody tried/thought about simply tightening the bolts at the few places?

It seems to me removing the pressure hose is quite some work, so maybe trying to tighten bolts is worthwhile a try? I don't know the exact reason why P/S leaks, so maybe some of you who replaced the hose before can give some thought?

on the pressure hose, I guess the place to tighten will be both ends? And what about the middle where the sensor is located - is this a place that could leak and can be tightened without having to withdraw the entire hose out of the car?

I am also interested in how to confirm where my hose is leaking. I can see P/S fluid at the bottom of the hose, but that does not tell me where it is from.
 
#26 ·
#27 ·
Hmmm "Omega" brand? Don't know. I did a quick search but didn't find any info on where it's made. If in China, I'd pass.

My willingness to save money sometimes depends on how outsize the pain in the a** would be to change the part again if it fails. That PS hose is no fun (by report) so I'd think twice and check Rockauto for options.
 
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