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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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#28 ·
Well, I would order from Rockauto if I could figure out which part is the right one for my 2004 Murano SE AWD.

Rockauto's pressure hose has a brand name of Edelmann (good brand?), and there are 15+ different choices (e.g. upper vs. lower, hose vs. tube, from pump vs. pump to rack, etc. etc.). Anybody can help me identify which one is what I need?

Thanks!
 
#29 ·
I can't believe nissan bump the price 60 bucks from when I did this repair. It seems that they even took out the upper and lower brackets. So you need to reuse the original ones along with the sensor.

You want the pump to rack AWD one. Actually, looking at the photos, it seems that they now sell just the soft hose where the leaky part is (pump end). You then reuse/reconnect to the old hard tubing part that goes to the rack. This will end up being even cheaper for you. You need to ascertain where your leak is coming from first. Meaning you need to get down there and examine what you got.

If you are not going oem, it seems that both places are about the same price and quality. If I get the same problem again, I would get the entire assembly hose and hard tubing from autozone for $50 instead. If problem arise, they are just a couple of miles for a quick free replacement. Good luck.
 
#30 ·
Nitely,

By "they now sell just the soft hose where the leaky part is (pump end).", are you referring to the rubber hose connected to the reservoir at the top? I don't think that segment is pressurized.

If you are talking about part of this pressure hose is made of "soft hose" -

1. Can you replace this soft hose without having to unscrew the banjo bolt and remove the entire pressurized hose? seems that is most part of the work.

2. How is this soft hose connected to the rigid part of the pressure hose? Bolt, clamp?

I went down their before, and know that the black sleeve of the pressure hose is soaked, which tells me that the leak comes from higher part of the hose. Is that conclusive that I need to replace the pressure hose? I guess it is also possible the lower end of the return hose (none pressurized, connected to the reservoir) could leak, but I can't visually confirm without removing parts to provide room.
 
#31 ·
I'm only talking about the pressure line assembly. If you look at the pix of my previous posting on this repair...http://www.nissanmurano.org/forums/...wer-steering-high-pressure-line-repair-2.html The pump end where the banjo bolt reside is crimped connected to this soft black hose (seen once you lift up the silver heat wrap) that loops up to the intake bracket and down to a lower bracket that is crimped connected again to a fitting that then connects the hard tubing going to the rack. Nissan only sells this entire assembly. While now, aftermarket offers a break down of this assembly. You can buy just the soft black hose with crimped connections on both end or just the hard tubing. Depending on your need/preference.

Like I said, you need to inspect where your leak is. Try to see/feel for any red fluid at the bottom of the PS reservoir where the connections are. If its dry then most probably its the pressure line. Once this crimped part of the pressure line black hose starts to leak there is no stopping. And the fluid gets sprayed all over the place making it even harder to detect where the leak is coming from unless you start wiping the lines dry/clean.

This is a highly pressurized system so you don't want to just buy a hose and hose clamp that in there. Though tempting, its very dangerous and highly possible to break the connection and lose all steering while driving.
 
#32 ·
I went under and took a picture (attached). As noted in the picture, the highest point I can see pink PS fluid dripping is right at where the white plastic tie is. Also the bottom of the PS reservoir where there are two hose connections is dry.

Does this positively confirm my pressure line is leaking?

As to whether to replace a segment or the entire PS pressure line - will I still need to remove the whole pressure line from the car in order to replace a segment of it? If so, the savings from the part cost is small (whole pressure line at autozone is sold for ~$50), I will just replace the whole.

Thanks guys!
 

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#34 ·
I would say replace the whole line. The power steering hose itself is encased in a rubber sleeve. Most likely what is happening is there is a crack in the hose, and the fluid is travling down the tube and collecting on the fitting you show in your picure. Given history on this issue, you're better off replacing the entire assembly.
 
#35 ·
OMG, I just did this job and it is not pretty the first time but you swear up and down you will spend way less time the second round. Trickiest part for me was getting that stupid banjo bolt in (took many many tries, prayers, and a lot of patience. The hardline on the other side was a project as well because I kept trying to fit it in the wrong way. The 2 bolts and the hardline should have descent location for fitment, otherwise, it is in wrong. Might be good to take a picture before you start removing. Used basic tools (wrenches, ratchets, pliers, adjustable wrenches. Took me much longer than everyone else because I had to keep repeating things and did so many checks. I purchased the autozone kit for $50. It came with o rings and everything needed. I reused bracket that goes on back of engine, sensor, and the o-ring on the end of the hardline. It wasn't damaged and the ones that came with autozone package seemed too big. Bought the same copper rings from Nissan by mistake, thinking kit wouldn't come with it. In total, $53 (hose), $15 (Nissan PS fluid & copper rings) + 11 hours = $68. Test drive went fine. Will give it a few days but so far so good. Girlfriend helped a lot, I mean a lot. Trying to get everything to fit right, we installed/uninstalled a handful of times.

All the concerns discussed in this and another similar thread are true. This is definitely a doable job, just takes a lot of patience and breaths.

BTW, 2003 Murano SE w/ 103k miles. Did not give any issues, then out of nowhere fluid leaked. Weird enough, it never completely leaked, always stopped way below the line but there was always something in the reservoir.

Funniest moment was people looking at the cowl removed and thinking I was destroying the car. It is really not as scary as it looks, considering its nothing but bolts.

Prayer helped so much, I kid you not.
 
#37 ·
Correction . Have 106k miles. Anyway, day 2 and took the car on local and highway roads. No noises, no issues so far. Reservoir sitting in the same place. AutoZone kit seems good but you have to reuse bracket that mounts to back off engine, rubber gasket on end of hard line, and sensor.
 
#38 ·
I plan to split the work between two days. Any problem or things to watch for to drive around the car with the wipers and cowl removed? Electrical, mechanical, or structural stresses?

I ended up buying the MasterPro p/s line from O'Reilly Parts Store. Cost including tax is ~$54.

1. There are two yellow caps (see photo attached). Anybody knows what they are for?

2. There is one small o-ring in the package. It seems a bit small for the sensor (my guess only). There is a small paper that says this o-ring needs to be installed otherwise will leak. Where does this o-ring go if not the sensor?

Thanks!
 

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#39 ·
I plan to split the work between two days. Any problem or things to watch for to drive around the car with the wipers and cowl removed? Electrical, mechanical, or structural stresses?

I ended up buying the MasterPro p/s line from O'Reilly Parts Store. Cost including tax is ~$54.

1. There are two yellow caps (see photo attached). Anybody knows what they are for?

2. There is one small o-ring in the package. It seems a bit small for the sensor (my guess only). There is a small paper that says this o-ring needs to be installed otherwise will leak. Where does this o-ring go if not the sensor?

Thanks!
When you remove the cowl, it doesn't move too far from its original location unless you unplug tubes. You can access everything by just pulling all the cowl things a little further. Attempting to move the cowl, 2 of the outside rear bolts broke. Not a big deal, as there are a handful that keep it bolted to the car but I would definitely take my time with these old bolts and don't over tighten at all, especially the one behind the engine. Someone mentioned breaking that and I definitely made sure I wouldn't destroy that one.

No yellow caps are needed for this project. Not sure why they are included.

There are 2 parts of the hose that require a RUBBER ring: the end of the hardline and the sensor. YOU NEED these rings to avoid leaks. Your better off using the old ones than nothing at all in my opinion. As mentioned, my autozone kit came with a ring for the sensor but the one for the hardline was slightly too big for my comfort. Reused the old one.
 
#40 ·
My local shop wanted $550 to do the hose and the sensor. That's obviously a ton of money and which I do not have.

Can someone tell me if this will work for my 2005 SL AWD mo? Or if I need additional parts. I have read through all of these forums and I am over processing and confusing myself on what parts to get. Doesn't help that auto zone and O'Reillys sells multiple units.
MasterPro® Power Steering Hose 80648 - Pressure Line Assembly | O'Reilly Auto Parts

Thank you so much.
 
#44 ·
Can someone tell me if this will work for my 2005 SL AWD mo? Or if I need additional parts. I have read through all of these forums and I am over processing and confusing myself on what parts to get. Doesn't help that auto zone and O'Reillys sells multiple units.
BenHeiss,

From what I gather (i.e. take with a grain of salt) - the power steering pressure line is made up of two separate segments:

1. One is a soft hose wrapped (in part, or in case of MasterPro part entirely) in shinning aluminum sleeve. This hose is located higher than the 2nd segment described below, and it is also bigger in diameter. On the higher side of this hose is the "famous" bonjo bolt (some folks here call it the "bulb"), and right below that is where the power steering sensor is. The bonjo bolt connects to the power steering pump. The P/S fluid is pumped from the pump to this soft hose, and therefore this hose is also referred to as "from the pump" in some online catalogs.

2. Second segment is smaller in diameter, and rigid/hard tubing made of metal, and is bent in multiple locations. One end connects to the soft hose above, and the other end goes to the steering rack (called "rack" here). This hose is referred to as "to the rack".

P/S fluid in both segments are pressurized by the P/S pump. While it is possible to replace one of the two instead of both, I never verified if you can mismatch a after market hose to the original hose there (in terms of size of connections between the two hoses). I am also surprised to see that complete set is cheaper than buying one of the two hoses (not sure why).
 
#41 ·
where does the o-ring fit?

I bought the MasterPro® Power Steering Hose 80648 - Pressure Line Assembly from O'Reilly Auto Parts. Will do this project this tomorrow.

The package comes with 2 washers and 1 single o-ring. The o-ring appears to be quite small, not sure if this o-ring is for the sensor or else where?

Attached are two photos. Area 1 is where the two pieces of hoses (flexible vs. rigid) connects. Area 2 is the rigid hose to rack I think. And area 3 is flexible hose end to the pump (where the sensor is).

By appearance, the o-ring fits the rigid line end at area 2. It can be slide over the rigid line and then rest on the "skirt" there. If it fits at area 1, then it will be sitting in between the two ends of the hoses. Area 3 - the sensor connection seems to be too big relative to this o-ring (but I could be wrong).

Anybody knows where this o-ring should go? And are there additional o-rings in the whole set up that I need to either reuse or buy new?

Thanks!
 

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#42 ·
Want to add more questions:

1. meccanoble in post #39 implied that the single o-ring is used in Area 2 (see photo in post #41 ). So how does the connection in Area 1 seal without an o-ring? Maybe meccanoble's comment is specific to the genuine OEM part which appears to come as one piece screwed tight including an o-ring hidden from view? MasterPro has them as two separate pieces.

2. The MasterPro part does not have the bracket in the middle of the flexible hose. Can the bracket from the old part be reused in the new line?

3. What is the tightening torque for the connection between the flexible and the rigid hose (i.e. Area 1 in the photo of post #41 )?
 
#43 ·
will start project in 12 hours

Folks, I will start replacing the PS line in 12 hours. Appreciate if you can take a look at my last two posts to provide feedback.

I am most confused re where to put the single o-ring that came with the new part - at the end of the hard line connecting the steering rack side, or between the flexible/soft hose and the hard line hose?

Thanks!
 
#45 ·
project in session

I just finished taking things apart tonight. Will work on putting new parts in tomorrow and write a note learning after that.

Meanwhile,
1. Anybody knows the torque for the connection between the soft hose and the hard rigid hose? It seems the OEM part comes as one single piece with these two already screwed together? The MasterPro part comes as two separate pieces. When I unscrew the old part, this connection was the hardest to unscrew. Without knowing the torque spec, I may not make it tight enough to prevent leaking. By the way, there is no o-ring here. The slightly flat end of the hard line hose serves as a "crush washer" to provide the seal, I think. Hence torque spec is critical.

2. How did you guys use a torque wrench to tighten the hard line to steering rack? There is so little room there that I had to use a very small adjustable wrench to unscrew this. I can't imagine any torque wrench can possibly have enough room here.

Thanks!
 
#47 ·
The hard tubing end going to the rack has a little O ring so do not over tighten. FSM says 11-18 ft.lb. Use a 1/4 inch drive torque wrench or else you will over tighten. I may have just tighten it by touch. Can't remember. Snug then just less than a quarter turn.

The soft hose end going to the hard tubing fitting is not mentioned in the manual. If its a compression fitting then just tighten it well. More than the hard tubing going to the rack end. If it leaks, tighten it some more. Use a big wrench to hold the fitting. Good luck.

Don't you have the FSM?

Sensor torque specs in not mentioned either. Just tighten it well.
 
#48 ·
Hey guys, sorry for late reply. Was busy doing things on other car.

I didn't torque ANYTHING. The first post discusses torques. The piece I purchased from autozone was 1 piece. I did not disconnect anything and its highly possible the o-ring that I felt did not fit the tip (the one that was maximized in view in a recent post) was to be used in the section that seperates hardline from soft. I just made sure that part was very tight. The hardline going into the steering column (driver side of car) was EXTREMELY difficult to remove and install. You just have to take a small wrench and take your time. I tightened until I felt I would do damage and got lucky I guess. The sensor was installed with 2 adjustable wrenches. I tightened it as much as possible. At some point, you feel like you may start stripping and you can say that's tightest you want to do. This was removed once because I forgot to put the O-ring on. Thankfully I didn't try to put it in car prior to first removal on new line.

I reused the metal holder (don't forget the rubber piece inside which protects line from getting damaged). A previous post I discussed all the things that would be reused.

Remember to breathe and take your time. When you put fluid back in, check below and make sure you see no leaks before you even put the tire back on. PM me your number if you need more help.
 
#51 ·
Can you see where the leak is coming from? Tighten all areas, even if you have to use an adjustable wrench, just try not to strip anything. I'm assuming its leaking at either the hardline to driver side steering column, the banjo bolt (next to sensor) or the right angle connection from soft line to hard line. Tighten all. Hopefully you used all necessary O-rings and washers where recommended on this thread.
 
#50 ·
BlueHorse, I just finished doing the PS hose on Saturday. I am at a loss of how a torque wrench would fit in the area plus it would have to be paired with a crowfoot metrical wrench. I DID use a flare nut wrench, and being extremely careful I tightened it until it stopped, and then gave it a 1/4 turn. I followed the directions for getting the air bubbles out of the system with the engine off, key to ACC position, and then with the engine running. I made sure there were no leaks before I reinstalled the tires and all other bits and pieces.
 
#52 ·
Finally, did it this weekend, took me about 8 hours in total. Not an easy job, primarily due to small space to outmaneuver parts/tools and hands under the car, as well as I used MasterPro parts from O'Reilly where the flexible and hard line hoses come in as separate pieces.

The practice of "Remember to breathe and take your time." definitely helps in this case. I spend 3 hours Friday evening to take things apart, and another 4 hours Sat to put things back on including various trials and errors, and another 1 hour to clean up the old spills and test.

Couple of things to note:
1. Wiper arm is made of two segments and is spring loaded. After the nuts are removed, make sure you press down the middle of the arm flat against the window glass so the tension at the bolt is even around its circumference, then it will be easy to move the whole arm out. Also note that at the end when you put arms back and start to tighten the nuts, use on hard holding the wiper arm to balance the torque from your tightening. This will prevent damage to the spline. I did strip the spline a bit, but after tightening the nuts, both arms moved well.

2. The bolt at the back of the engine give me most trouble - tight space so can only get a short wrench in there. Almost stripped the bolt badly. Maybe I tried it when engine was still hot. Suggest wait till engine cold to do this.

3. The unscrewing and tightening of the hose to steering rack connection is difficult due to tight space. Using a crowfoot and also an extension worked well for me (including torque it to the right spec, with some calculation due to the crowfoot change the leverage).

4. Now, here is the difference of MasterPro part from O'Reilly vs. the original part: it has no brackets (there are two set of brackets from the original part), and no sensor, and the flexible hose and hard line hose came as two separate pieces. I reused old brackets and sensor. But here is why it it is tedious:
a. Tightening the two hoses is not difficult, but I had to figuer out the right torque. I tighten it to about 21~15 foot lbs.
b. You have to be careful about the angle the two are connected. There are multiple hoses/lines down there, and space is tight, so incorrect angel would not fit. I took the two apart from the original part because I wanted to see if there is an o-ring there, but I did this before I observe the angel the two hoses are aligned! So I had to slide the two separate pieces back in car (quite an effort) and then try to piece them together at the 3 connections (including banjo bolt, hose to rack and this connection of the two hoses) so I know which angel the new hoses should be connected. I chose to tighten the two hoses before putting the whole new part into car, because I want to make sure the connection is tighten and there is just not enough room under car to make sure of that. This whole game plan took me at least 1 hour of time (at least). The hard line can be bent a bit, so you don't have to be 100% exact in the alignment of the two hoses.

5. Observe and note exactly how the whole end to end pressure line goes underneath the car. Take photos of various angle, so later on you don't have to experiment like I did.

6. The o-ring that came with the part is for the hard line hose to rack connection. There is no o-ring between the flexible and hard line hoses (it is a crush seal). The bonjo bolt requires 2 copper ring which are included in the new part. I did not have a new o-ring for the sensor, so I reused both the old sensor and its old o-ring.

7. I tighten the sensor quite hard. Used a vise to hold it in place when tighten. Also two adjustable wrenches should work equally well.

8. I connect the lower bracket first (don't tighten it yet), then the hose to rack connection (again, don't tighten it yet), then use a small rope to hang the upper racket/hose to the engine block so that it will not fall down. This allows me to put copper washers and connect bonjo bolt all by myself. Then I went back tighten the hose to rack connection, the lower bracket, bonjo bolt, then the higher bracket.

9. Pay attention to the orientation of the lower bracket, so that it is properly installed on the hose.

10. I used about 80% of a quart to fill up the lost ps fluid. During bleeding, I could hear slight friction noise from the ps pump only when the steering wheel goes to the far left/right end. I am not sure if this is new after the DIY or it has been like that before though.

Car now steers about the same as before. If steering is easier than before, I have to say that I can't tell really. There is no more dripping of oil on the floor (at least for now). That feels great.

Now I can concentrate on whether the car is leaking engine oil or it is burning oil.
 
#53 ·
great feedback and spot on with everything. I did all my work on a cold engine and I'm glad there is no o-ring between hard/soft line. Yea the picture idea is definitely recommended as I spent a lot of trial and error trying to remember how the fitment was.

Regarding fitment, don't force anything. Between the bracket (2 bolts) and that hardline, they sit next very close to each other. If your angle gets one in but you have to go through hell to do the other, something is not right. You will have to stress it a little but I ran into angles that were just too difficult and that was one of the most frustrating parts of the job. I was so upset at times that it made me more surprised that I finished with no issues (so far - 1.5+ weeks later - 200+ miles later.
 
#54 ·
Had the dealer R&R my Power Steering hose assembly: $190.00+ 2 connectors $6.46 and 2 fluids $12.08+ 2 hours labor 141.46 = $350.00. Thought it was reasonable.
123K mi. It started leaking after the Mo did a 180 in a dirt field.
Dealer said I should also change my struts and dust boots and both lower control arms.
 
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