leaking power steering return hose

[Octane]

That's my favorite.

General sold SIXTEEN MILLION trucks - with a bad designed steering. Yep! That's the only possible solution.

Mine only lasted 36 years before the seals went bad.I sure wish they made' em like they used to.The reman unit is noisy after 8 years and 20k miles

 

[Raider L]

@Octane,

Yeah, isn't that something? It's amazing yours would have that much time on it. And my Autometer fuel pressure gauge just failed last week and I was all upset about that like after 25 years I thought it was going to last forever? Gee **** man. So I have another one ordered from Autometer. And you know what's weird, the one from Autometer was about three dollars cheaper than Summit, and so was the S & H, and no tax! When I bouight all my gauges I got them from Super Shops here in town. It's to bad when the old man died, the kids didn't want the business, they just wanted the money. And in this town which is slap full of hot rods, custom cars and trucks out the butt, drag racing and dirt track racing out the yeng yang, you'd think there would be two or three speed parts shops. But there is only ONE! And it's not really a speed parts shop, they just have a few parts because they do engines there, stock rebuilds but mostly racing and performance. Like, out in the lobby they have some stuff on the wall but can order you anything you want. Well heck, I can order anything I want, what do I need them for? Oh yeah, there is one 4 X 4 parts and build shop. You may have one in your neighborhood, "4Wheel Parts"? It's a big store that has all this heavy duty stuff for Jeeps and other 4 wheelers, and they do installs and repairs there. Got one of those? And here I had to order a gauge because no one other than Auto Zone, Advance Auto Parts, and O'Reilly sells a couple of Autometer gauges. whoop de do!

 

[Raider L]

@AuroraGirl,

"Gaiter hose" What kind of hose is that? I thought I'd get fancy and challenge myself and make one out of aluminum tubing. Wouldn't that work for a return line? Or do I need to make it out of steel? Aluminum might be to flimsy at the fitting? It might split even faster. Let's see, I need to take it off and look at the tube end to see if it's a single flare or a double flare. Probably a single flare since it's a reverse flare on the pump fitting...I think. Oh, I just remembered, it's on the engine, it can't be solid, it has to be a rubber hose! You know what I was thinking about, the steel line coming up off the fuel pump. But it's on the engine, not the frame. The PS has to flex. Oh well, yakity yak.
I'm distracted because I have my other computer next to this one and I'm watching the hurricane on it.

 

[Octane]

I remember Super Shops.We have a 4whheel parts in a nearby town.I've got the most original truck out there probably.As the history of the truck is well known,almost nothing had been done to it for a good while after I bought it 20 years ago. Just recently replaced a pinion seal and did the first carb rebuild.I am concerned about the original timing set in it as it's now got 132k on it.Ive only put about 50k on the truck in 20 years

 

[AuroraGirl]

@AuroraGirl,

"Gaiter hose" What kind of hose is that? I thought I'd get fancy and challenge myself and make one out of aluminum tubing. Wouldn't that work for a return line? Or do I need to make it out of steel? Aluminum might be to flimsy at the fitting? It might split even faster. Let's see, I need to take it off and look at the tube end to see if it's a single flare or a double flare. Probably a single flare since it's a reverse flare on the pump fitting...I think. Oh, I just remembered, it's on the engine, it can't be solid, it has to be a rubber hose! You know what I was thinking about, the steel line coming up off the fuel pump. But it's on the engine, not the frame. The PS has to flex. Oh well, yakity yak.
I'm distracted because I have my other computer next to this one and I'm watching the hurricane on it.

I think a ps line with aluminum parts would be susceptible to fatigue even with rubber. I can show a pic later of the rubber hose I was told that by the auto store guy. Someone here a long time ago id the hose type but I forgot when and where lol. I couldn’t find it on a google search. It has exterior texture ajd doesn’t bend easily, it wouldn’t be able to kink under normal ps return or trans cooler use, the walls are rigid. Ajd the outside is pretty tough too

 

[Raider L]

What the heck?? They just repeated the first page. Oh well, no other comments? Okay.

 

[AuroraGirl]

What the heck?? They just repeated the first page. Oh well, no other comments? Okay.

huh??

 

[Grit dog]

Sometimes this forum is like watching a bad episode of Letterkenny....

@Raider L , you can't figure out what's wrong without removing it. Dunno why folks are talking about the crimp to the hose and the hose itself. Maybe lack of reading comprehension since you clearly said in your first post
"my power steering return hose is leaking where it screws into the top of the sector. ....... And I've already put a wrench on it and it's tight. I don't want to over tighten it so I was going to take it loose and look at the end that goes into the sector to see what I can see. I can't imagine what would cause the return line to leak at the sector. ......"

I have no idea what hose clamps and gaiter hose (Gator brand hydraulic hose??) have to do with this.
The fitting on the return line is one of 2 designs and appears the old squares like yours is the no O-ring design.
Also, brand spankin' new return hoses are somewhere between $6.29 and like $15 online. So I wouldn't spend 10 seconds trying to "fix" a $6 40 year old part.
I'd buy a new return hose and a fresh bottle of power steering fluid before even touching it with a wrench again.
Just a suggestion.

 

[AuroraGirl]

Sometimes this forum is like watching a bad episode of Letterkenny....

@Raider L , you can't figure out what's wrong without removing it. Dunno why folks are talking about the crimp to the hose and the hose itself. Maybe lack of reading comprehension since you clearly said in your first post
"my power steering return hose is leaking where it screws into the top of the sector. ....... And I've already put a wrench on it and it's tight. I don't want to over tighten it so I was going to take it loose and look at the end that goes into the sector to see what I can see. I can't imagine what would cause the return line to leak at the sector. ......"

I have no idea what hose clamps and gaiter hose (Gator brand hydraulic hose??) have to do with this.
The fitting on the return line is one of 2 designs and appears the old squares like yours is the no O-ring design.
Also, brand spankin' new return hoses are somewhere between $6.29 and like $15 online. So I wouldn't spend 10 seconds trying to "fix" a $6 40 year old part.
I'd buy a new return hose and a fresh bottle of power steering fluid before even touching it with a wrench again.
Just a suggestion.

those hoses are also junk
i had a brand new ac delco metric pressure line.. it stripped the threads on the line with finger turning and then it wouldnt sit proper(I would guess It was cut the wrong size and off center and then cross threaded on a cleaner or something, but that metal just peeled and folded over like nothing. I bought a 6 dollar hose off oreillies since I needed one then, and,.. it wasnt good, but the thing is still working despite the shavings the old pump Put in the system(i assume the pump was the source) before I replaed that and put a filter on. i dont know why its holding up but luck I guess. The AC delco wasnt their OEM line but it it was their "Top quality " line. The Box was fine, too, the threads were normal and the other one was having more trouble because of the bubble flare was really testy and wanted to hold the line off of the seat or at an angle and I Was having to reach quite far on ladder to get to it from above and arms arent in their best coordination or working distance there. The lines are metric o ring because 1980+ should normally be that, the older ones be inverted flare. 75 was press on pulley vs Keyed shaft with a bolt. Reservoir of the circular top part was a late 60s to early 70s i believe, the han cam we all know being onward that previous. Some point, they got a rubber baffle on the dipstick, unsure if the reservoir height was changed in this setup.

also, they make a new barb you can just put the flare end in the gear, run a small hose to the return from the metal. 5 bucks.

 

[Grit dog]

^Uhhh, ok.
After that diatribe, I’d still take my chances with a new return line if I had one that was leaking. But that’s just me.

 

[AuroraGirl]

^Uhhh, ok.
After that diatribe, I’d still take my chances with a new return line if I had one that was leaking. But that’s just me.

Most of the time, yes. If you are like me, whos last 3 cars had a return line that cost about the same as a power steering rack, you get innovative. IN my square, the return is still fine. But if I had to replace it, frankly, I would get the fitting(if mine was not good), then plump a cooler over to infront the radiator, and do that. Especially since my primary use has the truck weighted a lot in the front, and used at low speeds.

But for most uses, yeah thats easiest. the working room gives you a lot of choice and the options are affordable.