staqs Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 Power Steering pressure hose is leaking pretty bad on my 91 LS400. You can see the rubber ripped up and leaking right where the rubber section of the hose joins with the metal section. My mechanic is telling me that it (pressure hose) will cost $475.00 to get it fixed (part is 375.00). PS Pump seems to be in a good shape. Rack, however is leaking as well. Based on previous posts, I have decided to replace all three parts (pump, hose & rack) soon, but not right now. I just want to get by for couple of months with minimal expense, (I am in the process of putting in a new engine for my 97 Honda Passport, to the tune of 3700). I was wondering: Is the price qouted reasonable? Is there a reliable after market part (pressure hose, as well as other two) available and for how much? Can I just change the rubber section of the hose for the time being? How much work is it to DIY. P.S. I was planning on putting a shield covering on PS pump, in case it goes bad and leaks onto the alternator. Any and all help will be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99lsguy Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 I don't see why you couldn't just change the hose.....That would be my first line of thinking too! Some guys have purchased the PS pump from Autozone...I think they've had good success with it. If they have the pump, they may also have the hose(s) also. The Rack is probably different story. As astronomical as the quote is....it's probably in line :( I believe the dealer price for entire system is close to $1500 - just outrageous Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staqs Posted April 21, 2004 Author Share Posted April 21, 2004 I checked with autozone. Their pump price is pretty reasonable i-e $60 after you return the core. And it has LLT warranty on it. As for pressure hose, it is only $21.99! I think that is only the rubber portion with fittings so that it can slide onto the metal section. I have not seen the part yet, I would do that later on today. Let me have your thoughts on that. And rack and pinion is $110.00 after core with LLT. These are pretty good prices. Hopefully the guy putting them in is good as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvermate Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 was the $60 price for the rebuit PS pump? if you are tight on money right now you should just replace the faulty part for now ie...the pressure hose, then go from there good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEXIE Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 staggs, if the hose that is leaking is the high pressure line going from the pump to the rack you are looking at some pretty big bucks. if it is the little section of hose that returns to the resevoir with a couple of silver clamps then the 21.99 you mentioned is in line. or if it is the low pressure line from the reservoir to the pump, not much either. can you tell which line it is?? L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staqs Posted April 21, 2004 Author Share Posted April 21, 2004 ATSCO POWER STEERING PUMP for a 1991 LEXUS LS400 ATSCO WITH RESERVOIR 5175 LLT $40.00 $104.99 It doesn't say if it is remanufactured. I don't think they have complete pressure hose. Just the rubber section of it. I am wondering if changing that will take care of the problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEXIE Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 staggs, second time to post this..did not show up on active posts. if the hose that is leaking is the high pressure line going from the pump to the rack you are looking at some pretty big bucks. if it is the little section of hose that returns to the resevoir with a couple of silver clamps then the 21.99 you mentioned is in line. or if it is the low pressure line from the reservoir to the pump, not much either. can you tell which line it is?? L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staqs Posted April 21, 2004 Author Share Posted April 21, 2004 Lexie, I believe it is the one going from the pump to the rack thus making it high pressure line. It is situated on the driver side front bottom section of the engine compartment. It is easily accessible (at least the part that is leaking) from the bottom. Suppose it is the high pressure line and it is leaking right where the rubber hose clamps on to the metal line, wouldn't it make sense to just change the rubber hose and clamp it on tightly, flush the rest of the system pretty good so that there is no debri left which will cause further detorriation (spelling). And then after couple of months change all three components together. By the way, what do you mean by big bucks? Ball park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEXIE Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 stagg, if it is truly the high pressure feed line to the rack, it has a crimped fitting the connects the rubber part to the metal part that enters the pump. i dont think you can repair it. i have read somewhere on this forum, i think, where you can have shops that specialize in this type of repair do the hose repair job fairly cheaply. a new hose is going to cost you $350 mimimum. not sure about quality of knockoff brands if there is such a thing out. hate to cut this short but i am late for happy hour. hope it is not the high pressure line. lx ps--- i thought i had a leak at the same exact location u are talking about..junction of hose to metal.. but it turned out to be leaking at the connection to the pump and i ended up replacing the seal, o-rings and the copper gasket at the pump inlet and all was solved. sometimes the fluid runs down the metal line and collects at the junction and it appears to be leaking at that point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenmore Posted April 22, 2004 Share Posted April 22, 2004 I've seen hoses like this on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...sspagename=WD1V Far less than the dealer but don't know the quality. When you search for this part or any p/s part at the online parts supplier they always give the warning that once a part of your p/s starts to fail, you then should replace all parts of the system. Sounds expensive but it seems this is a known problem with first gen LS400s. Apparently there is a problem with contamination. You could probably take the piece meal approach with less expensive rebuilt parts but with expensive dealer supplied parts I would bite the bullet and do it all. Cost at the dealer is $3000+. glenmore 1990 LS400 1991 MBZ 300CE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staqs Posted April 22, 2004 Author Share Posted April 22, 2004 I checked with autozone for the ps pressure pump listed for $14 - $22 at their website. $21.99 was just a hose (probably one that can handle high pressure since most can't). I talked to the guy at one of autozones and he said $14.99 one has metal fittings on it (which would make it a real ps pressure hose) and he has it in stock. Then when I called in the evening, second shift people told me they don't have it. I went to yet another autozone and they had the $21.99 one available (without metal fittings). They not only didn't have the one with metal fittings, they weren't even able to order one. On the other hand, I found a pressure hose for ES series at PepBoys and it was very reasonable priced at $34. Does anyone know whether the rubber hose goes onto the metal fittings in pressure line or pressure line metal fittings go onto the hose. Reason I am asking is that ES pressure hose had the metal going onto the hose whereas when I looked at mine, and I am blurry on it, it looked like hose going onto the metal (reversed). I don't have anywhere to lift up the car else I would just look at my own setup. Crawling under the car is not a very appealing idea right now. Maybe later when there is no answer, I will have to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staqs Posted April 22, 2004 Author Share Posted April 22, 2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEXIE Posted April 22, 2004 Share Posted April 22, 2004 stags-- where did you get that picture from. i really dont think you can touch that hose for anything eeven close to $35. that is the exact same looking hose that goes with my SC400 p/s system and it was quoted in the $350 range. if you can get the hi press unit for your car for anything less than $50, it is a steal even if it may be a knockoff. lx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lex4me Posted April 26, 2004 Share Posted April 26, 2004 I'm planning on taking my old high pressure hose to a hydraulics hose shop to have them install new hose since I already decided that I was going to go ahead and replace the pump since it is leaking. Should be a whole lot cheaper than even the $125 that is available on eBay, plus while you wait service. :D I'll have to check with Autozone on the copper form to seal washers though - can't imagine that the hydraulics shop can take care of me there. Any thoughts on pulling the alternator while I am in there and powerwashing it? It has a layer of crud on it from the leaking pump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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