bdc1

My power steering fluid is drainging pretty quickly and I think I found the leak, its dripping from this banjo bolt:


(please ignore the water droplets on the upper hose and airbox, I had washed the car earlier and it was dripping from the bonnet)

...which I believe is hose 14 / bolt 7 in this diagram:



I assume thats the pump they lead to, its not identified on this diagram.

I specifically saw the fluid dripping from beneath the bolt, however when I took it off, it looked intact as did the sealing rings and the connector part of the hose. the rings/washers might look a bit rough but only on the outer edge, they don't look like they'd leak.

so the questions are, a) what is this hose, b) how to fix the leak if the bolt and washers are not broken?

FeralComprehension

Replace 16 first. It's *way* cheaper and fails more commonly. It can leak down onto 7/14 and make you think those are bad when they're not.

Rocket Rob

I would recommend getting a new set of crush washers, disassemble that fitting, clean everything and reassemble. My guess is that the problem will be solved. Are you sure the leak is not coming from the rubber hose between the reservoir and pump (#16)? I've had to replace mine which was seeping.

bdc1

Thanks for the input

it definitely looked like it was coming from underneath the bolt, but I suppose there is a chance the leak is above it, but it would have to drip pretty perfectly onto the bolt as that is the only place I saw several drops coming off of.

I've replaced #16 recently actually due to the hose being cracked. I will check the connections on that, as well as clean the bolt and washers.

bdc1

So I finally finished some other major work on the car and was able to get it running, I refilled the fluid and realized its leaking at the hose I thought it was (no 14), however not at the bolt but above it beneath the rubber "cover":



Does anyone know the anatomy of this part (964 347 447 04), what is beneath the rubber? the metal part (starting from the bolt) seems to fit quite loosely inside the rubber (at the circle) and it doesn't look like its even intended to be a tight fit, so I'm assuming the rubber acts as a protective cover, perhaps to a metal hose?

I'm assuming I need a new one altogether, but I'm also wondering if there is a quick fix for this until I get one? I could clamp the rubber around the metal part, but I imagine it would continue leaking somewhere underneath the rubber...

I'm in rather desperate need to drive the car somewhere tomorrow, I have to rent a trailer unless I get this plugged

Twood

I am probably stating the obvious but make sure that you have a crush washer on BOTH sides of the banjo bolt fitting. I missed one once and it soon told me that I had not assembled it correctly.

jimq

I replaced that big hose on mine a couple months ago. Mine was leaking towards the backside of the engine and onto the valve cover. I got a new one at DC auto. Way cheaper than anybody else and it was a factory hose. Its not hard to replace but you need to pull off the whole aircleaner to get to the back connection.

bdc1

I've reattached the bolt, but as mentioned in the latter post the leak isn't at the bolt like I thought, but above it in the hose where the metal part and the rubber meet.

I will replace it but am just trying to figure out if I can get the car driveable meanwhile. I will try to clamp the rubber part of the hose at both ends and see what happens. If there is a metal hose beneath like I'm guessing, it would probably still leak but the rubber would keep it under some control temporarily.

bdc1

So as a test (wouldn't recommend this) I put a hose clamp around the rubber exactly at the circled spot in the last photo, and another one half way up the hose, and after the car had idled for 5 mins and I had turbed the wheels back and forth, pressure started building up and the hose started to billow with fluid between the clamps. So its definitely leaking underneath, I will replace the hose and clearly its not driveable like this as the pressure might break the rubber cover, but at least I managed to drive it around the corner where I needed.

garrett1021

Mine leaked there too. Took it to a local hydraulic shop and they fixed it for $30. Never leaked since

Alan G.

I noticed a funny new red leak under my 1992 C4. It took a while till I remembered the Dextron connection.

Mine is dripping from the bango, but is running back down the pressure hose above. I pulled out the air box, and put the cone filter in (temporarily).

It should be an easy repair for a hydraulic shop. Did they just reuse the ends?

Will also price new to see if it is worth getting repaired. Looks easy, but never a good idea to say so.

Thanks.

RicardoD

$%&^*&*%!!! I still have friggen leak on my C2 Tip and its the power steering fluid. I think its the banjo bolt on the high pressure line. All this crap is blocking me for starting to work on my C4 cause I don't want to start that project until my C2 is right. Once I drop the motor on my C4, my lift will be occupied.

Changed out crush washers, on both sides, torqued to 30Nm per factory spec, and still a friggen leak. Maybe my leak location is wrong and need to inspect more closely. I rebuilt the pump as part of my factory reconditioning on the car so maybe I screwed that up. I really cleaned the entire area after the repair this weekend.

Rocket Rob

Hang in there. I know you will find it. The pump connections are pretty simple, so it should just be a matter of elimination to find the source of the leak. How much is leaking? Is it just a drip or seep? If yes, then I would wrap paper towels around the different leak points and run the engine for a time and then inspect the paper towels.

Sharker

I had #14 go as well. Tiny little pinhole under the covering. The fluid would seep down between the layers and look like it was coming out of the crimp. Easy to fix, PITA to get to on a turbo

bdc1

It definitely took me a while to realize the fluid was running down the underside of the pressure hose, I could've sworn it was coming from the bolt but after sticking paper towels underneath the hose I noticed the leak was higher up.

Good luck!