Alex89

Hi guys, just wanted to share how I replaced the rubber power steering return line hose between the cooler and reservoir on my 944. This hose was leaking on my 944 at the bottom of the reservoir. I thought the clamp might have just dug through the hose so I pulled it off, trimmed an inch off, then tried pushing it back onto the reservoir. The 30 year old hose basically disintegrated in my hands at this point, so replacement was necessary. Unfortunately the other end is crimped to the power steering cooler coil, so normally you would need to replace the whole cooler assembly in this case (part 944 347 459 03). Used on eBay is around $80, or $200 new on Pelican Parts. That seems excessive in my case and I'd rather save the money for other repairs on the car, so I found an alternative solution which ended up costing me $4 and about 2 hours.

The hose in question after the end disintegrated:


By removing the "nose" panel and raising the headlights, I could reach my Dremel into the space beside the crimp. I carefully cut through just the crimped collar. Once through I could spin the hose around on the hard line, so I could get a screwdriver in there to pry it off:


This revealed a nice little barb on the end of the cooler hard line:


The old hose I pulled off was close to 3/8" ID. My local Princess Auto (like a Canadian version of Harbor Freight) has bulk fuel line. In this case it is Green Line G611-038, but I imagine most fuel or oil lines are suitable. Remember this is the return side of the pump so there's really no pressure here. I needed about 17.5". It fit onto the cooler barb pretty snugly, and I used a zebra style hose clamp to secure it:


The other end fit onto the power steering reservoir pretty easily, also clamped with a zebra style hose clamp:


And there you have it!


Total cost: 2x $1.69/ft = $3.38 for hose plus a $0.50 hose clamp = <$4.
Not bad for an evening's work. And no sign of any leaks a week later!

Dave951

Good job; I bet you would have liked to have seen this write up before hand

Alex89

Thanks Dave, I did come across this a while ago so Bruce deserves credit for the idea. He used air line which seems like an odd choice to me and is probably why he had to cut those slits to fit it over the barbs, but whatever works! The gas / oil hose I used must have been softer as it stretched over the fittings pretty easily. So far no issues after a couple weeks of sitting with ATF in the lines, though I've admittedly only run the car about 1 minute in that time.

lamrith

Great thanks guys! I am possibly depowering our rack this weekend, but this is nice to info to have in case that solution is not suitable to the vehicles primary driver.

Anyone looked at doing similar with the other hose from the reservoir?

Alex89

I did originally plan on doing this with the hose from the reservoir to the P/S pump before I realized mine was already replaced by a previous owner and is still in decent shape. I don't think this hose requires the same butchery to replace, since it just goes from the reservoir to the P/S pump and isn't crimped to any hard lines. You should be able to use the same type of hose I bought and route it yourself, as long as you can keep it away from the hot exhaust manifold. Alternatively you can buy a new hose that is properly formed for not too much money, but there was a design change so if you buy the new hose (part 944.347.445.05) you also need to buy a new fitting to connect it to the P/S pump (part 999.230.357.02). Since mine was already replaced I don't know what the original fitting looked like, so maybe the butchering method would still apply.

Paragon Products (among others) sells the hose and new fittings for pretty reasonable prices. They also have a power steering rack reseal kit if you feel ambitious and want to try a DIY reseal, along with new boots, reservoirs (they have a filter in them), and a pump rebuild kit. They sell complete rebuilt racks too but I'd probably look at Zims Autotechnik if you go down that path as I've been happy with their prices and quality on other parts. Personally I think I'd try what I could to keep the power steering alive but its up to you.

Cool father/son project btw, your son is a lucky kid.

curtisr

I have to do this before much longer so I'm glad to see a solution and the photos to go with it. Thanks.

FRporscheman

I have never been able to force a 3/8" hose over the nipple on the reservoir. I have tried and tried, and gotten really frustrated and sore.

I used Dayco transmission cooler line, which is rated for ATF at like 300psi. I'm sure the pressure is nowhere near 300psi, but I want a hose that won't disintegrate from contact with ATF. This hose is thick and doesn't give. In fact, it was a very tight fit over the hard line barb! I had to use a brass reducer and a bit of 1/2" hose in order to connect to the reservoir. Just my 2 cents.

audi49

I successfully used this method over the weekend. Used 3/8” ID fuel line for the return. Set the line out in the sun for a couple of hours to soften it up and with moderate effort was able to push it onto the reservoir connection. Bought the official part for the supply line. No leaks!