Vitamin_B12

hello

PART 1: BACKGROUND

so i had to replace the high pressure portion of the power steering hose/pipe assembly. i had a leak. i feel stupid because i didn't see it when i bought the car. one of the bad parts of having the seller do the safety certification. everybody knows somebody who will do it under the table (or rather, not do it at all) at least it's a somewhat small issue

a bunch of small nagging issues, but not everyone is lucky. got a good price on the car and including any fixes it was still worth it

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PART 2: PRICING / OPTIONS

ANYWAY, so goes the search



the OEM part number is 49720-CF40A, and option 1 is to buy a new one and call it a day

Courtesy Nissan Parts says it is discontinued, flop. Amazon quotes something like $320 USD (keep in mind I'm in Canada, so it hurts so much more than that lol)

option 2 purchase used on eBay, but used ones averaged well over $150 USD

so i went looking around for an option 3; stainless steel braided PTFE hose covered in hytrel for added durability, all for a fair price of $75-$80 USD!



i'm sure it could be pieced together cheaper, but i don't know the sizes or length required. here is the product in question:

https://www.amazon.com/Techna-Fit-Po.../dp/B00AAZOAGK

http://www.technafitstore.com/PSH-N-...psh-n-350z.htm

it looked like a basic stock photo for every car though, and i emailed Techna-Fit directly twice with OEM images and the part number just to clarify it was the part i needed. no response at all. ok

well, i had no choice so i gotta do it and hope that it is correct. after seeing the Amazon review talking about the sensor, i figured chances were good that it was the correct high pressure hose, so purchased it from Amazon

so to make sure we are on the same page, this is the piece we are talking about:



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PART 3: INSPECTION

so, here is my badly repaired leak from the previous owner



i guess was cracked/broke, with brass fittings and a really junky piece of pipe added. i just jammed it up with some high temp silicone sealant i had while i waited for my part to arrive



as expected, if they won't even answer an e-mail there would of course be no instructions. i understand it's just nuts and bolts, but that kind of goes for a lot of things

specs were listed as:

"-6 stainless steel braided PTFE hose
14mm x 1.5 Male Bumpsteer with O-Ring
16mm x 1.5 Male with Dowty Seal Washer"

so, here is what i can tell you for anyone trying to build their own (probably cheap in USA):

New Hose Length (not including fittings): ~125 cm (49.2 in)
OEM Hose Length (somewhat guessed, bent and straightened out to remove): ~130 cm (51.2 in)
* this might be much shorter for RHD vehicles if the power steering rack is switched sides i don't know

Power Steering Pump Fitting: M16 x 1.5 pitch
Steering Rack Fitting: M14 x 1.5 pitch
* sorry i forgot to get the thread lengths! someone make an educated guess based on the photos

Hose Outer Diameter: ~0.45 in / 12.3 cm measured by digital caliper. It is probably a 3/8 in (possibly 7/16?) AN-6 hose

what they did was provide the fittings as 2 pieces on each end, the pump and steering rack accepts male, and they give you a male to male piece so that you can put that on first, and then wrestle the female fitting on the hose

i assume this is so that it goes on smoothly without stripping the threads on the female OEM parts

they were weird sizes given, like 3/4 inch (19mm) and 0.69 in OR (17.5mm) wtf... i used an adjustable wrench to torque them down

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PART 4: REMOVAL OF OEM PART

things you will need:
- 10 mm wrench or socket on 1/4 in drive
- 10 mm racheting wrench
- flathead screwdriver
- 14 mm wrench
- 24 mm socket on 3/8 breaker, 1/2 drive, or 24 mm swan neck wrench
- adjustable wrench

so to start with, it is best to drain the power steering fluid all out first. easiest to do by loosening/removing the end by the power steering rack and draining in to a container. put down rags and cardboard and junk for the inevitable mess

so, jack up the front of the car, and remove the 2 front wheels

the high pressure fitting on the power steering rack is 14 mm (i'm pretty sure despite the "fix", that part is original). tool to be used must be a wrench obviously

once that is being drained, you will need to pop the hood to access the pump fitting on the passenger side



you will need a hinged 3/8 breaker, or 1/2 rachet drive with a 24 mm socket, or swan neck wrench. whatever can fit in the area

so this is the nut you have to remove, circled in red



as you can see on mine, right away even in the hood portion it is kind of grimey. not sure if it's supposed to be that way, but it is not red fluid so i dunno

before you begin, it is wise to take a good look at where you need to work

after the main 24 mm nut in the engine bay, there are TWO 10 mm nuts that secure the hoses in place on brackets with rubber thingies to keep them in place. the first is actually located in a really difficult place that i did not notice until later, on the opposite side of the wheel well. the second is below the car, roughly center positioned above the plastic undertray shroud (the inner one, not the bumper one). red circled the bolt



and once again, the steering rack end of it (the lower one is the high pressure one, not the clamped rubber one). please note and make sure you are removing the correct one. in my photos, it is the white-er pipe, on the inside track (closer to the engine)



so, back in the engine bay to begin!



disconnect the pressure sensor, and remove the 24 mm banjo/eye bolt



next is the first 10 mm bolt (the difficult one!). as i stated earlier it is on the backside of the wheel well. it bolts a U-shaped bracket to clamp down rubber to hold the 2 hoses in place

it is easiest to use a long 10 mm wrench with the racheting action if you have it, cuz it takes really long and is quite hard to reach if you have to reset your hand every time with a regular wrench. there is not enough clearance for a socket in my opinion



remove the rear plastic undertray by the engine cradle. it is FIVE 10 mm bolts (red dots, 2 missing opposite side lol sorry) and TWO plastic push pins (green dots). if you had a leak like me and it's gross, clean the tray with lots of soap, spray 9, permatex fast orange cleaner, water, etc.

now you can access the second 10 mm bolt holding the hose in place. you have to get it from above. again, use the same racheting wrench for ease. maybe you can fit a 1/4 drive with 10 mm on it i cannot remember

now that everything is removed (assuming you already removed the 14 mm fitting on the steering rack end), it is simply a matter of wrestling the power steering hose out. perhaps you could cut it, or there is a better way, but i just ended up bending the **** out of it until it came out. i am fairly certain i went downward, to remove it from below instead of up through the engine bay

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PART 5: INSTALLATION OF NEW PART



the new length is about 5 cm shorter, but it has full flexibility and doesn't do a full loop in the beginning. it is more than enough to give you good free play

i started at the pump and fed it down through the engine bay to the rack. you need to be careful when mounting and tightening the fitting at the pump, to ensure it not only clears the belt well, but also that it is not kinked

remember, the pump fitting is larger M16 x 1.5 pitch with Dowty Seal Washer



thread it through, and connect the other end at the steering rack when you are satisfied with the placement/orientation and slack in the hose. make sure you don't kink it

remember, the steering rack fitting is the M14 x 1.5 pitch with the little O-Ring



the hose gauge provided is too large to fit within the rubber mounted brackets, so you will have to be inventive and zip tie them in place securely

be sure to re-fasten those two 10 mm mounts though, to at least keep the low pressure pipe in place

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PART 6: PRESSURE SENSOR CEL/SES FIX

this product does not have a provision for the OEM power steering pressure sensor. from the Amazon review, "The switch just boosts the pressure at full lock."

from what i can gather, actually the power steering pressure sensor increases idle RPM when at full steering lock because it assumes you are slow in a parking lot or something

what i did was zip tie the receiving electrical connector to the hose so that it would not hit the belt or anything while driving. however, shortly afterward testing, using an OBDII reader with phone app, i realized i get an SES/CEL fault: "P0550: Power Steering Pressure Sensor Circuit Malfunction"

while it does not light up on your dash, it shows up as a pending fault



an oddly simple solution, using an adjustable wrench and lots of power, remove the actual sensor from where the original banjo bolt goes, and connect it to the electrical connector. unfortunately it can't be done while it is in the engine for leverage, as it is upside down

voila, the fault code is gone! somehow it's enough to make the car happy again, be sure to zip tie it to ensure it doesn't hit anything

* at full steering lock i just hear a little buzzing

i am sure someone less lazy could probably use the whole OEM banjo bolt part and mate it to some new braided line if they are constructing it themselves

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PART 7: REFILL FLUID AND AIR BLEED SYSTEM

making sure everything is tight and tied down, time to refill the power steering fluid as per the factory service manual:

"Genuine Nissan PSF II or equivalent:
- Nissan PSF, Canada Nissan ATF, Dexron III/Mercon, or equivalent
- i just picked up ATF Dexron VI”

DO NOT PUT WHEELS ON AND LOWER THE CAR YET. when you max out the reservoir, when you run it the first time it will suck it all in to the system. stop the car, and top it up again. you should not let it be low. remember, there is a hot range and cold range

when it is roughly the right level, and you have successfully checked for leaks, it is time to air bleed the system. luckily this is a lot easier than bleeding brakes; you just have to turn the wheel left and right. officially from the FSM:



all done

rustyschopshop

Thanks for the great write up. I have been planning on doing this line upgrade for a year now to help clean up my engine bay more. Line has not been leaking so there has been plenty of time. I too had been trying to source correct information on installing the line and never got a valid answer. Looking at how you did this will make things much easier and another wire to further deloom and hide.
Have you noticed any difference in steering feel. Granted I know you had a leak so it might be a little hard to give a viable answer, but just curious. Thanks again greatly.

Vitamin_B12

hi,

no problem. funnily enough when looking for info, i saw you made a thread asking about it a while ago lol

i'd say it's easier to steer than before, but yeah i don't think i am a very good candidate for feedback cuz as you said i had a leak

like i said, it makes a buzzing sound at full lock, and you will get a pending fault code if you don't connect the sensor!
* granted, i am not certain if it will eventually turn in to a full fledged SES light on the dash, as i fixed it immediately

rustyschopshop

At least you found a way to keep off the SES. I used to do trans swap years ago converting autos to autos and used to keep the park neutral switch from the trans and tuck it away to keep the SES off. Sometimes things can be simple. Too me part of it is making sure it won't interfer with anything or get disturbed hanging loose.

nn350z

Hey, i didn't want to bring a old tread back to life but I've search all of google and forums and I have nothing. Does anyone know if there is an aftermarket High Pressure hose that retains the PS sensor or a T-fitting (or y-fitting) that can be used with the TechnaFit hose and the PS Sensor?

Boosted213

So im running into a problem where i have a leak from the power steering system and its not the hoses ive checked up and down but my power steering pressure switch has fully broken at the connector part would that cause it to drip or should i check the bolts on the pump?