Power steering hose let go

[prerunner221]

So I had a big brake kit installed yesterday. It took 5 hours to drive home from the shop, and right as I was turning into the neighborhood the steering didn't feel right. As I went to back into the driveway I could barely turn the wheel. I hop out and the driver's side inner fender is covered in oil.

It looks to be coming from just about the frame rail towards the front if the fender. I'm pointing to the spot in one photo. I'm not a mechanic, but I'm giving it a look and a try before towing it to a dealer and having. Them charge me $1k to replace a $150 part. Anyone with some insight just from pics?

 

[evolute]

Take a pic of the power steering reservoir as well as some around the lines coming in and out of the reservoir. If it’s the power steering it will definitely be down on fluid.

 

[r2m]

Before you take it to a Lexus dealer, look for an qualified independent service shop. Look at Yelp for LOT's of 5 star reviews.
We have a great mechanic local that we've been going to for over 30 years. They're certified so I know all the work is top notch and they're a lot cheaper than a dealer, and for me a lot closer.

 

[prerunner221]

I decided to look for myself today and believe I found the issue. It looks like when the dealer installed the bumper and tow points, they had to move the PS line up out if the way, and didn't see that it was pushed into the metal portion of the inner fender. It took 5 years, but it finally rubbed through.

 

[r2m]

Something you can fix?
If so, perhaps you can put a little bend in it to give a little extra room or you can notch out the area it was rubbing on.

 

[Rednexus]

It's easy to diy fix PS lines. Just replace, top off the reservoir, turn wheels back and forth, and re top off. Looks like you already have the old line off. I'd wrap the new hose in rubber at that location.

 

[r2m]

It's easy to diy fix PS lines. Just replace, top off the reservoir, turn wheels back and forth, and re top off. Looks like you already have the old line off. I'd wrap the new hose in rubber at that location.

Even wrapped in rubber, it will eventually rub/cut through. If it was rubbing on something flat or with a large radius, agreed, that would be the way to go. But it looks like a sharp edge. Really need to get out the cut off grinder and notch out where it was rubbing.

 

[prerunner221]

Even wrapped in rubber, it will eventually rub/cut through. If it was rubbing on something flat or with a large radius, agreed, that would be the way to go. But it looks like a sharp edge. Really need to get out the cut off grinder and notch out where it was rubbing.

I took a Dremel and cut out some of the inner fender. We'll see if I need to trim more when I get the part today. I also grabbed some high pressure hose I'll use to cover the hose, and some metal liner, rubber coated door edge trim for the fender where I cut. Hopefully that's enough to get me squared away. I also learned that this truck uses ATF fluid and not power steering fluid. My buddy was the parts manager a Lexus dealer and told me that, so I Googled it and sure enough, ATF fluid.

 

[prerunner221]

So I got everything put back together last night. The new hard line came with a 6 inch rubber hose, so I swapped that out too. When I took the rubber hose portion off is was very cracked and expanded. I'm actually surprised that portion hadn't burst first.

Getting the pipe in there was a nightmare. There's a bracket on the pipe, which made snaking it past the body mount and frame a real pain. Once that was done though it was just a matter of refilling, running the truck and turning the wheel back and forth, refilling...Until it stopped making noise and it stopped drawing out of the reservoir. Everything works great now. Total cost, $128. I initially thought I blew the rack because I've never worked on steering before, so to get it done for so cheap when I thought it was going to be a 5K project at the dealer.