Yesterday I replaced the power steering pressure hose that has been leaking for a long time. Lately the leak has worsened to a spray. I bought the replacement part from Autozone for $26.99, Duralast Power Steering Pressure Line Hose (With O-Ring fitting), Part Number: 71782. This is a much lower price than the toyota oem price which is close to $200.
Removing the banjo-bolt near the pump was easy, with a 22mm socket connected to an extension did the trick. Collected the fluid drained using a pan under the vehicle near the passenger side wheel. The bottom end of the hose connected to the power steering gear box turned out to be a bit hard to remove, because there is no room to apply a wrench there. A socket cannot be used because the pipe is in the way. Finally, had to use a crowfoot wrench (17mm) connected to a 24 inch extension. The extension was inserted through the small opening through which the brake line comes out near the driver side wheel. Disconnected the bottom end and collected the fluid into the pan. After disconnecting the top and bottom ends of the hose, I also had to remove one 10mm bolt and loosen another both of which secure the pressure line and the return line to the chassis. This was particularly cumbersome and had to do by extending both arms down behind the engine from above. Once the old hose was removed, it was easy to put in the new one. There is an o-ring at the bottom end and two copper washers at the top end, one each on either side of the banjo bolt. The new hose needed a 5/8" crowfoot wrench at the bottom end.
After installing the hose, valvoline dex/merc automatic transmission fluid was filled in the power steering reservoir and started the engine and rotated the steering wheel end-to-end several time. Switched off the engine, topped-off the fluid and repeated. After that the fluid level was steady, so the air must have been out.
Now it was time to congratulate myself. The workshop quoted $135 for labor alone. It took me 3 hours to do it. Not bad.
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High Five. Your post helped me with a couple of things, and I can completely relate to the skinny area behind the engine where you have to re-attach the hose bracket to the frame. What a pain. I'm a pretty big dude, and that area was very hard to get my arms into. Your information about the 22 mm socket, and the crowfoot wrench made the job easier. Thanks. You should congratulate yourself. The hose end work wasn't so hard to do, but the bracket work deserves a blue ribbon, or at least a balloon, and a ice cream cone (with sprinkles) for effort.
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