Power steering fluid leak from pressure switch wire connector

[Sweersa]

Hello, my Ranger has been leaking some power steering fluid for about a week now in my driveway. I popped the hood and found the little blue/gray rubber piece was popped out of the wire harness connecting to the pressure switch and you could see fluid was leaking out. I put the rubber piece back into the connector, but it pops back out after a drive. Here's a picture of the connector after I put the gray piece back in. I pulled the connector out of the pressure switch to get a good picture of the gray piece.

The system works fine except for the leak. I have not noticed any unusual sounds or difficulty turning the wheel. I'd like to take care of this before it gets worse.

The metal parts of the power steering hose are REALLY rusty. I'm assuming the corrosion has restricted PS fluid flow which is causing the rubber piece in the connector to be pushed out. Do you guys think that is the reason? Here's some pics. I circled the lower and smaller of the two fasteners. They are both really rusty. Does anyone know off hand the size of these fasteners? I'm going to wire brush them, and hit them with WD-40 long before I attempt to remove them.

I'll probably grab a new hose and pressure switch from AutoZone next weekend when I have time to do the swap. Hopefully they include the O rings. I might also order one online, if you guys have any advice on this little job I'd really appreciate it. I have not swapped one of these before. My main concern is having trouble getting the rusty fasteners out.

Thanks!

 

[adsm08]

If you plan to replace the line don't ever screw around with the fittings and a wrench. Cut the line off at the fitting and put a 6 point socket on it.

 

[Sweersa]

If you plan to replace the line don't ever screw around with the fittings and a wrench. Cut the line off at the fitting and put a 6 point socket on it.

Thanks for the advice. That sounds a lot easier. Does it matter what one I cut first? I suppose I should cut the bottom first and let what's in there drain, and then cut the top.

 

[bruker]

The fitting looks pretty corroded. You might want to soak it with PB Blaster or equivalent.

 

[Sweersa]

The fitting looks pretty corroded. You might want to soak it with PB Blaster or equivalent.

That's my biggest concern with the job. I'm going to carefully wire brush the loose rust off, and then hit it heavy with WD-40 24 hours before attempting to loosen it.

 

[RedRyder97]

If you do cut them lines and take them apart that way. Just be sure you have a rag over the old line so you dont get rust or metal shaving mixed in the lines . I just replace both mine about a week ago . I did not cut my lines off but the 6 point socket sure sound the best way. That and taking the front tire off and jacking it up and using some safety jacks.

Drive way is clean for now to .

 

[Sweersa]

Thanks guys, I think I'm also going to replace the pressure switch. They are cheap anyways, and I'm wondering if that could be the culprit. That is also where the leak is coming from. For $20, I don't mind swapping out the original one for a new one anyways since I'm doing both of the hoses. (They are both rusted pretty bad, only a matter of time before they break or get worse)

I'll be doing the job next weekend, so I'll update this thread on the results.

 

[adsm08]

You would be better to use PB Blaster or BG InForce rather than WD-40. WD-40 keeps water out and prevents rust (to a point). It has no penetrating properties which is what you want for loosening rusted threads.

 

[Sweersa]

You would be better to use PB Blaster or BG InForce rather than WD-40. WD-40 keeps water out and prevents rust (to a point). It has no penetrating properties which is what you want for loosening rusted threads.

Thanks for the tip! I'll grab a can of it when I pick up the pressure switch from Advanced Auto Parts. If they don't have it, we have plenty of hardware stores around these parts. I'll take some after pics for this thread after the job, since it seems most people forget to report back with their solution for anyone else having the same problem.

 

[Sweersa]

Hi guys, I thought I'd give you all an update. I got the job done today, it took a few hours and some change. Hacking the old lines on the bottom through the wheel well and getting them off with a 6 sided socket was golden advice. I also got a can of PB Blaster and soaked them the night before which I'm sure helped tremendously. The hose clamp spring and the old hose on the return line was a pain to get off, but once the spring clamp was out of the way and after some wiggle action it came off. Here's some pictures. Hopefully they can help anyone else who needs to replace them.

The only issue I ran into is it seemed the threads on the end of the hose fasteners didn't go in all the way. I was able to start threading them in by hand and they seemed to go in well with the open ended wrench and tightened up good and wouldn't go in anymore to the point you see in the picture. They are AC Delco lines that were supposed to be compatible, and they seem to work so far as is. I put some grease around the exposed threads and put the plastic piece back over the return line hose connector.

I took it for a short test drive and it seemed to go very well, the little gray/blue rubber piece sticking into the pressure switch has not popped out and leaked yet. I'm thinking the original pressure sensor was the only bad part originally, but the old lines were so rusted out I didn't mind replacing them.

Thanks again for your help guys, if there's anything weird with that bit of exposed threading please let me know. I'm not sure if that's normal or not.

Here's a pic of the old lines.