I am not sure what I need, but I know what I need it to do.
First of all I have a power steering hose on a 2000 Dodge Durango. I won’t go through the litany of sorrows that I went through last year to replace it, but, they were many and severe.
However, to the main: it now leaks. In a normal situation, the nut will press down on the flange (?) part of the metal tubing and seal it. In this case, it doesn’t. It is loose. Not the nut, but the tubing where the nut is supposed to hold it down. Does this make sense?
At any rate, after last year, I do not want to go through all of that junk again. So, isn’t there some kind of sealant that I can goop all around it and seal it off? IIRC, isn’t there some kind of putty that I can buy and put it around the nut/tube and stop the leak? Would something like JB Weld, or whatever it’s called do the job?
It’s not the hose, per se, it’s the metal tube that is attached to the hose (at the nut.) Basically, I wanna seal the metal tube to the metal nut. Or, is that what you meant??
Assuming your hose looks something like this, and the flare nuts at the ends are “tight” but fluid is still leaking out around them?
The short answer to your question is no, there’s nothing out there that you can just smear around the fitting that will be able to hold back the high-pressure power steering fluid.
An easy fix is not likely. If it’s the pressure side it could have 1500PSI or more at times. You can’t stop that with a band-aid. On the low pressure return side you might get lucky binding something around it. Chances are it’s the high pressure side or it would not be leaking to start with. What you do depends on how creative you want to be and how much time you might save by avoiding replacement. For example, you might cut the hose a few inches back and also cut the end off a new hose and piece the two sections together with a stent of some kind. Another issue is how much it is leaking. If it’s a tiny amount and this is a “hooptie” you might tie a rag around it to catch the oil.
I have actually stopped a leak at a power steering hose fitting with JB Weld. It’s important to get the metal clean and dry. The epoxy can run/sag for hours before it sets up fully, so some kind of dam has to be fashioned to contain it – you can probably do that with aluminum foil, maybe in conjunction with some other materials, like plastic cut from a bleach jug or somesuch. I’d let it set a good 24 hours before running the engine.
Thanks for the (dismal!) answers, everybody. steronz, it is on the rackside. I thought maybe I could use a tube cutter, cut off the end, slip some tight rubber washer/something over it then get a flanger…but I’m a bit skeptical.
I’m not sure exactly what the seal looks like that’s leaking - since there are a couple of different kinds - but if it’s a standard PS high pressure fitting, you aren’t REALLY trying to seal the tube to the nut…it just looks like that’s what you want because that’s where you see the leak. The inner tip of the tube is shaped like a cone and the nut is actually trying to squeeze that cone onto a matching part…maybe with a washer. Somehow yours aren’t sealing, either because one of the cones is damaged or maybe the wrong size…or more likely the nut is bottoming out before it get really tight. Or maybe it still wants more tightening with a bigger wrench.
When you changed the part, did you put the soft metal or rubber O rings on the ends of the tubes? From your description of a “loose tube”, they’re either missing or torn. Try tightening it again and if it won’t move, take the leaking end off and look for missing parts or damage on the joining surfaces. If it’s all gone to hell and you’re going to use sealer or JB Weld or somesuch, spray it all with brakekleen first and do it inside at the joint and not outside.
andyleonard I think you are onto the problem. The nut is bottoming out before tightening the tubing gets sealed. It wasn’t like that when I replaced it a year ago…but, it is now. It is a bitter, bitter experience!
Note that some power steering hose fittings are designed to swivel. When the fitting is properly tight, the pipe will still rotate in it. The seal is actually inside the fitting. It’s not meant to be field-serviceable other than replacing the hose assembly. I’m wondering if this is the design you have, as I’m having trouble imagining how it went from tight and not leaking a year ago to tight but loose and leaking now otherwise.
Join the club! This is just another strange part of a strange tale. First of all, when I replaced the hose, none of the stores that I went to had one that fit. They were all the correct make and model, but, none fit *my *vehicle. That’s OK, tho, because I stripped out the whatever trying to jam one of those into the rack. Then, I cut the end off of the old one, took it to a hose specialty shop, where they attached same. Brought it home, found out it had been stripped, took it to a mechanic who fixed the threading. Then, it started leaking about a week out. I said, forget it, I’m just going to keep refilling it. (about a pt. a week). Then, it stopped leaking on its own for about 5 months. This time, it started leaking about a pt. a day. Up till yesterday, when I looked at it, and found the leak. I jiggled it around, and came to the SDMB. OK. Today, I went out and found out that the leak had either greatly diminished, or stopped!
My head…my head…
OTOH, the leak has stopped, so, I ain’t complainin’!
This is just another strange part of a strange tale. First of all, when I replaced the hose, none of the stores that I went to had one that fit. They were all the correct make and model, but, none fit *my *vehicle. That’s OK, tho, because I stripped out the whatever trying to jam one of those into the rack. Then, I cut the end off of the old one, took it to a hose specialty shop, where they attached same. Brought it home, found out it had been stripped, took it to a mechanic who fixed the threading. Then, it started leaking about a week out. I said, forget it, I’m just going to keep refilling it. (about a pt. a week). Then, it stopped leaking on its own for about 5 months. This time, it started leaking about a pt. a day. Up till yesterday, when I looked at it, and found the leak. I jiggled it around, and came to the SDMB. OK. Today, I went out and found out that the leak had either greatly diminished, or stopped!