Hardway

The high pressure line on my '99 Z28 is leaking and I got a replacement line for it. I tore in to it last night but did not get very far. I searched around on here and everyone describes this a 1 hour job. A 1 hour job IT IS NOT. Due to the shape of the PS resevoir the upper fitting of the line is VERY hard to get to. See attached pic. (not my car, taken from LS1 How To) I tried using a 5/8 crow's foot but there just is not enough room to turn it once you get it on. A 5/8 line wrench can barely get on to it. On top of this the fitting is very soft and I DO NOT want to round it off. I purchased a PS pulley remover but the pulley is frozen on the PS pump shaft. Anyone have any ideas for getting the line or pulley off? If I can get the pulley off would it be best to go ahead and replace the pump since it has 185K miles on it? The pump is not whining or leaking. Am I looking at breaking down and just buying a new PS pump and pulley all together? Any info is greatly appreciated.

Skidog5150

iTrader: (2)

With out the proper tool to get to the hose or Power Steering pump bolts, you have to remove the pully. I had to, not a big deal. I had to get the radiator hose out of the way first. I just undid the top of the hose and loosened the bottom and moved it out of the way. That way I didn't loose alot of radiator fluid. This gave me plenty of room for the puller on the pulley. In my case it turned out that the line wasn't bad, just loose. I replaced the pump anyway since my car has 182,000 miles on it. You don't have to buy the pump with the pulley or resevior on it already. I paid $56 for a rebuilt power steering pump. I used the pulley and resevior from the old pump. It's not a bad job, I just did it a couple of weeks ago.

If you run into trouble or have any questions, just PM me. I'm always on. Good luck. By the way, mine took over an hour also, but I'm not know for my speed. Good Luck..

Hardway

Thanks Skidog. I did the same as you, got the radiator out of the way as well as the wiring that goes in to the side of the TB and air box. I have the PS pulley puller but when trying to turn the puller with a wrench by hand it just wont budge. Did you have to use a breaker bar to get the puller going? I sprayed some PB blaster on the shaft and I am going to try it again tonight.

Skidog5150

iTrader: (2)

I did use a breaker bar at first, then it got easier. I didn't have to spray anything on it either. It was just a little time consuming. Same with going on, but it went on easy enough. Good Luck.

neutron82

iTrader: (26)

i did mine with a stubby combination wrench... my line had enough play in it to allow the wrench to pop the fitting loose then the rest i did by hand... it went pretty smoothly for me and took maybe 20-30 mins... i guess i got lucky

Thule

yeah 20-30minutes here to, tokk the pump and the alternator out, and then i had all the space i needed

Hardway

Thanks for the info guys. I got the lines and pump replaced this weekend. The pump was leaking out of the wheep hole and the high press. line was toast as I knew already. I ended up having to cut the ends of the high press line and use a socket wrench and breaker bar to get the fittings off. Once I got it all back together, system filled, bled, and took it for a test drive I did not see any leaks. I am not going to pat myself on the back just yet until I look at it today after it has sat over night and all day. Hoping to see nothing but a dry garage floor and clean dry steering hardware.

neutron82

iTrader: (26)

holy crap talk about overkill!... just remember to not put them back on so tight this time, that's probably why it was so hard to get off

Hardway

Overkill for sure! It was a shop that did it last time. Don't worry, I just snugged them on and everything was dry yesterday when I got home and checked on it. Next up is my Hurst shifter install!

6spdscreaminchickin

I know I'm bringing this back from the dead but I got my old hose off and the new hose came with three new O-rings. I put the two larger ones on both ends of the hose but I was wondering what the third, smaller one, is for. Any help would be greatly appreciated. And yes, I used tired a search.

demonspeed

iTrader: (7)

You only need one o-ring on each end of the hose. The third one is probably just an extra... then again it seems odd that it's a smaller size. What brand hose did you purchase?

6spdscreaminchickin

Pep boys special, It says "omega" on the box and it says "an atsco company" on the bottom corner.

6spdscreaminchickin

Well, the new one is in and so far so good. We'll see if it stays that way.

ANAD

Just finished replacing the high pressure lines on my '98 Z28 and it was very easy. Yes, the space is tight between the fitting and the pulley, but I was able to get a regular open end 5/8" wrench all the way on to it. Granted, there's not much turn to be had, but by pushing it slightly between the upper loop of the line and the reservoir gave me just enough to move the wrench to the next facet of the hex fitting. After one full revolution,I was able to back it out with my fingers, moving the tube slightly back and forth giving me the least resistance. The bottom one was easy. Putting the new one on was equally simple. The whole process took 30 to 45 minutes.

qweedqwag

Just finished my high pressure line, Was able to remove the line with a 5/8 line wrench and snake it behind the pump, removed th lower connection at the rack. Installed the new one the same way in reverse, took about 45 minutes without removing the pulley that god.