jmb

When I started the car the other morning there was no steering (maybe I need to get to the gym more) and all the power steering fluid was on the floor. I see a hose loose and figure it needs to be reconnected.

See pics. The connection in question is circled. The other pic is provided for the general location.

Question:
Is this hose supposed to be connected or is it supposed to be plugged? I have it connected but considering that it looks like it connects to the radiator??? I want to be sure.

Thanks.

Elthesh

iTrader: (1)

That's the lovely power steering fluid cooler there. Yes, it is supposed to be connected. You should look that up on here to see if you actually want to keep the factory unit connected or removed. You'd probably be better off completely removing it, replacing it with a non power steering cooler radiator hose and installing a REAL fluid cooler before yours gives out and dumps fluid into the radiator and coolant into the power steering system.

In the end though, yes, it's supposed to be connected and should get you running again just nicely.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

Its sabatoge!!! That hose shouldn't come off - its low pressure.

You may want to put a screw clamp on it to make sure it holds tight. The old spring clip may be getting weak.

cowboysfan

cant tell, but is the hose dry-rotted? then it could have broken off on its own.

jmb

Guys, thanks.
elthesh: I definitely don't want that. Thanks for the advice.
Please wssix99, I'm paranoid enough. But I think I will put that spring clamp on.
cowboysfan: the hose seems to be in good shape. I'm going with wssix99's theory.

mike171562

iTrader: (4)

thats where mine started leaking right before it started mixing coolant with my PS fluid. Ended up just removing it.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

Ohhh - this is a good point. Should watch out for this - very common! I recently replaced my cooler system, so if you want a little more piece of mind, I have a good used cooler available.

cowboysfan

i have just crossed 100,000 miles on my WS6 and no problems on the power steering cooler. this is why antifreeze should be on the DD cars.... not knowing what your running or if you bought it new,but I can see what WSSIX99 is talking about.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

jmb - How does your coolant dipstick look? Is it clean? (If there are cooler issues, you'll see something...)

jmb

Bought it new in 99 and it's pretty much as stock as it gets. My sig says it all.
As for the coolant stick it's pretty dirty and crusty. Does that mean anything?
So mike you just removed it?

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

Can you post a picture of your dipstick?

If you remove the stock cooler, you should replace it with an aftermarket one. The cooling will help the seals on your PS pump last longer and also help keep you from boiling over the tank: https://ls1tech.com/forums/general-m...g-success.html

jmb

OK. Finally got the coolant stick pics. Maybe not as bad as I thought?

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

Doesn't look too bad... I see some slime on the end of the back of the dipstick. Not sure what it is. If its jelly-like, it could be oxidized coolant. How long has it been since you've changed it?

jmb

Now don't laugh. Never. And if I remember correctly I've never even added any. I'm very easy on my baby.

jmb

I put the hose back on the cooler, clamped it with a screw clamp and refilled the system. It's working normally with no more problems, so far.

1 FMF

iTrader: (1)

not really.
if you find oil in there as in power steering fluid then it would mean something. But you can have a clean overflow bottle and the cooling system as in radiator and block contaminated. That contamination (oil) would only make it into the overflow bottle when the engine gets hot and coolant pushes into the overflow resevoir, which may or may not happen.
The best way to tell is open the drain valve on the bottom of the radiator and drain a quart or so of coolant into a glass and check it out for contamination.

All overflow tanks will get crusty and nasty, and that does not mean that's what it's like inside the radiator.

At the least your overflow tank is cruddy, so pull the battery out and pull out the overflow tank and clean it out using the garden hose. It's easy, then refill it with fresh 50/50 coolant. And being a 1999, if the coolant has never been changed or you don't know, now is a good time to do it. After all it's 5 year coolant at best and you're 10+ on it.

many cars came from the factory without that power steering cooler. That cooler generally is not worth it, so if you're putting work in on the car you might consider just bypassing that cooler for the power steering- you have to leave it there to connect the radiator hoses, then if it fails you'll have a more harmless coolant leak onto the ground that you'll more easily notice and can take care of when that happens.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

If the car is in good condition with no air in the system, this is not correct. The coolant expands and contracts every time the car comes up to temperature. When it expands, fluid flows to the overflow. So, anything flowing in the coolant should be in the overflow. When it cools after the car is shut off and the fluid contracts, a vacuum builds up and sucks fluid back to the radiator. (That's why we have special pressure and vacuum relief caps on our radiators. So a clog in the overflow line won't cause excessive vacuum to build up and crack the plastic parts of the radiator.)

True - until 1999 when too many P/S pumps were biting the dust and GM started putting them in all V8's. http://www.gmhightechperformance.com...all/index.html

The cooler is not required for the car to run, but it will help the P/S pump last longer. So, the "worth" of it is probably subjective.

1 FMF

iTrader: (1)

yeah if the car is in good condition, but it really isn't in good condition since the guy is posting. and it's a 99, and he said he never added any coolant but he also didn't say he knows the cooling system is topped off and does not have any air in it.

in checking the cooling system, i wouldn't base my conclusion on the coolant is fine by solely looking at coolant in the overflow tank. If the radiator cap is all crudded up, it might also be possible that coolant isn't flowing into the overflow tank when it heats up, assuming the system is full with no air. neither of which we know.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

True. Its long past overdue for a flush. A full drain will be more telling. There could be frogs or other alien life in there that caused the initial blow out!