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Broke power steering lines


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The flare nuts on the power steering lines on my loyale fused themselves to the lines and the lines twisted off when I tried removing them. The flare with O-ring thingy on the end isn't anything I could reproduce. If they had come off right, they would have threaded right up to the EJ22 lines. Should I cut the ends off of both the pump lines and the rack lines and use a regular double flare union to patch it together? Or should I see about getting new lines for the rack?

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you really dont need power steering on that car its un nessissary unless you're

disabled. i have an 87 RX it came with ps the pump was almost shot so i tookk it off. handels much beter you can feel the road so much beter with out it. and its not hard to handle. i'd save the trouble and take it out.

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yah, power steering is something that it seems like you really want (kinda like power brakes) but in reality, its more like an automatic transmission.. yah, you COULD build a system that has minimal interference with real driving ability, but it at best is a thief of power and costs money.

 

i hate to subvert your question into a statement that youre wrong, but i noticed that more drivers under the age of 20 are worried about their power steering than over 20.. which suggests to me that everyone seems to realize (probably like me, thru having a problem with their power steering) that its not all that necessary... so hey. try living without! its alot nicer, but i understand if youre using a depowerized power rack you want to connect the lines to each other to maintain static fluid level inside the rack, as the fluid is the working lubricant for the steering gears.... do a search, or ask someone who knows more than I. I know enough that I know what i dont know... yanno? so when i get in over my head, i immediately seek help.

 

maybe i should go do that now.. :-)

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I run 30" mud tires on this car. I NEED power steering.

 

Believe me, I know that these cars don't do bad without PS. I have a non-ps EA82 rack sitting around. The car I pulled it out of handled fine, but it had stock wheels on it, and I wasn't trying to maneuver it around on trails.

 

I think I'll end up cuttin the ends and using unions with flares.

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Please note that in his first post he said "to the EJ22 lines", kind of implying that he might also be adding the 100+lbs extra of an EJ22 to the front of this, plus dealing with torque, plus his larger tires. Don't dog him about "needing" PS. :) I would suggest trying to find replacement lines. Shouldn't be too hard to find some used lines, especially from all of these people that don't need PS.

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Andrew:

The flare nuts on the power steering lines on my loyale fused themselves to the lines and the lines twisted off when I tried removing them. ...
Sounds like flare wrenches weren't the issue, just that the tubing wasn't sliding in the flarenut. I had an issue like that recently with brake lines... what a pain!
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Yeah, the tubing just twisted off. What got me was that they came off the legacy no probs, then sheared right off the loyale. Both are the same age, so.. Anyway, if I had known, I would have soaked them in penetrating oil first.

 

I'm going to use a flare union to join the high pressure side back together. For the return, I'm just going to clamp some rubber tubing over the break.

 

As a side note, the cast iron PS pump from EA's fits the EJ spot with only a little enlargement of the clearance holes for the 3 bolts. The resevoir swaps over and all the lines swap to it just fine. The serpentine belt pully also swaps. This could go both ways, so if your pump ever dies, both EJ and EA pumps can be used.

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Now that my brain registered "union", I see what you did. I am not sure if that will hold the pressure, but you won't die if it fails. Return line fix sounds fine. Any idea what the flow and pressure specs for the EJ unit are? Got a project that could use more flow than the EA82's 6cc/rev...

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