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Man, it’s hard to find quality hose today

vintage chromoly said:
I don’t think the return line has much pressure. You don’t need reinforced lines for that application IMO.
My reproduction power steering hose has been on for almost 10 years and it has no reinforcement.
The pressurized side.....absolutely needs to be rated hydraulic hose for the pressure it will see. (I believe around 1300 PSI)
Click to expand...
Thank you. I’m not worried about pressure. I understand it’s low pressure there. I need a hose that will hold up to the oil and heat. This one didn’t hold up for a few months. That’s the only reason why someone would want hydraulic. To withstand oil. But, I also know for a fact my valve body seals were shot and most leaking was due to that. I replaced those today, with hydraulic o-rings. Old ones were hard as granite and most likely original. That combined with the last half inch of hose was desolving. It was a poor quality hose, as most are today.
Even though fuel hoses aren’t oil resistant. I believe a good quality fuel hose should hold up for a while. I’ve fought with this leak for nearly a year now. Everything is new, etc.

Up until today, I minimized a lot of it. It was barely sweating. I think the new seals and a good hose will put it to rest. But, I’ve thought that a few times. Lol ! The power steering is a bad set up on these cars in my opinion. The steering is incredibly effortless. But, too leak prone. The pump/reservoir constantly leaks a little somewhere, the hoses constantly leak a little somewhere, the gear box always sweats somewhere. Cars that are driven. Not garage queens, lol !
 
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69L48Z27 said:
Don’t over think the return hose. My local Advance Auto or Autozone (Can’t remember which side of the street it was ) had 11/32” power steering return hose by the foot. Couple cars now and zero issue. One car has the original style Corbin clamps and the other has worm gear clamps.

Get the right hose for the application and be done with it.
Click to expand...
Thank you, good points. I’m going to toss worm gear and replace it with a spring type. People tend to tighten worm gear clamps too tight. We usually know better. But, I think it’s too tempting for most of us. Out of bad habit. I can’t resist one more turn. Lol ! I think most people tend to do the same.
 
I work for a hose development company and the stuff that AZ sells is about as cheap as you can get. We develop OE hose products for bio diesel, ATF and Fuel and they are typically a bit different in the innertube compound. We do have one product that uses a HNBR innertube that is really robust stuff that will handle it all, but most of the fuel and ATF hoses are a derivative of nitrile rubber. You do not want an EPDM innertube for any type of oil as it is totally incompatible. EPDM is often found in the hose cover because it has great weathering properties.

One place to consider looking for some good fuel line is a John Deere dealership. They typically carry the reputable manufacturer's products....not cheap, but if you only need a foot or two it's bearable. The other option is to go with a high performance hose such as "Aeroquip" (we product that brand) or an Earls or Russel brand hose through Summit of Jegs. Those are the good products from reputable manufacturers.

The stuff you get from AZ is probably made in China and is not very robust....my son just replaced a short section of fuel line from AZ on his jeep that lasted about half a year before cracking several places along it's length. We went with some Aeroquip FBA hose in it's place. He won't need to worry about that again.
 
dsd1967 said:
I work for a hose development company and the stuff that AZ sells is about as cheap as you can get. We develop OE hose products for bio diesel, ATF and Fuel and they are typically a bit different in the innertube compound. We do have one product that uses a HNBR innertube that is really robust stuff that will handle it all, but most of the fuel and ATF hoses are a derivative of nitrile rubber. You do not want an EPDM innertube for any type of oil as it is totally incompatible. EPDM is often found in the hose cover because it has great weathering properties.

One place to consider looking for some good fuel line is a John Deere dealership. They typically carry the reputable manufacturer's products....not cheap, but if you only need a foot or two it's bearable. The other option is to go with a high performance hose such as "Aeroquip" (we product that brand) or an Earls or Russel brand hose through Summit of Jegs. Those are the good products from reputable manufacturers.

The stuff you get from AZ is probably made in China and is not very robust....my son just replaced a short section of fuel line from AZ on his jeep that lasted about half a year before cracking several places along it's length. We went with some Aeroquip FBA hose in it's place. He won't need to worry about that again.
Click to expand...
That’s exactly what I suspected mine was made of, Nitrile junk. Difference between when fuel hoses were made well, compared to this Nitrile crap everywhere now. A quality fuel hose used to take a 4-5 years of consistent heat to make those hoses stiff and needing replaced. This Nitrile crap that is everywhere now. Only takes several months and it damn near needs replaced. Quality is a damn spit in the face, today. “ Here, lets make a product have a 1/10 lifespan, compared to yesterday. And let’s increase the price 10 times. “ It’s not going to get better.
 
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The good stuff is out there....in some cases better than some of the old stuff at OEM levels. The problem is that the off shore junk is what gets to the masses at the big box auto parts stores. NAPA will have some decent stuff also....they carry Weatherhead or Gates....both good products. It's the no name products that fall apart. We hold ourselves to high standards of testing across the board as our large US based competitors do also. The stuff coming from abroad doesn't always get tested to the same standards. They can meet the material "intents" of hardness and base material, but they add a lot of low cost filler products where we are putting plasticisers, bonding agents, curing packages, anti-ozants and the good stuff to make it last.
 
dsd1967 said:
The good stuff is out there....in some cases better than some of the old stuff at OEM levels. The problem is that the off shore junk is what gets to the masses at the big box auto parts stores. NAPA will have some decent stuff also....they carry Weatherhead or Gates....both good products. It's the no name products that fall apart. We hold ourselves to high standards of testing across the board as our large US based competitors do also. The stuff coming from abroad doesn't always get tested to the same standards. They can meet the material "intents" of hardness and base material, but they add a lot of low cost filler products where we are putting plasticisers, bonding agents, curing packages, anti-ozants and the good stuff to make it last.
Click to expand...
Thank you, for your expertise. You mentioned HNBR. That’s what the o-rings were made of that I installed on my valve body today. I believe I did well there and should fix my issue once I find a descent hose material.
 
I had just replaced my power streering pump I used 3/8 transmission line on mine. It will take the prussure, what little there is, and withstand the oil. Most Auto parts stores carry it.
 
NAPA
Makes hydraulic hose and puts on the fittings..
NAPA has EVERYTHING
 
KEVIN MIGNOSA said:
I had just replaced my power streering pump I used 3/8 transmission line on mine. It will take the prussure, what little there is, and withstand the oil. Most Auto parts stores carry it.
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Not my rat ***, stores. Lol ! Only thing local other than ordinary junk fuel hose is fuel injection hose. I read on line fuel injection hose isn’t compatible with oil. I mentioned it to a parts manager at Napa. He said it was. So, I bought and installed it. We’ll see how it holds up. Heat is a big problem with this hose. You can’t avoid it being an inch or two away from the pump end of manifold. Other end of hose is the same circumstance. You can’t avoid it. It has to be a high temperature / oil resistant hose.
 
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Moparitis said:
NAPA
Makes hydraulic hose and puts on the fittings..
NAPA has EVERYTHING
Click to expand...

How are you going to install a hose fitting on the pump / reservoir ? You can’t screw it on the tubing
 
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