32gtst Leaking Powersteering Oil

[buggor34]

Hi guys

I know issues with HICAS have been posted 65 million times before, but i have a problem that i cant find the

answer to after searching many threads.

My car has had the HICAS removed by the previous owner. The problem is I have a power steering leak that is difficult to find, the rear of

the pump has been closed with a banjo bolt with no hose coming from this. I think this may be the problem, but my mechanic put a new stonger

washer on the bolt which slowed the leak down. The leak seems to be from this area, its hard to tell as when the car is hot it makes a mess all this side of the car.

What im asking basically, will having the rear of the pump closed off be causing it to leak under pressure under hot oil temps?

How could this be fixed?

Sorry if this seems a little brief, but its difficult to explain.

Cheers!

[Godzilla32]

Hot oil will become thinner and will be more likely to leak out if the leak is small enough. This is what id be doing. Clean down the entire area with degreaser and make sure you can see the area well, IE: get a light if you need to. Start up the engine and get someone to load up the steering IE: full lock and watch for leaks. That will help you identify where the leak is and then you can either replug the banjo fitting properly or get the pump rebuilt as it may just be a leaking pump seal.

Good luck

Edited March 26, 2008 by Godzilla32

[Duncan]

we have plugged the rear of the pump with a bolt and copper washer - no leaks. may not even be coming from there....spray the whole area with degreaser then check what is wet after a quick drive

[buggor34]

we have plugged the rear of the pump with a bolt and copper washer - no leaks. may not even be coming from there....spray the whole area with degreaser then check what is wet after a quick drive

Hey Duncan,

Did you work on the car for the previous owner?

[GeeTR]

Thats interesting Dunc, i thought all PS pumps eventually failed if their rear stage is simply plugged up.

[Duncan]

sorry buggor34 i meant the royal "we", I have blocked the rear stage of mine without any leaks

michael - yes you will kill the pump if you just block up the rear stage, I killed my first one this way. You need to pull the back off the pump and remove the blades on the impellor

[godzl1975]

michael - yes you will kill the pump if you just block up the rear stage, I killed my first one this way. You need to pull the back off the pump and remove the blades on the impellor

can you run a line there and use that to hook upto a cooler and run the line back from the cooler to the front stage?/line by using a T piece? As i dont have any of the pumps?/solanoids for the HICAS on the left of the engine bay there anymore.

[Duncan]

indeed you can, or return it straight to the resoviour to cool it before it heads out thru the first stage.

if I did it again I would do it this way, but instead mine is one stage only - resoviour - pump - cooler - steering rack - resoviour. Still boils over during track work even with good fluid. cooler is pretty small though only about 10cm high

[Godzilla32]

I didnt know that p/s fluid got that hot during track work. Interesting. So the little stock cooler doesnt quite cut it huh How long does it take to get hot enough to boil with the stock setup?

[Duncan]

its worse than that mate, I'm talking about a proper aftermarket core not the super crappy standard finned pipe thingy. Fluid boils every session for me (say 8-10 laps or 15 min), but until this year we were not allowed to run a bigger cooler.

[Godzilla32]

Yeah i knew you were talking about an aftermarket core, i was just joking about the stock one

Oh well i guess its better than not having one stock at all like alot of cars.

[buggor34]

sorry buggor34 i meant the royal "we", I have blocked the rear stage of mine without any leaks

michael - yes you will kill the pump if you just block up the rear stage, I killed my first one this way. You need to pull the back off the pump and remove the blades on the impellor

Funny you should say that Duncan, because thats what has been done to my pump (bolt with copper washer). The mechanic found the leak

& it was from the front seal on the pump

Do you think it would be better to take the impellors off the back of the pump or route a pipe somewhere? If so where would be the best place to run

the new piping?

Thanks heaps!

[GeeTR]

Buggor - this is all Skyline 101 Many a detailed thread.

People remove the rear stator, but most people just re-route the lines. Check the pictures people have posted, compare that with what you see when you get under the car and its dead easy. Cut some steal pipe, fit 30cm worth of hose, few hose clamps - wo la!

[buggor34]

Buggor - this is all Skyline 101 Many a detailed thread.

People remove the rear stator, but most people just re-route the lines. Check the pictures people have posted, compare that with what you see when you get under the car and its dead easy. Cut some steal pipe, fit 30cm worth of hose, few hose clamps - wo la!

The trouble is that the previous owner has removed all the lines that were associated with the rear of the pump. & just blocked the hole with a bolt & copper washer. Which i believe has caused the pump to blow the front seal.

I have searched through many threads and am confused as to what option is better. Do you have any links to any good

threads?

In your opinion would you while repairing the pump take out the impellor or add some fittings and hoses to the rear of the pump and use an aftermarket cooler etc? I do plan to take it to a few track days in the future.

Cheers!

[buggor34]

anyone?

[Duncan]

well putting everything back is all too hard, so stick with what you have. if the rear stage is blocked off and its done more than a couple of hundred ks, they must have taken the blades out of the rear stage....otherwise it would be dead by now