icarus179

I finally finished repairing the bigger line on my Power steering. It was leaking so I clamped in a new section of line. I screwed with it for about 4 days off and on because the clamps wouldnt hold the line back together once pressure built up.
I finally took the line off, Went to Autozone and they let me use their line flairing tool. It holds now but its not working anymore. It holds the fluid in the resivoir and doesent leak but its not assisting in steering.

It also idles like crap now but that might be from the Gunk engine brite spray and the waterhose under the hood to get all the power steering fluid.

Anyway now it hesitates at a constant speed something fierce. To the point I was worrying about drivetrain stress. Also at an idle I will give it gas and it just surges.

I'm hoping THIS is from the waterhose and it will go away in a few days.
I would just like to find out how to Bleed the Power Steering System if its ever necessary.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

With car running, move the steering wheel from full one side to full the other side slowly. Do it about 4 times. Keep an eye on the fluid level. I usually do it with wheels off the ground.
Water not too good for the sensors and electrical conmnectors. It would be best if you have access to an air compressor to try and blow the moisture out of the fittings.

icarus179

I'll do that in the morning with a few cans of the canned air for computers. I will spray the coil wire ends and the connectors out.

I'll let you know how it goes with the "full range of motion" steering cycles.

icarus179

I just went out and tried the steering through the full range of motion. It didnt ever get easy like it used to. I wonder if anyone knows where the filter is located for the power steering? I didnt know there is one but Autozone stocks one for a 1986 Mazda RX-7.

I was just thinking the number of times the line blew apart as pressure was building up! (about 8). I kept forcing a piece of metal tubing (that I finally flared) back into the hose. I shudder to think of all the pieces of black rubber coursing through the steering system.

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

you flared the ends so that the clamps would hold?

this is a bad bad idea if you did what i think you did........


first, the P/S system builds upwards of 1300 PSI, hose clamps and a simple flare will not hold that kind of psi, you don't want to lose your assist when you need it most, it can also cause other problems like spraying oil on the belts when the hose blows off and cause them to slip or slip off their pulleys and cause the engine to overheat. next, if you aren't using high pressure hose or the right type of hose it WILL deteriorate or burst from pressure and/or contamination.

if you can't find a supplier for a new or remanufactured hose you can take your hose to a hose shop and have them rebuild it for you for a minimal cost.

if you flared the tube incorrectly it could be causing a blockage in the line, if you incorrectly flared the line a piece could have broken free and gone into your pump or orifice valve and clogged it. at any rate, you need to fix the hose correctly first and then figure out why the pump is not offering it's services to you.

icarus179

I did just that. I cut out the swaged end of the line and from the elbow I cut it with a dremel and flared it with a tube flaring kit from Autozone. I did it right and it came out really good. If it got clogged from debris it is most likely from me twisting the elbow to get it back into the hose.

The hesitation, stuttering, fuel cut out problem went away after about 45 minutes of idling this morning.
Now it just acts like its manual steering. Its not really bad after you get it rolling. But at a stop its difficult to turn the wheel.

icarus179

The problem with the PS fixed itself. My guess is there was a piece of hose caught at the right place to stop pressure from building. It worked its way out then started working all of a sudden. Then Pow! the line popped off again!
I then took the line off and went to every hydraulics shop in town even the ones that make lines for firklifts! Noone could help me because of the metric threads on the ends.

I finally found out that O'reily auto parts carry the power steering lines for the RX-7 for $16.99! I ordered it in from Dallas and replaced it. It now works like a champ.
Thanks for your advice.

I also installed the toggle switch fuel shutoff so it will stop flooding and it hasnt happened again yet. as long as I can remember to kill the car with the switch not the key.