the PSU leak that keeps on giving

[boma23]

Hi all,

The upper rubber PSU reservoir hose on my 3.0 started leaking a few months back, from the lower joint onto the metal union, and once it got bad enough, I finally pulled it off, which destroyed the old original hose, and tried replacing with a length of suitable rubber hose.

After 3 or 4 attempts at slightly different pipes, rubbers, diameters, lengths, jubilee clips, cable ties and every other ###### variable I could think of (and having fully degreased the metal union each time), it still leaked about 500ml per week in normal use, with me having to use thicker std PSU fluid instead of ATF to stop it pouring out and keeping it usable.

I finlly capitualted, and bought the genuine shaped pipe from an ozzie dealer (who got it from Japan), along with original genuine clips costing a pretty penny to get shipped... and still it leaks

I've reseated a few times since, trying different sealants - rubber tyre cement, marine grade silicon, chewing gum and the thing still ###### leaks - it's driving me NUTS that something so simple can be so hard to fix!!

Has anyone had a similar issue with this pipe, and what did they do to seal it?

I'm really hoping I don't have to replace the metal union as this appears to be a single piece servicing the AC pipes as well, and I expect disturbing the other 3 seals on the other hose joins will give just as much bother.

[boma23]

anyone got any further ideas on this?

last attempt involved degreasing everything including rubber pipe while off, sanding the metal pipe union down, then spraying a few coats of epoxy enamel onto the metal pipe and leaving to dry for a 4 or so hours, before reassembly.

Pipe felt nice and tight, and the newly painted surface wouldn't even let it spin by hand, so nice and snug....

... and half had emptied by next morning.

Re-tightened everything with hose clamps instead of the spring clamp, and I'm down to a refill every 3 days currently. My yearly PS fluid costs are now getting into serious territory.

[boma23]

a picture is a thousand words.





Tried the above method and left the paint to go solid over a hot day this time, still same result.

Might end up replacing the entire metal pipe which runs right across to the PS pump, but really don't want to do this as going to disturb the fitting at the other end...

[Koi]

could try a few turns of PTFE tape on the metal part see if that does it.

[Dobbslc]

I hate things like this!
Have you checked that it's not the metal pipe that's got a hairline crack in it?
Vibration and wind can then blow the fluid everywhere.
Give the whole area a very good clean then run the engine up and just stare at it until you can see where the leak starts from.

I once rebuilt the top end of GSXR 400 engine due to it smoking, ( the last owner had had a blow up with a previous motor) but it kept on smoking so I put a second hand engine in and it still smoked......
I had to sit down with some "thinking" beer for a while and thought I will swap the exhaust can.

Yep no smoke, the old exhaust can was full of oil from the original engine that blew! I put it back on and thrashed it for a few hours until the oil burnt off
It's not always the obvious thing....

[boma23]

lol, have considered the hairline crack thing, but near impossibnle to tell - the leak starts from exactly the the eno of the rubber, and does get better/worse with each attempt

this sunday's attempt has seen it slow to around half a bottle per week so far...

PTFE tape a great idea, but not sure if got enough room to get it on

[Dobbslc]

I think ptfe tape will just slide off the pipe as it's basically slippy stuff.
Good on threaded joints but not smooth ones.

[shokenore]

Are you sure that the hose end isn't fubarred and that is where the actual leak is from?

It could have been damaged by the hose clip cutting into it and the more you tighten it the worse it gets.
Do you have any slack in the hose that would enable you to cut the end off and remake the end, probably also worth ditching the hose clamp and getting the band type as oppose to the worm drive type.

[boma23]

already tried the above!

tried 2 other pieces of std fuel/oil hose before ordering the OEM part ($13 part that became $135 once it had made its' way from Japan, via Aus, including courier charges! ). OEM hose looks to be perfect, and i've degreased and cleaned it thoroughly each time. No cracks or imperfections I can see anywhere, and my "blow test" doesn't yield any leaks

I stopped using the straight worm drive type hose clips as could see they weren't evenly applying pressure, now i'm using a (3) worm type ones, but that have an overlapping band all the way round the inside, and do a far better job than the std type. The OEM spring clips were replaced but are next to worthless, and don't stop any leak at all. It may well indeed be worth trying the full band type where the screw is mounted really far away from the band, but can't find them here small enough.

i'm tightening them reasonably tight as it's the only way to stem the flow slightly (half a bottle per day at minute), but careful to to overtighten, and there's no evidence of cracking.

I've made around 12 attempts at this now!!! it's ridiculous as it's only a low pressure return hose!! the same top joint comes off and seals back fine every time!! I'm loathe to replace the entire metal pipe running to the PS pump but may be the only solution...

[boma23]

small woop!

last weekend I tried some of this stuff:

http://www.itwconsumer.com/versachem...20Silicone-133

Versachem Type 7 clear silicon gasket maker.

I'd previously tried the red hi temp variety, and the grey one, with no luck. This one (given 30 + ours to cure) seems to be holding up. So nice not to be leaving puddles everywhere. Even nicer for the dogs who'd regularly go an lie under the cars in the daytime for shade, then come in with the top of their heads and backs covered in PSU fluid from the bottom of the truck...

[RebelV8]

I would have been tempted to try a longer bit of pipe with slightly smaller diameter than the existing one, heat it up in some boiling water and slide as far down the metal pipe as possible, using several clamps up the length of the metal pipe. The idea being to try and cover any hairline cracks anywhere, the rubber pipe would cover the entire metal pipe instead of just going over the shaped lip by half an inch or so.

Hope the current attempt works though

[boma23]

nice idea, and will keep in mind. it's actually at a very slow drip now - one small top up every 3 weeks, so i can live with that and am not going to play with it anymore!