88 e30 power steering leak from rack hose

[DTW88]

Hello, i have a significant leak from the black rubber hose that i believe was an air hose on the steering rack? Its about a foot long and goes from one side of the rack to the other. Now, if this is an air hose and im seeing a drip of fluid, my guess is the leak is above it or there is an internal leak? I have attached a photo for reference, again its the small black hose or as bmw refers to it: pipe. If it does carry fluid, my thought was to replace just the hose with a new standard rubber hose? Any insight would be great. As well, is it safe to drive it short distances for a while until i can repair it?

[jeffnhiscars]

I think that hose a.lows fluid to equalize and should be low pressure so I. Surprised it's leaking. Def use a hose that will tolerate atf and if you run out of fluid you will lose power steering and have mor effort to turn. The good news is you should hear it gurgle before it gets too low....the bad news is you risk burning out your power steering pump if it runs dry so if you have to drive it that way for a time just move the belt.

You may want to email rich@rackdoctor.net and ask bout that hose.

[DTW88]

Ah, well upon further inspection unfortunately its the metal return line above it:( its just dumping out of the turn on the line that goes into the rack. I guess the next question is: can I get this line out without pulling the damn rack! I just did an oil pan/gasket swap and i didnt pull the sub or rack, i just got this car a week ago in a trade and that oil pan swap was an extremely tight job. What do you think? Yes, pulling rack would make the job easier but you think there is enough room to get that bad boy out without pulling the majors out?! Additionally, how much pressure is actually in those steel lines?

[Kershaw]

You don't need to pull the rack to replace any of the power steering lines. I'd highly recommend replacing the reservoir at the same time too. Not only does it have a filter in there, but it also is easier to mate fresh rubber and plastic together for no leaks. Old oily lines or plastic are hard to clean up perfectly for a leak free engine bay.

go to www.realoem.com and figure out which specific lines you need then send an email to sales@blunttech.com and order them.