The fitting on the end of this high pressure power steering hose appeared frozen and would not spin freely, so I had no choice but to turn and turn until it could be removed. A brand new one is $100 from Fastlane or $40 from eBay. The money is not the issue so much as the fact that the car will now be down for most of the week until the hose can be delivered. Is there another way of fixing it? Do you think there would be any success in straigtening it and then maybe running a thick rod through it? Or maybe cutting a section and using compression or flare fittings? How about brazing? It's so close to the end of the hose...

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

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08 W251 R350
97 W210 E320
91 W124 300E
86 W126 560SEL
85 W126 380SE Silver
85 W126 380SE Cranberry
79 W123 250
78 W123 280E
75 W114 280

Hi It looks like you did not seperate the line flaired end fitting from the insert fitting,you must seperate the enf fitting and reinstall it before you install the new line,watch you do not loose a washer if one is there.I would only use a oem replacement part as this line if I remember right will hold up to 1,500 psi,so do not try to rig one up.Joeym

After re-examining the hose, I have decided it's not repairable. I will be purchasing one of these two:

Fastlane

eBay

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08 W251 R350
97 W210 E320
91 W124 300E
86 W126 560SEL
85 W126 380SE Silver
85 W126 380SE Cranberry
79 W123 250
78 W123 280E
75 W114 280

Looks like we both had PS woes on our 85' 380SE 's this week. Hopefully you will get it back on the roads soon.

Mine had to have that steering box seal replaced. Parts were $22 and he charged $50 labor.

Unless I'm missing something here, you removed the wrong nut when taking the hose out. The first nut, as your picture indicates, has no compression fitting at the end - most likely there was a copper or aluminum crush washer between it and the pump housing, or possibly an o-ring in a groove on the housing itself. The second nut is the one that should have been loosened, while holding the first nut with a backup wrench.

You need to find any washer or o-ring that was used to seal that fitting before you re-assemble. If the fitting was bottomed-out against the housing, there's a seal there somewhere. Regardless of which type of seal it is, it should be replaced when you reinstall the hose - cheap insurance against leaks. If the seal is an o-ring, the replacement (in my opinion) is mandatory.

Of course, if you tried that and were unable to get the second nut to budge, your method of removal would have been the only logical choice, and would have resulted in the spaghetti hose you would up with.

It's not repairable, as you surmised. In general, hoses like this that carry fluid, especially oils, are a royal pain in the butt to even attempt to braze or weld. You can never get the metal clean enough that oil doesn't ooze from somewhere and spoil the welding/brazing effort.

Good luck.

Thanks for the info. I'm aware that the second fitting was supposed to remain with the gearbox. The problem is, everything was fused together and the only way to remove it was to twist it all together. After I got it on the bench, I had to break the hose and fitting apart and spent a great deal of time wetsanding the flare seat to ensure all residue from the corroded hose was removed.

Once I got a closer look I realized no repair is possible and I will be ordering a new hose likely today. I spent a few hours last night renewing most of the seals on the gearbox while I have it out. Hopefully the seepage will be resolved when it's all put back together.

__________________
08 W251 R350
97 W210 E320
91 W124 300E
86 W126 560SEL
85 W126 380SE Silver
85 W126 380SE Cranberry
79 W123 250
78 W123 280E
75 W114 280

That's what I kinda figured - only way out was the only way out - unfortunate.

Next day delivery at your dealer.

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Kent Christensen
Albuquerque
'07 GL320CDI, '10 CL550. '01 Porsche Boxster
Two BMW motorcycles

Sure is twisted.... like a pretzel.