Power steering pipes?

[David's8]

Originally Posted by The_Laird

I am always humbled by the response to pleas for help on this forum, be it sympathy and empathy, detailed experience or offers of help with parts, suppliers or fixes. What’s an amazing bunch of people you are!

I think I now have a solution - parts from the wonderful MJ and an agreement to fit from my reasonably local Audi indy. And MJ is pulling the stops out to get the parts made up and delivered in time for fitting before the Xmas holidays.

Respect to you all - keep safe!

you obviously didnt read my post then Jim?
Seriously though, glad you have a way ahead
And its good news for us all that MJ is gradually working out ways to avoid the "killer" parts shortages that are threatening the life of our cars

[The_Laird]

I did read your post David, but the thought of you raiding my S8 for parts was too horrendous to contemplate!

[The_Laird]

Well, Michaela delivered all three pipes but I couldn’t get the car in to my Audi indy before new year. But, it’s done (the Audi indy took twice as long as MJ!) and my S8 now has an MOT.
It’s worth pointing out that my Audi indy was VERY impressed with the quality of of the remanufactured/refurbished PS pipes, particularly with the heat-shrinked covering of rust-prone parts. AND, MJ also provided detailed instructions of how to do the job, complete with warnings of vulnerable parts, which the mechanic found indispensable.
I’m so glad that I’m a good deal older than MJ - she will hopefully be there for me (and so many of us) long after I’m gone!
I have lost count of my thanks owed to this amazing person

[MikkiJayne]

Originally Posted by The_Laird

detailed instructions of how to do the job, complete with warnings of vulnerable parts, which the mechanic found indispensable.

Glad the notes were useful It would be a pretty horrible job if you don't know the tricks

[GH77]

That's really good news @The_Laird. Delighted for you

And very encouraging news @MJ that your future-proofing fix is a success. Very well done and appreciated!

[spannerrash]

Apologies everyone, I have been a little distracted this last couple of months and have only popped on here a handful of times recently. I completely missed all the updates on this post since the beginning of December.

It's good to hear the car is now back on the road with a fresh Mot. Well done MJ for the ingenious ps pipes solution. I have to admit though that I am having difficulty trying to understand fully if this is a total solution or are we still dependent on old hoses. By that I mean, is the clock still ticking on this one or are we now safe. If we run out of good old hoses, can we still manage?

The question is primarily generated because I don't understand which parts of the old hoses we are Re-using and how long we will be able to keep Re-using them. Sorry if that sounds a bit thick, I'm just trying to understand the options.

The Spectrum hoses are still available if anyone has the time, facilities and is aware enough of the risks to still want to give them a try. Drop me a PM and I am willing to donate them in return for feedback.

Cheers all, Frank.

[MikkiJayne]

I'm re-using the front pressure pipe, as that is the complicated bit and is normally recoverable. All it takes is to remove the old rusted union and then soak it in evaporust for a few days to clean it. Thus far I haven't found one of these which is not recoverable yet (done 4), but it is concievable that one may be too rusty to get back. In that case we have a plan to rebuild the hose, similar to spectrum but with crimps instead of olive fittings. We'll investigate that further if necessary.

The rear pressure hose is using the original rack end, but with new hose crimped on to it, and a 90 degree DIN 7631 M16 fitting crimped on the end of that, to join to the original front pressure hose. As we've replaced the hard line over the exhaust downpipe with hose, that's covered in some heat resistant sleeve to protect the hose.

The return line is just re-crimped with O-clamps as that is low pressure and its only the crimps which fail.

My process is entirely dependent on certain parts of the original hoses being intact hence why I'm doing them on exchange, but so is Spectrum's. Mine keeps more of the original construction intact though, and I certainly consider it a permanent solution within the remaining lifespan of the cars. I currently do have a slight issue sourcing the DIN 7631 fittings, as they are an old standard, but someone must make new ones for old equipment. If not though, we can make an adapter from old to new standards and just carry on with the same technique.