PS reservoir to pump hoses wet with fluid?

[Gene in NC]

'89 525a, 165k. PS reservoir to pump hoses wet with fluid? Do the hoses become porus with age and weep? PS fluid level seems to be OK.

Slight drip on floor is clean like PS fluid, not engine oil.

Drip could possibly be coolant. Slight coolant loss leads to suspicion of expansion tank to radiator seal.

Can't find PS hoses in realoem.

[Barney Paull-Edwards]

Yes hoses decay with age but they are cheap,any oil-resistant hose will do.I got them from a Cat dealer for £9.

[winfred]

32 41 1 136 996, P/S Pressure Hose
32 41 1 136 994, P/S Return Hose
32 41 1 133 813, P/S Suction Hose
and if you are doing everything get a new 32 41 1 097 164, P/S Reservoir

you can usually recrimp the connections at the cooler and reservoir and get a couple more years outta the system unless you have a real leak

[Gene in NC]

winfred, do you mean recrimp or replace the crimps with hose clamps? Suppose I could take them to brake/hose shop and have crimps replaced. That small hose from the reservoir is one tortured/formed bitch.

Had PS pressure hose on '85 535 rebuilt at brake shop for about $40 when the BMW part was nearly $200 IIRC.

[Gene in NC]

Barney, ru talking about hoses on 525 or 535? Both hoses on the 525 are formed and the samller one is really tortured.

Leak is clearly a drip from the most readily visible banjo bolt on the PS pump.

[shogun]

Hoses which are crimped, must be recrimped again, as they are in the high pressure area.
Other hydraulic hoses are in low pressure area and have hose clamps. These old hose clamps should be replaced against new ones and maybe you cut the hose from the reservoir just be 10 mm and then refit it again, I did the same and the leak was gone.
Here is a method I would not recommend by cutting the pipe
http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/269769/
I did it the proper way and cut off the old crimp
http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/7659/hochdruckschlauch136mn.jpg

Comment by Bill R.:
the typical procedure is take and cut off the metal sleeve over the hose with grinder or cutoff wheel in a 4 inch grinder. Then you remove the old hose, you use a new sleeve with the old metal fittings and new hose, the new sleeve is crimped into place just like the original. I've seen some shops they silver solder the sleeve onto the original end and then install the hose and crimp but it seems like doing something completely useless to me.

And once advice, do not tighten the banjo bolts too much, see what we found:
http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/124919/

[winfred]

i was talking about the low pressure hoses on the bottle and cooler, they are usually the ones oozing, you can either replace the crimp clamps with worm clamps or you can sometimes take a pair of diagonal cutters and pinch the factory clamp tighter

[Gene in NC]

winfred is on to my observation of the hoses from the bottle to the metal lines. They are not pressure hoses. Am familiar with the "big" crimps for pressure lines. Maybe my bad for getting into "crimps". Thses hose ends are only clamped wth those little "one time" clamps that are used in the factory. Suspect the ooze may be my problem. there shouldnt be any pressure beyond the head difference between bottom of the bottle and the metal lines at the frame rail, or whereever the larger hose goes.

[Rus]

I've dealt with a similar weeping low pressure hose problem on my 535i. After cutting the offending hose back about 10mm it still was wet with fluid. I ended up ordering a new hose from AutohausAZ because American autopart stores don't know what a metric size P/S hose is and the local dealer wanted about 50 bucks (3 feet of hose for 50 bucks? seriously?). Once the new hose went on, the leak is gone. I'm using worm-screw clamps. HTH

[gale]

Ditto to Rus's solution. I bought a new pre-swaged hose that attaches to the pump from AutohausAZ, and a 3' length of SAE J1019 (Gates) transmission cooler hose from Napa. I doubled up and staggered 2 skinny worm clamps at end and 2 months later it doesn't leak a drop. I also replaced the p/s reservoir, $20.

[Gene in NC]

Used Winfred's "crimp the factory clamp tighter" above in this thread. Tied a piece of cloth on the hose below the reservoir as a telltale. Seems to be working well.

Thanks Winfred.

[winfred]

this usually gets you a couple more years till something actually goes bad, or the hoses shrink more