CountyMounty

Which line is actually leaking? I still haven't tried again to replace the low pressure line I haven't thought up another way to try to get it out of rack. Make sure you try to remove it from that end first before you unhook it at the other end or cut it off or something so you dont find yourself with a disabled vehicle.

Erogers86

Battled this thing for three hours yesterday. Had to use the pipe trick. My hose broke where the metal was rusted. Thanks for the info guys really helped out. I used a long pipe and came in from the passengers side of the front bumper and then also through the drivers wheel. After a while of beating to loosen it up I was able to turn the fitting with a set of vise grips. The forum was a big help!

CountyMounty

I never tried the pipe trick because I didn't quite understand what the trick was and I didn't have to replace the low pressure line as it was not leaking. I replaced the high pressure line and oddly it came out of the rack very easily, I bought the low pressure line figuring I would go ahead and replace that as well because it was looking pretty rusty but I couldn't get it out and was afraid I was going to break it. I kept the part and figured someday eventually someone will come up with an easier way to remove them.

JD4x4

Thanks to Ford Heavy and all of the others for expanding the original post, it really helped me get a clue & a heads up before I did mine. This thread is the best (and only?) on the web on the subject, afik.

A couple of notes.. my leaky hose was the line from the cooler to the rack and it had rusted & rubbed through just inside of the plastic retainer (for anti-rotation??). As noted in the other posts, it was seized into the rack and was a bear to get loose. I replaced only this line so here is how I did mine-

I forgot to take a pic before I removed the bolt holding the retaining plate but here is a view of the situation & rust on an 11 year old 130k mile 2wd F150 a bit cleaner than typical for here in Maryland. As noted later, all was done accessing it from the driver's side wheel opening.


I pulled off the plastic locating thingie, used copious amounts of WD40 and tapped quite a bit with a fairly big pin punch on both the retainer plate and the line close to the plate but the top line (with the plate brazed to it!) wouldn't budge to let me get access to the leaking bottom line. So.. I carefully used a small chisel as a wedge between the plate & rack body to force the plate upward and away from the bottom line.


Even after more WD40 and tapping on the plate again, the top line wasn't budging so I just put the chisel at the top end of the plate, and being careful not to hit the line itself, I drove the chisel far enough in so that the plate broke free of the rest of the brazing and came loose from the upper line! The plate was pretty bent at this point but I was happy it was loose.



Now on to the frozen in bottom line. Lots more WD40, lots more tapping with the pin punch, lots of gently wiggling the line and I could slowly feel more and more looseness, but it helped to zone out listening to the radio and thinking positive thoughts, lol. I did all of this from the driver's side wheel opening & lying on my back, but I found that I could reach up and over from the front to grip the line with 2 fingers and also hold the pin punch with 2 fingers while tapping with the other hand. I think keeping some sideways pressure on the line while hitting it the other direction with the punch helped in getting the WD40 into it enough to loosen it more & more. Patience, grasshopper.

It FINALLY came loose. I love these moments.




Once the bottom line was out of the way, I used a small pair of vice grips to hold the plate (reaching in from the front) and used a Dremel with a cutoff wheel (reaching up from under the driver's wheel opening) to put 2 slits for a notch in the small end of the plate big enough to let me pull it off of the still frozen upper tube. Once the plate is off the shoulder of the line and around the tubing there is about 3/16 clearance around the pipe so you won't hit the tube with the Dremel, but you definitely need to be careful and use vice grips to hold it. I flattened it with a hammer and dressed the hammer marks, etc. with a flat file before reusing it. Worked great, no leaks, life is good again.

Like a buddy mechanic years ago once said- "heck son, the hardest part of that job is thinking about it". Well, as usual, not really but mostly always the case. Hope this adds something to this great thread, and helps someone.

GalaxieFan

I can confirm this method works. Had leaking return line, decided to replace all 3 lines. Top line on rack came out easy, bottom line was stuck to the point line broke off. Tried vice grips, heat, broke an easy out. Came across this thread last night. Used a long (approx. 30") metal stake and dead blow hammer this morning. From the top, directly on what was left of the fitting going into the rack. Three hits and was able to pull the fitting out of the rack with a vice grip pliers.

Neggy

a little off topic, my 2005 5.4 with 56K on it has had rot issues for a couple of years.. in addition to the cracked manifolds, IWE hubs, rotted transmission and oil dipstick tubed, rotted transmission lines that also required the replacement of the radiator and trans cooler.... while we were doing the transmission stuff I saw the PS lines.... oy ! I already looped the PS cooler line when it rotted last year. So we decided we would go in and replace all the PS lines.... and the pump. All of this looked like it had been in salt water for years.... yes I plow with this truck but is is washed top to bottom after every use. We had to cut the pump off with a sawzall, got all the new lines, and as we were looking at the rack we saw the lines on the rack (brazed/welded on) were just as bad as everything else... garbage. So we ended up putting a rack and 2 tie rod ends in rather than risk a failure down the road.

did I mention I am on my third intermediate steering shaft? that was binding up too..and while the truck was down for all the transmission PS line problems the dash cluster went out to Brians to have the board fixed ( brake light stayed on, bad solder joint)

remember this is at 56K miles, and we also had to replace 4 rotors, 2 calipers, all friction materials, and e brake hardware.... and the rear diff cover the week before all this started.

Bought it new in 07, zero miles on it, never beat, always washed..... plow prep package ... supposed to be heavy duty everything....

anyone want to buy a truck?

_-Night-Shade-_

I guess this is a common issue because this just happened to my 2006 Lincoln Mark LT and that's how I found this thread. I'm in Toronto, Ontario, Canada where they salt the roads like crazy every winter so I guess it's a miracle it lasted this long considering how many others have had this problem.
I decided to get an aftermarket line because I have a wholesale account with the local part stores and they had it in stock. I got the Edelmann one (Part# 80615) and had no fitment or leak issues.
The way I replaced mine was all from the side of the wheel well, I did not do anything from the top... maybe I got lucky. I turned the wheel to full lock left to give the most access space. For me the trickiest thing was the actual bracket - it was seized onto the steering gear so I had to use a flat head screwdriver as a chisel and hammer it for a bit to create some separation at which point I was able to pry it back further using a long prybar. Oh yeah, and lots of WD-40. The bracket got slightly bent but in the end it got straightened back out after tightening the 10mm bolt. To get the line unseized I used a 10" punch and 3-4 good hits with a 3lbs hammer. Came out in under a minute. The rest is self explanatory. After installing the new one I hit it with some rust-check coating to make sure it doesn't corrode again for the rest of the truck's lifespan and also I layered the plastic bracket with some anti-seize to help combat the salt and crap that gets caught there and builds up leading to this scenario. Whole job took me about an hour on my driveway. Here are photos for reference:

mr_mcsloan@yahoo.com

Much easier fix here. I saw mine leaking in January of 2016 the day before a blizzard. Saw that this was a nightmare of a repair and unsure of what exactly was going on. My solution was to cut the line just below the leak and remove the steel line to the front side of the cooler. I then simply put a 12" length of power steering hose and hose clamped it in there. Took about 20 minutes and has held since. Nice to see that it's possible to repair properly but at this point why bother. Thanks for posting all your methods. I'm too lazy for all that though.

pek771

Sorry to drag this up from the archives, but I have a leak in I think the pressure line at the rack. My truck is a 2005 F-150 4WD 5.4 automatic. I ordered return and pressure lines online. I have a factory manual, and the pictures of the rack connections in the manual are bad, This thread may be the best source on this problem. Does anyone have a description of what the four lines are going in to the rack? Two appear to be 13mm nut type connections, and the two in question have that (fairly dumb) plate securing them. A picture would be great.

Bonus Vent...this truck has to be the worst rust bucket ever. The rust on it is just beyond the pale. Everything mechanical is covered in rust.

Anyway, I am thinking if I can move one radiator hose, and maybe the oil filter, I may have a bit more room. I tried to pry the plate loose, and it just bent. I am open for suggestions, if anyone has them. I am trying to avoid removing the rack.
TIA
Pat

blummer65

I have an 07 with the 4.6 I had a leak in the pressure hose ordered the Plews Edelman with the switch port. I took off the cooling fan, shroud, drip tray, oil filter which was okay as oil needed change. Took off p.s.pulley and g9t lucky removed the 10mm bolt and plate loosened easily pulled out of rack easily. Went back same way. Removing brackets from old hose and putting on nvew one was the biggest PITA. Saved myself about 350 as shop wanted around 400. Good luck if you need more info PM me. p.s. mine was only mildly rusty.