Replacing lift system hoses?

I've read stories of the hoses for the lift system failing and causing a breakdown and/or fire. Since this car has a long soft line from the back to the front of the car for the lift system, and the soft lines to the shocks have to move with every suspension movement, it seems like a good idea to change them periodically before a failure occurs.

 

Does anyone have a plan for having hoses made up? Can one take the old hoses to NAPA, or some other shop, and have them made up?

 

FYI, if you were to buy the factory hoses from the pressure block to the front, to the shocks, and to the accumulator from the normal discount vendors, you'd be looking at around $2200 for about $300 in hoses.

 

Please share your experiences if you have any with sourcing these hoses and replacing them.

I had to replace a couple of those hoses including the long one from the back to the front. My tech pretty much had them made up and saved me alot of money over oem. I'm sure yours can do the same

I had to replace a couple of those hoses including the long one from the back to the front. My tech pretty much had them made up and saved me alot of money over oem. I'm sure yours can do the same

 

Thanks. After doing a little more searching online, it looks like having high pressure lines custom made is not that difficult. I'll take some pics of the fittings and make sure the workshops can match them before I take the car apart.

Just to add to this I replaced the long hose that runs from the engine bay alongside the transmission tunnel to the front above the steering rack.

 

In the UK it is a £400 plus tax part, I had one made up for £125.

 

It is fiddly but not to hard and it will leak fluid everywhere.

 

Remove the access panel in the front boot

 

Disconnect the front banjo / bleed bolt - cover the area with towels.

 

In the engine bay remove the passenger airbox (mine is LHD).

 

Loosen and move to the side the coolant tank.

 

Remove rear wheel and all the wheel arch liners.

 

It is then a case of feeding the hose out front to back, it is zip tied at various hard to reach places around the gear box.

 

You can then see where it goes under the heat shield by the front of the engine, up under the coolant tank and around to the valve.

 

 

Refitting is simply the other way round making sure you route it the way it came out.

 

 

 

Top up the fluid, run the car and move the steering left to right to make sure the fluid is circulated.

 

Operate the lift button - nothing will happen, but it is starting to push fluid through the pipes.

 

Open the bleed nipple to see if fluid comes out. Repeat a couple of times pressing the lift button, until you can see the fluid coming out.

 

Close bleed nipple and operate lift button.

 

Job done.

 

Del

 

 

Would it be possible to have these made in braided steel to avoid future failure?

Any custom hydraulic hose company can make the hoses for you. It's probably worth the time to contact a company that makes hydraulic hoses for racing applications.

Del,

 

Thanks for this write up! I am planning to replace this hose as maintenance item this summer, so this is very helpful.

 

Question: Why didn't you change, or did you change, the hoses going to the shocks and the accumulator? I have read threads where those fail as well.

 

I plan to change those hoses too, but I am wondering if I should also change all the rubber hoses between the power steering pump and the steering rack and the lift control block while I am at it. They are all holding 1500psi.

 

Just to add to this I replaced the long hose that runs from the engine bay alongside the transmission tunnel to the front above the steering rack.

 

In the UK it is a £400 plus tax part, I had one made up for £125.

 

It is fiddly but not to hard and it will leak fluid everywhere.

 

Remove the access panel in the front boot

 

Disconnect the front banjo / bleed bolt - cover the area with towels.

 

In the engine bay remove the passenger airbox (mine is LHD).

 

Loosen and move to the side the coolant tank.

 

Remove rear wheel and all the wheel arch liners.

 

It is then a case of feeding the hose out front to back, it is zip tied at various hard to reach places around the gear box.

 

You can then see where it goes under the heat shield by the front of the engine, up under the coolant tank and around to the valve.

 

 

Refitting is simply the other way round making sure you route it the way it came out.

 

 

 

Top up the fluid, run the car and move the steering left to right to make sure the fluid is circulated.

 

Operate the lift button - nothing will happen, but it is starting to push fluid through the pipes.

 

Open the bleed nipple to see if fluid comes out. Repeat a couple of times pressing the lift button, until you can see the fluid coming out.

 

Close bleed nipple and operate lift button.

 

Job done.

 

Del

The crimping and fitting is the critical part when getting custom hoses done. Like others said, most good shops know who to call to get this made.

 

Also, the valve block and solenoids (#12 and 13 in the parts diagram) are often the culprit to hoses bursting. Block/solenoids can fail and put excessive pressure on the hoses. So, when you have a broken hose, don't just replace that alone. You may need to test the block assembly too. Unfortunately, there is not much preventive maintenance you can do on the block as they are around $3k new.

 

Before the system fails, you will get lift not working. It will go up but can't stay up for example. That is when you should take it to a shop immediately. Many failure is a result of ignoring the issue.

I've read stories of the hoses for the lift system failing and causing a breakdown and/or fire. Since this car has a long soft line from the back to the front of the car for the lift system, and the soft lines to the shocks have to move with every suspension movement, it seems like a good idea to change them periodically before a failure occurs.

 

Does anyone have a plan for having hoses made up? Can one take the old hoses to NAPA, or some other shop, and have them made up?

 

FYI, if you were to buy the factory hoses from the pressure block to the front, to the shocks, and to the accumulator from the normal discount vendors, you'd be looking at around $2200 for about $300 in hoses.

 

Please share your experiences if you have any with sourcing these hoses and replacing them.

 

Stimpy,

 

Looks like you may be able to use SS braided hoses, banjo connectors and fittings using Earl's connectors. They are made by Holley performance. They are sold by a lot of vendors. Some are Summit Racing, Jegs or Pegasus racing. Measure the ID and OD of the current hoses, grab the TPI of the current banjo fittings and you should be good. I would call Holley or Earls to get a pressure rating on their SS hoses to be certain they can handle the pressure of the hydraulics (I'm sure they can easily). No need for custom press fitting. Maybe about $300 total for all the lines and fittings.

The long hose I replaced was braided - I cut it in half to make removal easier, it was a pig to cut.

 

I would leave it to a shop to make the hoses up they rated to 350 Bar / 5000psi.

 

The car was leaking fluid out of the low pressure hose above the steering rack so I changed that. Whilst looking at the car underneath I noticed that the long hose was wet and sticky its entire length, even at the rear of the car, so I assumed it was damaged and removed it.

 

The hose shop that made it up said they don't split but as the hose was 14 years old you may get some seepage between the braiding and the rubber ??

 

You can reach the "valve" from inside the engine bay but after two days of trying to get a spanner on it, I removed the wheel arch liner and it was off in 5 mins.

 

 

The long hose I replaced was braided - I cut it in half to make removal easier, it was a pig to cut.

 

I would leave it to a shop to make the hoses up they rated to 350 Bar / 5000psi.

 

The car was leaking fluid out of the low pressure hose above the steering rack so I changed that. Whilst looking at the car underneath I noticed that the long hose was wet and sticky its entire length, even at the rear of the car, so I assumed it was damaged and removed it.

 

The hose shop that made it up said they don't split but as the hose was 14 years old you may get some seepage between the braiding and the rubber ??

 

You can reach the "valve" from inside the engine bay but after two days of trying to get a spanner on it, I removed the wheel arch liner and it was off in 5 mins.

 

The other hoses that run from the bleed nipple valve to shocks were dry so I didn't bother changing them.

 

del

 

 

Lots of good info in this thread.

I had a hydraulic shop make the lines for a Murci YEARS ago. Both sides cost me $50! Still working mint to this day. Fcuk OEM for this... Simple hoses...