Just joined the forum, seems like a great source of information.

We own a 2005 Suburban 4x4 1500 LT. It's been a very reliable vehicle and has been driven pretty hard, with over 140,000 miles on the clock. Recently I noticed that the pressure hoses for the power steering were covered with black dirty grime. I ran my fingers down along each end of the pressure hoses and noticed some dampness around each metal fitting where the metal pipe part of the hose is connected with the rubber body of the hose.

I decided to change out both pressure hoses. There are two separate hoses, one that goes from the hydroboost (this model has the the "hydroboost" unit mounted directly behind the brake master cylinder on the driver side firewall) to the power steering pump, and a hose running from the pump back to the hydroboost unit.

I managed to get the hoses unscrewed on each end for removal, and then made a critical mistake that is biting me now. I didn't take any photos of how the hoses were routed down into the engine compartment to join with the pump. I didn't figure that these hoses would be difficult to replace, so I guess I didn't think to take pictures. Now, I'm trying to install the new hose and can't figure out for the life of me how this thing is routed from the hydroboost unit down to the pump. It has to be routed a very specific way, since the hose has metal pipes that are bent in a shape to allow them to bend around or over/under other components. I've tried for hours to manhandle the hose enough to get it positioned to screw into the pump (from under the vehicle) but can't get it.

If someone out there could post some pics of how the pressure hoses are routed from the hydroboost down to the pump, that would be a god send. If I could just take a look at how it's routed, I can get this thing installed. Until then, I am pretty much screwed, so any help would be greatly appreciated!

Let me know if you need any additional information and I can do my best to help clarify what I'm dealing with here. Thanks!

 

Still no replies, so I took a couple of photo's to try and explain what I'm looking for. The first photo below shows the hydro boost unit with the hose coming from the left side of the unit (the hose is loosely connected to show where it comes from and which hose I'm referring to).

The second photo shows the hose in question (replacement for old hose that was leaking).


The last photo is kind of hard to discern, but it is looking down into the engine bay from the driver side of the vehicle. Down there is where the other end of the hose has to be routed to connect to the rear of the power steering pump underneath. It has to be routed exactly as it was before, or the angle of the fitting into the power steering pump is off and it won't screw in.

If someone who has a Suburban, Tahoe, etc. with the hydro boost unit could take some pics of the hose starting at the hydro boost unit and down into the engine bay that would be all I need to get this thing routed correctly.

 

did you compare the old/new hose?

 

Yes, I put them side by side on the bench and the new hose is the same as the old hose. The new hose is also an AC Delco part, so it's an OEM replacement. The problem is I just don't know how the hose needs to be routed (over or under other hoses, over/under the steering linkage, etc) to get it down there where it needs to be. I always take pictures of everything before I start tearing things apart and this time I neglected to do that because it seemed like a simple remove and replace. Now I'm paying the price.

 

turns out I had the inlet and outlet hoses reversed. I was able to get them re-installed. Lesson learned.

 

Great for you! Thanks for responding it helps everyone with future issues.
Reason I asked if you compared them is I had an issue on my 70 Olds I ordered the high pressure hose for the power steering, it was exactly the same except 6" too short.

 

Thanks for the response, I was running out of options and didn't want to admit defeat. I took a look at some Suburbans being sold on Ebay of all places and found some photos of the engine compartment. Not the detailed view I was looking for, but I finally noticed that the angle of the hose coming out of the hydro boost was different than the one I was trying to install. Another look at my hoses and I realized my mistake.

Still not a fun job..very messy (power steering fluid everywhere) and getting to that hose on the rear of the pump was not fun. Moral of the story...document and photograph everything before disassembling so you can refer back to it later. Keeps a simple repair from becoming a nightmare.