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Steering box pressure port leaking

11K views 18 replies 11 participants last post by  tekctrl 
#1 ·
I recently installed a new 500 type power steering box on my 56 Chevy. The new fluid hose kit came from CPP. The hose kit is part No. 605HK.

I tightened the fittings as tight as I could but the pressure port on the steering box leaks badly. I checked for debris in the fitting port, checked for burrs on the fitting itself and found nothing but the only way to slow down the leaking is to wrap the threads on the fitting with a lot of teflon tape.
If a flare fitting and port are made correctly, there should be no need to use teflon tape on the threads should there?

Is it possible the fitting is just not made correctly? I bought the fluid hose kit on 5/31/14 but only got it installed last week, (week of 7-7-14). Is there a guarantee on this product?
 
#2 ·
You are correct, you shouldn't expect to seal a leak on anything other than pipe thread by using Teflon tape or anything else on the threads. In fact, I'm surprised you slowed it down.

I would suspect that you either have an imperfect flare on your hose, or a defective brass cone seat in the box.

When the 500 boxes came out more than 10 years ago, the first units had improperly machined brass cones in the box. This became known over the internet (CPP did not contact me); I called the about the problem and they sent a new brass cone. It fixed the problem. Those particular cones were machined too thin - the nut would bottom out before the flare fully contacted the brass cone.

I don't have a clue whether that's your problem, but it's certainly a possibility.

Used to be you could buy the brass cones at a "good" auto supply, but it's been many years since I found one at an auto supply.

The cone is very easy to remove - you just use an ez-out or similar tool. The new cone just slips into the port, and you can use the hose tube nut to push it home.
 
#3 ·
You are correct, you shouldn't expect to seal a leak on anything other than pipe thread by using Teflon tape or anything else on the threads. In fact, I'm surprised you slowed it down.

I would suspect that you either have an imperfect flare on your hose, or a defective brass cone seat in the box.
Exactly what I was thinking Rick, although I wasn't aware you could replace the brass cone. Good info to know. I appreciate it!
 
#6 ·
I finally got the pressure port leak stopped.

After finding out from RickL the brass cone was removable, I took it out, inspected it, and could see from the little flare line indentation on it that only went half way around that the flared line wasn't seating fully.
I put the same cone back into the bore but this time it went further down into the bore and the flared fitting also went further in than it did before.
This time, NO LEAK!
It appears the brass cone wasn't fully in the bore to begin with and maybe even slightly cockeyed, which resulted in the leak.
But, all fixed and tightened up now with no leak!
I love it when a fix to a problem doesn't cost me extra money!:tu
 
#9 ·
Late to this thread but I just purchased ans installed a CPP 500 box and the high pressure hose also leaked at the box.And yes, the brass seat or cone inside the box was only sealing half way around. I contacted CPP(Chinese Performance Parts)and the promptly sent a new aluminum seat with rubber o-rings to replace the brass one. After the repair the high pressure hose still weeps.
After reading all the post here it would seem that CPP would address the problem at the root cause ie manufacturing process and correct the process.
 
#19 ·
Hmmm...a known problem of several years duration, and which has been the subject of repeated comments online here and elsewhere, yet the problem remains uncorrected at CPP. This is beyond a deficiency in customer service. This is well into "we know about it but aren't going to do anything about it because we're making more profits by selling the fix kits" and seriously disappointing, CPP.

I too had the same issue; leaking (squirting) pressure line in a brand new CPP box using the brand new CPP hose. The provided fix corrected the problem. However, it should have been corrected loooong ago with the manufacturer using a correctly machined/inserted brass flare seat. The fact that it remains uncorrected after all this time reflects very poorly on CPP's commitment to quality.

For grins and giggles, I'm attaching a pic of the brass fitting which I removed from the 500 box. You will note that, as described in other threads both here and elsewhere, the seat bears the imprint of the flare only half-way around the circumference. As a CPP customer, I'm very happy that the fix corrected the problem but very unhappy that the problem remains even years after being identified.
 

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#13 ·
If it hasn't been mentioned, CPP has a longer inverted flare so the fitting will tighten down enough.
You can thread a tap or "easy-out" into the flare, clamp it with some vice-grips, and tap the flare out of the box. Their not very tight in the box.
 
#14 ·
I too recently purchased a CPP 500 Power Steering box and also had a problem with the high pressure hose leaking. The problem is the bore on the high pressure side is too deep. Yes, I contacted CPP and they sent out a new longer inverted flare insert that replaces the one that came with the 500 box.

We weren't comfortable trying to dig the shorter one out so, I ordered new power steering hoses with deeper fittings.

I just completed this today but, because of rain, I could not take the 56 out on a test drive. But, when I start the car the hoses no longer leak.

The fittings should not bottom out on the box. You should be able to see a thread or two. If it bottoms out, most likely the hose will leak. The fittings cannot complete a tight seal when it bottoms out.
 
#15 ·
Thanks Don & Mel, I have contacted CPP and am waiting for their reply. I also sent an email to Ecklers as they must know about the problem and sold the entire kit to me and did not mention it.

I am also going to see if I can just get either a new hose or coupler locally.

Thanks for the help!
 
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