70 Power Steering Hoses

[Bill L.]

I am in the process of rebuilding my power steering. Leaks and more leaks as you know.

The hose on the car are original and just okay. Will repros pass judging scutiny? Can I have originals redone? or should I look for NOS?

Mine is L46 but I think they were the same for small and big block

Thanks,

Bill

[John H.]

Re: 70 Power Steering Hoses

I'd replace them - why take a chance on 37-year-old pressure hoses? The deduction is very minor (like one point).

[Bill L.]

Re: 70 Power Steering Hoses

Good Point!

Thanks,

Bill

[Chuck S.]

Re: 70 Power Steering Hoses

NOS hoses have probably been gone for years, but even the late service replacements from GM, sometimes called "NOS" by sellers, were crimped differently than the original hoses.

Unless there has been some new developments in the repro business that I don't know about, I think you're going to be stuck with whatever replacements you can find.

[Joe L.]

Re: 70 Power Steering Hoses

Chuck------

I'm not so sure about different crimps. The last set of the GM hoses that I purchased appeared to have crimps just like the originals. These hoses were also of the original, 1962 issued part numbers that were used throughout the 63-79 period for all small blocks (big blocks were the same except for the pump-to-valve pressure hose). The exception was the return hose. Although of the original part number, I think the crimps were different on that one.

It is possible that since I purchased the last set of hoses, the manufacturer (and crimps) have changed without a change in part number. The hoses are still available under the original part numbers. A problem is COST. The 3 pressure hoses (1 pump-to-valve and 2 valve-to-cylinder) have a current total GM list price of $293.33. The return hose adds only $24.32 to the total (but, as I say, it's configured a bit different than originals anyway).

An aftermarket set of almost identical hoses costs about $70 for the whole set of 4.

[Bill L.]

Re: 70 Power Steering Hoses

I guess for 1 point I am better off just spending $70.00.

Thanks,

Bill