Surprise leak 575M

hi earle,

same thing happened to me after I bought a 550 that had been sitting for some time.

my mechanic told me the stock hoses are of very poor quality,so he replaced them with some very strong non Ferrari $35 hoses,has been 3000kms and no problems.

 

Don't know about 575 but on 550 there are several leak points from the base of the reservoir bottle to the rack. If you live in a real winter climate even the reservoir bottle can crack. It is hard to see or guess at leaks because the undertray catches the fluid and fluid leaks off there. Once the tray is off you can start figuring it out.

 

I think this is the first we've heard about P/S problems with the 575M, but since it uses all the same components as the 550, there's no reason why it wouldn't have at least some of the same issues

That's the general location of both the supply hose from the P/S reservoir to the pump (which is a known weeper and leaker), as well as the high pressure hose from the pump to the rack, which has been known to split & blow on 550's, as Dr. Barry will attest (308 GTB). The steering rack can also blow the driver's side seal in that area.

2 out of 3 of the above will require the rack to be disconnected and dropped to sort out.

You might get lucky, however, and it's just the supply hose from the reservoir to the pump. But don't try to drive the car in that state, as you'll soon need a new power steering pump in addition to whatever the original problem was/is.

 

Yes but it is only power steering and the system is very simple at least in the 550. Local idiots rebuild the racks just fine or one can spend some money and have the experts at Atlantic Enterprises do it but about 3x the price of my local billybobs. The pump does not look like anything special either.

 

I have seen it on quite a few 575's. The good news is the expensive high pressure hoses seem to be pretty good but all the low pressure hoses are very low quality.

In California I had a commercial hose supplier that sold me high quality hose for oil sold by the foot for for very reasonable prices. I used it regularly for rehosing 550,575,456 PS systems. I need to find a similar source now in Austin.

 

The pumps and racks have been pretty good. The LP hoses are junk.

 

May be time to preemptively change those hoses for all of us Maranello owners at the next fluid change.

 

Ok, what's the best thing to use as replacement?

 

Dsd,
I would use any decent hydraulic fluid hose as a first try for the LP leaker weaper hose unless RD can tell us what the good hose was. Usually there are markings on the hose or spec numbers that can gjve is a clue as to a hoses operational range. The oem hose gets hard then looses its seal in the heat expansion and contraction then leakes and weeps. There are also differences in hose clamp design that may not have been exploited. I have been having great results with thermoplastic hose clamps such as gates powergrip. It has great properties for a hose clamp. I was skeptical at first but have fully drunk the koolaid.

 

I used Goodyear Instagrip hose most of the time because it was what my supplier stocked most of the time but I am sure there are quite a few choices.

The good thing is that the hose nipples are not odd metric sizes that require hose size that is difficult to get. They are all sizes that US sized hose will fit. As I recall most of it is 5/8 and some was 3/4 inch.



FYI Ferrari is not the only European car with this issue. Based on my talks with the German car guys it seem the entire European continent has no quality LP oil proof hose available.

 

We have the EXACT same problem and symptoms with the LP hose in the 928 community.

I have experienced it myself.

If I recall correctly , the reservoir is the same on the 575 as the 928. The reservoir hose nipple has a single ridge over which the hose slides onto. I had wondered if this was part of the problem as most fluid resevoirs I have come across had a multiple barbed nipple that I thought seals better.

 

Funny considering a lot of American and Japanese cars go to their grave with the original hoses.



I guess Europe has not got that rubber thing figured out yet.

 

Brian- Any advantage to using steel wrapped hoses for the power steering application?

 

None

Those are really for abrasion resistance. In an airframe where stuff needs to be routed in places where it might rub and chafe it is just the thing. Also in aircraft it gets inspected often and replaced regularly the way it should. Very few proper applications outside of that arena. The hotrodders started using it because it looks cool but has been so over done I was through with it a very long time ago.

The condition of rubber can be visually assessed when it is exposed and in the automotive world we rarely life stuff out because of its install date. That is far more important.

 

Brian- Thanks. It does look cool, but sounds like I would be wasting money. Would not be the first time, though.

 

Taz, were you referring to steel wrapped guards over hoses, or braided SS hoses?

I thought you were referring to the stuff in the photo below, which is a spiral guard that gets put onto hydraulic hoses to keep them from kinking, and protects them from abrasion, crushing, etc. You find it a lot in the construction industry.

The problem with cheap P/S hoses is their swelling under pressure - some swelling is OK, as it helps to dampen the pulsations from the pump, but too much causes vague steering.
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On the return side?

It has the structural integrity of a heater hose. It only needs to be oil resistant.

 

No, the pressure side; I received a lesson in P/S hose design awhile back from Dayco's power steering hose guru who informed me that running a very "stiff", reinforced hose from the pump to the rack causes jitter in the steering wheel due to pump pulsations. While running a too soft pressure hose causes the steering to be vague. One that's "just right" will have enough flex to absorb the pulsations, but won't introduce vague feeling, and will also dampen the NVH of the hydraulic system.

That's also why the orifices are in the pressure hose - they're not for pressure reduction, as some may think, but for pulsation dampening. The OEM's, or people like Dayco size the orifices for the best compromise between reduced NVH, tolerable jitter in the steering wheel, and steering vagueness.

 

John- The pretty braided ones.
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Just discovered that my hoses are sweating/weeping like a canvas water bag. Going to replace them and the reservoir, flush the whole system and hopefully won't have to rebuild the rack for a while.

On a side note, my front suspension bushings are shot...actually literally gone at 38,000 mi. Rears seem OK.

 

Never seen a Ferrari HP steering hose failure, Not since they discovered power steering.

 

Can we get the recommended diameter for the low pressure hose that connects to the reservoir? Also, what is a compatible fluid to add when changing this hose? Thanks!