Edit: I mistakenly called the flare I used a bubble flare. It is not. It is an inverted flare or sometimes called a double flare. I did not edit the text below but wherever I mention a flare it is to be considered an inverted flare. Here is a link to a web page that explains it all.
http://www.fedhillusa.com/?page=flare
The outcome of this thread was buried back in the later posts so I copied it to here to make it more accessible. The two little hydraulic lines that reside on the power steering rack needed replacement. Rusted through. Toyota nor any other vendor sell the replacement parts so we had to fab up the lines DIY. Our Thanks to Brian in Tucson for suggesting looking for parts locally. This all worked out very nicely. Haya....:clap:
Copied from the previous thread:
2003 V6 AWD base.
Hi all, I've got a leaker....
Just spent last hour or so looking at parts sites and no luck. Looks like Toyota does not list as a separate part. Wants to sell the whole rack.
These are the two little steel tubing lines that reside on the steering rack itself.
When I pull up a picture they are shown on the rack.
![Image]()
Attached Thumbnails
The fix:
2003 V6 AWD 333K miles. Pictures posted below.
It took about an hour to remove the two rusted lines using a combination of a 12mm crowfoot, ratchet and a whole bunch of extensions. One of the lines actually broke during removal so we extracted the connector nut with a 12mm socket.
Auto Zone had the parts:
-2 NICOPP brake lines. Part No. CN-340. More on this tubing later.
-4 AGS Company Steel Nut. Part no. BLF-48C-5. Bubble flare fitting.
-2 AGS Company Brass Compression Fitting (Straight Coupling). Part no. CF-1
Total cost $32.
Fabbing the lines and installing took about 2.5 hours. Lots of finagling with cuss words flying. The steel nuts have straight threads so starting them in the corresponding bosses was difficult. The tubing had to be dead-straight into the fitting or it would bind. Not fun with the tight spaces involved.
Note in the photos the different look of the original Toyota flare fitting vs. the bubble flare fitting on the new NICOPP lines. The original is an intricate collar and flare arrangement that actually includes a tiny O-ring. Wow. It is not a common brake line configuration.
We went with SAE 3/16 inch (4.75 mm) OD line for the simple reason the end flare fit the Toyota boss perfectly. Tubing of 6 mm OD line size (same as original) would not fit, the ends were too big. The AGS steel flare nuts worked perfectly too even though they look vastly different from the Toyota originals. See photo below.
The reason for the compression coupling was the NICOPP brake lines had to be cut to be able to remove the original flare nuts and replace them with the AGS bubble flare nuts (M12 x 1.0). We rejoined the line with the compression coupling.
About the NICOPP tubing: This is some pretty special stuff. A nickel-copper-ferric alloy. Pressure rated same as steel brake lines. They say it does not rust! Soft. Like soft copper tubing. But resists kinking and can be formed by hand. The finished line in the photo was bent by hand. No tubing bender required.
Also please note the flare ends on the NICOPP lines. It's called a "bubble flare" we learned. We could have flared the cut ends of the tubing with a hand flare tool but opted to stay with the factory flare as it fit so well. Thus the compression couplings.
The Champs: I want to give a shout-out to the guys at The Lowell Auto Zone for being so helpful. They took about 1/2 an hour out of their day to spend with my son Johnathan and I, discussing options and coming up with this solution. They are awesome.
My Champ: Thanks to my son Johnathan. He worked his butt off helping me.
![Image]()
Photo captions left to right: (or top to bottom depending upon your screen)
1. Ugly (view from D-S wheel well, rusted transfer lines attached to steering box)
2. Crow foot on loooooong extension
3. New line (the bend on the left is not crushed, even a little, it's just the light)
4. Original on top, new AGS bubble flare nut below it
5. A little extension needed to get in there
http://www.fedhillusa.com/?page=flare
The outcome of this thread was buried back in the later posts so I copied it to here to make it more accessible. The two little hydraulic lines that reside on the power steering rack needed replacement. Rusted through. Toyota nor any other vendor sell the replacement parts so we had to fab up the lines DIY. Our Thanks to Brian in Tucson for suggesting looking for parts locally. This all worked out very nicely. Haya....:clap:
Copied from the previous thread:
2003 V6 AWD base.
Hi all, I've got a leaker....
Just spent last hour or so looking at parts sites and no luck. Looks like Toyota does not list as a separate part. Wants to sell the whole rack.
These are the two little steel tubing lines that reside on the steering rack itself.
When I pull up a picture they are shown on the rack.
Attached Thumbnails
The fix:
2003 V6 AWD 333K miles. Pictures posted below.
It took about an hour to remove the two rusted lines using a combination of a 12mm crowfoot, ratchet and a whole bunch of extensions. One of the lines actually broke during removal so we extracted the connector nut with a 12mm socket.
Auto Zone had the parts:
-2 NICOPP brake lines. Part No. CN-340. More on this tubing later.
-4 AGS Company Steel Nut. Part no. BLF-48C-5. Bubble flare fitting.
-2 AGS Company Brass Compression Fitting (Straight Coupling). Part no. CF-1
Total cost $32.
Fabbing the lines and installing took about 2.5 hours. Lots of finagling with cuss words flying. The steel nuts have straight threads so starting them in the corresponding bosses was difficult. The tubing had to be dead-straight into the fitting or it would bind. Not fun with the tight spaces involved.
Note in the photos the different look of the original Toyota flare fitting vs. the bubble flare fitting on the new NICOPP lines. The original is an intricate collar and flare arrangement that actually includes a tiny O-ring. Wow. It is not a common brake line configuration.
We went with SAE 3/16 inch (4.75 mm) OD line for the simple reason the end flare fit the Toyota boss perfectly. Tubing of 6 mm OD line size (same as original) would not fit, the ends were too big. The AGS steel flare nuts worked perfectly too even though they look vastly different from the Toyota originals. See photo below.
The reason for the compression coupling was the NICOPP brake lines had to be cut to be able to remove the original flare nuts and replace them with the AGS bubble flare nuts (M12 x 1.0). We rejoined the line with the compression coupling.
About the NICOPP tubing: This is some pretty special stuff. A nickel-copper-ferric alloy. Pressure rated same as steel brake lines. They say it does not rust! Soft. Like soft copper tubing. But resists kinking and can be formed by hand. The finished line in the photo was bent by hand. No tubing bender required.
Also please note the flare ends on the NICOPP lines. It's called a "bubble flare" we learned. We could have flared the cut ends of the tubing with a hand flare tool but opted to stay with the factory flare as it fit so well. Thus the compression couplings.
The Champs: I want to give a shout-out to the guys at The Lowell Auto Zone for being so helpful. They took about 1/2 an hour out of their day to spend with my son Johnathan and I, discussing options and coming up with this solution. They are awesome.
My Champ: Thanks to my son Johnathan. He worked his butt off helping me.
Photo captions left to right: (or top to bottom depending upon your screen)
1. Ugly (view from D-S wheel well, rusted transfer lines attached to steering box)
2. Crow foot on loooooong extension
3. New line (the bend on the left is not crushed, even a little, it's just the light)
4. Original on top, new AGS bubble flare nut below it
5. A little extension needed to get in there
