rack hardline drama, need exorcism!

[LakaiOrDie]

Right, this is something i have been fighting with CONSTANTLY now, since i had another one break today.

First time this happened was last summer on the highway, i weaved in/out of construction cones at low speed and noticed my steering was heavy and i checked the fluid and belt over quiclkly, no signs of issue. i Noticed after i stopped there was fluid leaking from rack, not a lot, dripping quickly tho, so i keep topping up all the way home over a period of two hours and had heavy steering the whole while.

Anyway, now this is just the first time i realized that my pinion - to - rack fluid hardline (longer of the two) breaks easily.
I drove all winter before this, no f*** problem. I break one line in spring and go through a handful or more replacement lines.

My steering raack is HICAS, mounted with YANACK bushings and some rubber on top, with tein rods inner and outer with the spacers as well, and steering column spacer is also installed. Hockey puck mounts (possibly relevant info to help)
i have a hicas lock bar in the rear, non hicas pump/res that came with the motorset

I cannot find a single relation to my problem ANYWHERE online. I have brought my broken lines in and out of the same brake line repair shop (so the flare is perfect) a dozen f*** times now, after a day sometimes i had to return. They have no idea what is happpening either.

Then i had bought a parts car about a month or so ago, and took the same line from it and used it successfully for a long time, loinger than any of the Easy-Bend s*** lasted, until today.

I pulled away from the light turning off onto highway full bore to merge in front of traffic and wouldnt you know it, SMOKING LIKE A CHIMNEY!!!!!!! When i saw the red puddle underneath, i was relieved but still unimpressed as i took the pump belt off.....im ggettting soome kinda tired of this and the only reason i have made this post is to hear Some of your opinions as to what the f*** is going on...am i overheating the fluid? It will only send fluid up and out the cap of the reservoir if i overfill it, which i havent in a looong time.

i have bled and (not rebled) the crap out of it when i fix each line, only thats not going to make it burst...or is it??

theres no kinks, its seriouly annnoying idk, i thgouht it was at one time, my rack, sliding left or right at full lock drifting cause under car its usually an oily mess, and so would a greasy rack allow it move?

ill; take some pictures today and give you an idea of what were lookign at
any advice would help plz and i know i need a better line possibly braided but not able to afford this right n0w

[TheRoadShark]

Random question - are you filling it with power steering fluid? Cos it turns out you're supposed to use Dextron III transmision fluid in the PS system (according to the FSM), not actual power steering fluid. I made that mistake once and my rack had a similar problem as a result, before I found out my mistake, drained the system, and filled it with A/T fluid. That fixed it for me. Wondered if it might be the same for you

[LakaiOrDie]

Yiu had a similar problem...? was it the same line from the (far end) rack to pinion n? it's been atf since last spring when I changed it (previous owner used p/s fluid) the type was dexron 3 also.. the Cheap stuff

[TheRoadShark]

Well, in all fairness I honestly don't remember which line it was. This was a while ago, and the rack was pretty old and ragged, so all of the lines leaked a bit. Going from the PS fliud to AT fluid helped, but you said you already did that. The rack has been replaced, and the engine's been swapped since too, so there's nothing the same now on my car. I do remember those lines are pretty exposed, and they can easily get bent from getting snagged on all manner of things.

I'm not sure what effect having a front hicas rack, rear hicas eliminator, and non hicas pump could have... How old is the rack? Has it been replaced recently / ever that you're aware of? I've heard people run hicas front racks on non hicas cars, but never heard of a setup like this, so I'm a little stumped too.

[LakaiOrDie]

asfar as i know its the same as the one it left nissan with its got 215,000KM on it... I may have found another answer to my issue, i noticed when i rev out my car the wheel shakes like an imbalance only the shake stops in neutral at speed....i must have lowered the engine too much and the oil pan is resting on the rack it looks that way underneath (just redid my hockey puck mounts :P )
so ill try that and going to attempt to change the rack for the one i have on my parts car which is in really good shape besides the entire body having rust in copious amounts ...but, maybe not ill find out i guess n tune in

[LakaiOrDie]

i appreciate the replys btw its always helpful to hear back from other members!