I’m on the last job of my MOT advisories and it’s turning into a pig. Got a leak from the power steering pump to rack high pressure line at the pump end with the union bolt. However, can’t get the line off. The union bolt is just falling apart. I’ve heated with a blow torch, wire brushed, soaked it in penetrating fluid, tried to tighten then untighten, got the big hammer out, welded a spanner to it… nothing. not even a tiny bit of movement. The 18mm nut didn’t have a nylon washer at the top and 2-3 threads are visible but the leak is coming from the base of the line (square block bit) as it meets the union nut. The line also moves around freely/ spins in the nut. I’ve got a new pump so just getting a new line to fit to the new pump is an option.
But am I missing something here? Replacement lines seem hard to find. Ford parts costing £200. Ive seen a lot of similar looking lines on eBay for £50 but they’re usually RWD or Mk7 models with different end attachments. Some are sold with a separate union nut and the end looks like a hose barb fitting. How do these work? Do you put the union nut on and have to flare the end of the pipe? Was thinking to find one from a breaker but suspect they’ll all have mashed up nuts as well. Is buying some line and making my own replacement an option?