Safety - Hydraulic Power Steering Bottom Hose - Sprinter Forum Recall

ckid

Member
Yes, I also used a hose clamp from West Marine. Pricey $6 stainless clamp but it is smooth bore and much better quality than my first $0.25 Home Depot hose clamp. Slight differences in the positioning of the hoses relative to the radiator on the 4x4s leaves the lower steering hose short. I put a slight bend in the lower rigid portion of the power steering line to create a bit more slack in the line.
How did you bend it? When I was fiddling with mine I could slide the hardline forward in its mount to get the hose closer but it slid back when I let go. I think the hard line was flexing behind the mount and then springing back into place.
 

gltrimble

2017 170 4x4
How did you bend it? When I was fiddling with mine I could slide the hardline forward in its mount to get the hose closer but it slid back when I let go. I think the hard line was flexing behind the mount and then springing back into place.
I climbed under the van and bent the rigid pipe attached to the opposite end of the hose that keeps slipping off. Not a lot but any extra slack in the hose helps.
 

ckid

Member
I climbed under the van and bent the rigid pipe attached to the opposite end of the hose that keeps slipping off. Not a lot but any extra slack in the hose helps.
Did you have to disconnect the rubber end of the line to move the whole thing far enough to achieve deformation of the hard line? When I replaced the clamp I tried to bend mine by hand with the rubber end still on the fitting without success.
 

sgruskin

Member
Did you have to disconnect the rubber end of the line to move the whole thing far enough to achieve deformation of the hard line? When I replaced the clamp I tried to bend mine by hand with the rubber end still on the fitting without success.
I'm a bit adverse to bending hard lines. I installed a West Marine clamp with smooth inner surface, as shown below. Will monitor it to make sure the hose stays put.
PXL_20210116_154658696.jpg
 
When the dealer did the work on mine (removing my 2 fuel hose clamps & adding their worm drive clamp), after the "notice" but just before the recall, they didn't tell me but I could see they bent the hard pipe just a little bit downward. I had thought about doing it myself but didn't want to risk it.
 

gltrimble

2017 170 4x4
Did you have to disconnect the rubber end of the line to move the whole thing far enough to achieve deformation of the hard line? When I replaced the clamp I tried to bend mine by hand with the rubber end still on the fitting without success.
I did not disconnect any power steering hose in order to bend the rigid pipe. I did disconnect the upper hose attachment when I added the West Marine hose clamp. The lower rigid piping is secured to the frame with a few inches extending beyond the attachment point. I bent the last few inches a small amount to change the angle. I recall the upper rigid piping was not as flexible.
 

Pharkas

2020 Passenger 4x4 144
Brought my van in to Mercedes Syracuse dealer for power steering hose recall and to fix my traffic sign assist. They were unable to correct the traffic sign assist to get it to display the speed limit above 55. I just looked under the hood and saw they didn't do anything to my power steering hose.16175624453843590887144462856075.jpg
 

Pharkas

2020 Passenger 4x4 144
No difference. I was so distracted that they were not able to fix the traffic sign assist that I did not question what they did to fix the power steering recall issue.
 

Pharkas

2020 Passenger 4x4 144
The recall seems to say to check the hose and fix if necessary. Does anyone know the parameters that constitute what is within acceptable limits? Does mine in picture look like it needs fixed?
 

MT170

2018 2500 LWB 4x4
They clearly did not do anything to the hoses. I don't know how many miles on your van but my van showed movement on the bottom hose within the first 1000 miles. If you have many thousands of miles on the van and your hose hasn't shown sign of moving, I would just keep an eye on it when you open the hood for anything else. If you are on a trip and you notice the hose moving off the hard pipe, it can be shoved back on and get you home. Change it soon after but it may not happen to you. Good luck.
 

gltrimble

2017 170 4x4
The recall seems to say to check the hose and fix if necessary. Does anyone know the parameters that constitute what is within acceptable limits? Does mine in picture look like it needs fixed?
Your power steering hoses look fine. My hose had pulled back 1/2”+ similar to others. I am guessing there is about 1” of metal tubing for the hose to clamp.
 

Pharkas

2020 Passenger 4x4 144
They clearly did not do anything to the hoses. I don't know how many miles on your van but my van showed movement on the bottom hose within the first 1000 miles. If you have many thousands of miles on the van and your hose hasn't shown sign of moving, I would just keep an eye on it when you open the hood for anything else. If you are on a trip and you notice the hose moving off the hard pipe, it can be shoved back on and get you home. Change it soon after but it may not happen to you. Good luck.
It has just over 4,000 miles. It amazes me that they didnt add the worm replacement clamp. The recall doesn't make since if they are just checking that it hasn't moved yet on my 4 month old van.
 

MT170

2018 2500 LWB 4x4
If you live near a West Marine store, they have a smooth surface stainless steel hose clamp that will fit for about $8. It's easier than going to the dealer. You just move that existing clamp back a little, put the new clamp on in front of the existing clamp and then you are good to go. There is plenty of room to leave both clamps on. You don't have to remove the hose. I actually did remove the hose on mine for less than 5 seconds just to make it easier to get the new clamp on. I lost less than a tablespoon of fluid I suspect.
 

outthayr

Member
Just put an additional clamp on mine, had slipped short of 1/2". When pushing back on I could barely get that 1/2" back as the hose is just so short.
 

Ron_S

Active member
Brought my van in to Mercedes Syracuse dealer for power steering hose recall and to fix my traffic sign assist. They were unable to correct the traffic sign assist to get it to display the speed limit above 55.
Odd, I took mine in about 4 weeks ago to fix this issue and a couple other oddities. They fixed it. According to work order:
"PTSS case opened as concern was verified number 000159223, connected sds, connected battery charger and performed scn coding for Multifunction camera and esp control unit. Verified systems now operating as designed after repairs"
Problem was fixed.
 

Pharkas

2020 Passenger 4x4 144
Odd, I took mine in about 4 weeks ago to fix this issue and a couple other oddities. They fixed it. According to work order:

Problem was fixed.
The Sprinter service manager said the service foreman is out from hip surgery and she will consult with him when he returns. Makes me upset who they had doing my recall work and trying to fix this. Why didn't they switch my appointment to when they had a qualified technician. I even gave them links to this forum detailing how other dealers fixed the problem. Problem is there is no competition. There is no other Mercedes dealer or freightliner dealer anywhere near me.
 

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