Somehow, on a Friday night, pulling the hoses off the plastic nipples of the plastic power steering reservoir does not seem to be such a great idea. The hoses of course are baked on. If it breaks, the car is down until at least Monday.

It would be no problem on this:

TOYOTA SUPRA TURBO 87-92 POWER STEERING RESERVOIR 7MGTE | eBay

Time to consider one of these:

REMOTE POWER STEERING RESERVOIR ALUMINUM -6-10 UMP DRAG | eBay

Cheaper than a used reservoir and all aluminum to boot.

Cardone sells inline power steering filters for a couple of dollars.

 

There's nothing more irritating or less logical than automakers building important parts out of plastic.

 

I assume the engineers designing the X308 were under orders to keep the design on a strict diet, to minimize weight. At that, it is a fairly heavy car for its size. Thus all the plastic. Of course, if it didn't have so many small electric motors and wires and computers to control them, it would weigh less also!

 

To Plums -
Car parts (and household plumbing) only fail late at night or on weekends. This is to improve our morale.....

 

I'm certain it's accountants that force the issue, "why can't you make it out of plastic, it's cheaper" - Also, being in the 21st century, we have the powers to manufacture a car for life.....but this isn't what manufacturers are there for, a thing called "designed obsolescence" for example a switch that's designed cycle life of 1000 on-offs, then it fails, meaning you have to visit the service center to have it replaced, making the manufacturer money, and that's what it's all about.

 

Some of the plastic "crap" I've replaced so far on my 99VDP..:

Water distribution pipe - cracked. Upon disconnecting the houses you could see how the plastic (fiberglass) is basically being "eaten" away by the coolant - design FAIL!

Thermostat housing - trying to take the coolant cap off to refill, the whole tower snapped off at its base - again, design FAIL!

Serpentine belt idler and tensioner pulley - Both have failed on me (at different times), and BOTH are a MAJOR design FAIL!

Secondary tensioners - FAIL! FAIL! FAIL! That one actually made me wanna personally find the designer and BITCH-slap him for allowing this crap INTO the engine!!!

 

Actually, the reservoir is the same, or at least in the same design family as found in BMW sedans. Likely, they went shopping for an off the shelf part. It is different in that the BMW reservoir has a screen with a screw so you can reach the filter for cleaning, even if it cannot be removed.

Just so everyone knows, stubborness beat discretion, and the hose was finally worked off.

Special prayers should be offered to whoever placed the clamp such that it cannot be released unless the reservoir is unfastened first because the legs are facing the sheetmetal.

The result in the end is fluid(Valvoline Maxlife Dex/Merc, before anyone asks) so clear that you can see the white disc at the bottom of the reservoir.

Now, that Toyota steering reservoir from experience is about the same size. It is only used on the turbo model because of the position and heat. The base model gets a plastic one.

edit: you need at least 2 quarts, and better, a gallon jug to do a good job.

 

Ummm ... did you know that one of the accusations against Dexcool is that it attacks plastic when heated?

Yet another reason to avoid Dexcool, irrespective of the fact that it is the factory specified fill in the later years.

(readers: be careful if you are in one of the transition years. check your manual, it might not be dexcool)

 

I don't think its the engineers but corporate Ford/Jaguar. Cost cutting, cheap parts off the supplier shelf, and rushed engine development. Probably more like the engineers had their hands tied by businessmen I think.

 

That's okay, ask builders and planners why new housing is still constructed basically out of sticks and mud. And these days, very wobbly looking sticks at that.