Now there may come a time in which it is absolutely necessary to bypass your power steering cooler... Becauseit has sprung a leak and you are not able to replace the cooler immediately following the leak.  There are ways to temporarily bypass a power steering cooler, as long as the goal is just to get the vehicle home or to the shop and not for an extended period of time. If you disconnect the hoses from the power steering cooler and in place attach a two-way barb fitting with hose clamps, the power steering system will still function as designed (but you run the risk of damaging the components in your vehicle that use the fluid for lubrication and cooling). This type of repair should only be used in an emergency situation.

In general, power steering coolers are necessary if the vehicle came equipped with one. Sometimes power steering coolers may be necessary evenif the vehicle didn’tcome with one. If you add an aftermarket trailer hitch or increase the OEM performance and use the vehicle differently for which it was designed, you need to consider adding a power steering cooler.  As a rule of thumb, if you tow other vehicles (ie. Trailer, recreation vehicles, campers, etc.), you should consider adding a power steering cooler.