Power steering leak

[bertro]

Hi guys.

Looks like I've got a power steering leak to deal with now.
It's leaking from one of the metal pipes that go across the front of the truck (under the rad) to provide cooling.

Check out the attached pic taken under the truck. The leak comes from the lower pipe at that black plastic bracket. I've put that paper towel upstream of the braket to make sure that the leak isn't coming from higher up. It's not.

Now my first instinct is to cut off that plastic bracket and see what the heck is going on there (rust hole most likely) and see if I can patch it with epoxy putty.

Question for you guys: Is that really just a bracket meant to keep the two lines apart or does it actually connect the ends of each line and there's liquid flowing directly through the plastic?

If it's just a spacer to keep the pipes apart I guess I can cut it off and then McGiver something else to keep the lines apart.

BTW: I've tried opening the bracket but for the life of me couldn't figure out how. The tab that locks it is at the top and I don't have a good angle to it.

Any ideas welcome.

Thanks!
Robert.