Absolutely good news John. It is only in the last three months that I have had an involvement with a 6.9 that would groan and gurgle with a set up that was being used. When stationary, and on Idle, one could hardly move the Steering wheel. Another workshop obtained three replacement hoses (second hand), with one working, and the other two not. Unfortunately, those hoses were only on "loan" from the owner of those three 6.9s to try out and experiment, but the car in question had the original "faulty" hose refitted, plus some work on the Steering Pump itself. The car is certainly still far from perfect. Incidentally, the Steering Pump specifications are exclusive to the 6.9, even though a unit from a 450 will fit.
Gleaming Beauty, my 6.9, is not super smooth with the way it presently operates, but surely one should be able to have a correct hose re-manufactured by competent hydraulic people. It is something that I will have to get my teeth into.