PS pump - second look

[cobram at juno.com]

Not in my personal experience.  The 5KS has had the "volcano" syndrome
for quite a while now......I've found that by leaving the fluid level
alone, instead of topping off (which results in eruption as soon as car
is shut off), the "low hydraulic fluid" display will come on for the
first 5 or 6 minutes after cold startup and then the level will come up
enough to quiet the warning.  I've been putting off changing the pump ( I
have 2 good spares) for lack of time, and lack of incentive.  In my case
the power assist to the steering works fine, and the assist to the brakes
is better than my other Audi's.

Another observation I've made on the hydraulic pumps brings me to believe
that they are much more robust than previously thought.  One system on a
type 44 turbo had been run bone dry for at least 3 months (seller of said
car said that the steering had been very hard for that amount of time,
just about the time the warning light came on), a tightening of the
return hoseclamp and a top off of hydraulic fluid and the system was back
to normal....time will tell for how long but it's been working fine for 2
months now.  Other instances where ATF has been run by unknowing owners,
in some cases for years, has not had major noticeable adverse effects on
the hydraulic pump....the rest of the system including hoses, bomb and
rack is a another story.

BCNU,
Cobram at Juno.Com
http://www.geocities.com/cobramsri/index.html


Iain Mannix <mannix at rmsolo.org> writes:
> Serves me right for doing a quickie fix.  Will this seal's leaking
> cause the pump to stop working?  IE, if the front seal/shaft seal
> is blown, will the "power" part of the steering go away?
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