Gushing Resevoir 5000cs TQ Problems

[Mike Arman]

>Subject: Gushing Resevoir 5000cs TQ Problems

>
>Hi it been awhile things were great.
>But today I went to lunch and noticed the steering was tightening up.
>I pulled away from a drive up atm and there was a puddle.
>I opened the hood and the reservoir was all wet and  was everywhere gravity
>took it.
>
>There is bubbles in the fluid , What little is left.
>
>the high and low press hoses are fine.
>
>is this the end of the pump?  the rack? But the rack is dry even at the
>ends.
>
>is it bad fluid?  this stuff is not cheap.
>
>can I use some ATF fluid or hydraulic fluid?
>
>There was no strange sounds from the moving pump but recently there is a
>knocking sound when I turned the wheel.
>
>1987 5000CS TQ   146,000 mi
>


Caused by air leaks in the suction side of the hydraulic pump system.

Reseal kit for power steeering pump needed - $20 or so in
gaskets/O-rings/one seal. About two hours total time.

Look up "volcano syndrome" in archives for full discussion of procedure,
hints, tricks, etc.

Spectacular looking problem, but cheap and fairly easy to fix.

Do *NOT* use *ANY* other fluid besides Pentosin (a.k.a. green gold) or you
WILL need to buy a rack, pump, hoses, booster, accumulator (the bomb), and
all kinds of other expensive misery. ATF or hydraulic fluids of unknown
pedigree are NOT compatible with the seals!!!! There's a Mobil hydraulic
fluid which seems to work OK, but it is hard to find and you have to know
exactly what to look for. Problem is the parts monkeys think all hydraulic
fluid is the same, so they'll sell you whatever they have in stock, right
or wrong, and if (when) they are wrong, YOU get to pay the repair bills.

The thing to do is fix the pump and the leaks (and it seems there are
always leaks), and solve the problem that way.

Looking for an alternative fluid before the problem is fixed is like saying
the engine threw a rod and all the oil leaked out, will changing to
synthetic fix the problem?


Best Regards,

Mike Arman
86 5K, de-volcanoed some years ago.