where oh where is the power steering fluid going...

[George Harris]

I think you will find that it is difficult to find all of the leaks in
the hydraulic system of this 16 year old car. That may be why when it
starts to leak someone suggested that whoever was having the problem at
the time should replace everything; rack, pump, and hoses. That might
fix the leak ;-)

I think most of the leaking will occur when you are driving and the
components are under pressure:
- There is the famous volcano effect of the pump sucking air in through
the seals at higher rpm and pushing the air under pressure back to the
reservoir and causing it to overflow. Evidence of hydraulic fluid
leaking down the side of the reservoir would indicate this.
- If the seals in the rack are leaking then the hydraulic fluid would
fill up the rubber boot before leaking out onto the floor.
- There are many hoses and either clamped rubber hose to metal line
connections or metal to metal with copper washers to check.
- And I suppose if the diaphragm in the hydraulic bomb sprung a leak,
you could have fluid leaking out of there too.

Have fun, and if you are doing the work yourself, enjoy mechanical work,
  are getting the parts at wholesale, then there is no doubt that the
car is worth it :-)

BTW Brian, I'm guessing from your e-mail address that you are in New
Brunswick Canada. If that is the case there is a Canadian distributor of
auto parts for imported cars on the net; 'Altrom.com'. If there isn't
already a parts house in your area that deals with them, maybe you can
get your favourite to get themselves set up. You can get on the net,
look up the parts yourself, order through your parts house by part
number, then go get them after delivery.

Regards
George

The Loves wrote:
> Maybe the rack is leaking into the car?
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "millertyme" <mlrtym at nbnet.nb.ca>
> To: "audi mailing list" <quattro at audifans.com>
> Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2003 11:55 AM
> Subject: where oh where is the power steering fluid going...
>
>
>
>>This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
>>--
>>[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
>>Guys,
>>I just got my 87 5K turbo on the road today.  It is running great.  Very
>>pleased with my first audi
>>The only question that I have is.where is the power steering fluid
>>going?
>>I topped up the reservoir last night, and then went to get the
>>inspection this morning.  I noticed the brakes were feeling funny.
>>Then the power steering level alarm came on.  I checked the level and it
>>was empty.
>>There is no fluid on the garage floor, except for a leak in the oil pan
>>that needs to be replaced.  But that will be after the car proves to be
>>worth the extra money.
>>Any input would be appreciated
>>Thanks
>>Brian
>>
>>--
>>
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