Power Steering pump for 1990 Audi 100 solved

[Peter Elias]

Power steering pumps for my 1990 Audi 100 seem to have been the bane of my existence for the past 8 years or so.  I’ve had to have at least 6 different PS pumps installed during that time.

The local Audi [st]ealer says it’s unobtainium, so I’m stuck with buying rebuilt ones.   I’ve tried several each from A1 Cardone, AEE and other “brands”.   All fail (leak) within a year or so.   In Feb. 2015 I bought an AEE pump through RockAuto, that one failed in Jan of this year, so just under 1 year.  Had a free replacement shipped (but of course I had to pay another $200+ for the labor).  That pump then failed (sprayed fluid out the shaft seal) just 5 months later.

So, I finally found a place here in the Dallas area that rebuilds pumps, and I just got it back and installed it in the car.   So far, so good.   Need to actually drive the car a bit though and see how it does.

And, rather than spend $200+ in labor, I did it myself this time, not really that bad of a job.

Big problem with doing the pump, is that of course the hose o-rings are also difficult to get (well, the local Audi dealer wants $5+ per o-ring and 2 weeks to order them, and there’s 6 of them..., so a bit of rip-off, when others are charging $1.25 to $3 for them).   3 hoses with 3 different size o-rings (17x2.5, 13x2.5 and 11x2.5) and 2 of each size per hose connection.   Luckily the place that rebuilt them in Dallas (Prior Automotive), actually gave me 2 sets (of 6) rings for free (after asking nicely!).

Peter
PS:  Yes, that Audi 100 has 354,000 miles on it!