Re: Hydraulic pump: rebuild or replace?

[four.rings@mcione.com]

Wallace White wrote:
> I'm gearing up for a full-on assault on the embarassing hydraulic system
> on my car. I've got the Jorgen rack on the way, and I started taking a
> closer look at the pump last night. It is leaking primarily (quite a
> bit!) at the seam between the two halves of the pump. Smaller leaks are
> coming from two of the giant draglink screws; one of those is right
> under the pressure line to the bomb, and I can't say for sure that
> there's not a leak where the line meets the pump.

All the O-rings needed come in the original ZF rebuild kit. Was anywhere from
$18 to $38 for a few pumps that I rebuilt using this kit (including three cars
on this very List).
None of them failed so far.

> I took a look at the Bentley's pump rebuild pages last night, and it
> looks like there are a host of special tools involved.

Naah, just a modified 19mm (0.75") wide drag link socket, an impact driver and a
gear puller. I assume that you have a torque wrench.

> Am I better off just buying a "new" (rebuilt, probably) pump to replace
> it? I don't have a pressure gauge to check it, but I don't believe
> there's much wrong with the pump besides its seals. I've heard no
> moaning to indicate a bad bearing.

Sounds like you have a good pump - I would rebuild it. I personally always
prefer to rebuild my own, which I know and trust, than to buy a perhaps somebody
else's abortion.

> But, if the rebuild takes a lot of
> time and won't necessarily fix it

First time - 2 hrs. Last time - 40 min. A few went untimed in-between. 100%
success.

-- 
Igor Kessel
Two turbo quattros