Beware Hi Pres. Hydraulic (was: How do I change Hyd...)

[Steve Jensen <sjensen@mindspring.com>]

On Friday, 29 Oct 1999 Fred Munro said:
PLEASE NOTE: On all cars which have the brake bomb, the brake pedal must be
pumped 40 times with the engine off to ensure that the bomb is discharged.
Opening up a line containing hydraulic fluid at 3000 psig is not recommended
practice and may be detrimental to your continued well-being.

Amen, brother!  The 82 ft. Coast Guard patrol boat I was stationed on used
5000 psi hydraulic to start the main engines.  Twin turbo V-12 Detroit
Diesels with turbos the size of basketballs.  One of the MK's (machinery
techs) made the mistake of standing on one of the charged hyd. lines to
reach the top of one of the engines when the line suddenly let go.
Violently.  He, quite literally, caught it in the ass, and suffered
"subcutaneous injection" of hyd. fluid into the left cheek.  The doc at the
Norfolk Naval hospital said it was lucky he moved when it ruptured
otherwise it could have ripped his left cheek away (!).  No permanent
damage but scared the hell out of everyone.

He got chewed out by the chief (after they found out he was going to be
okay), a week of light duty, and was the "butt" of many jokes.

I realize the Audi hyd. system is much smaller, but 3000 psi is nothing to
fool around with.  Let's be careful out there!

-Steve Jensen
87 5KCSTQ