2002 Audi A2 1.4 TDI Power Steering Problem

rgh-key

Member
Hello All,

Wondering if anyone can help, I am currently trying to get my A2 back on the road after a brief spell in the garage, it was put into the garage because the power steering had gone faulty and sat in there for 2 years!

Got her going on Sunday and to my surprise the power steering was working, I checked the fluid level and it seemed to be okay, however, after moving the steering from lock to lock a few times the fluid went all frothy. Has anyone seen this before?
 
The foaming you describe is almost certainly air getting into the system. The power steering pump will cause a suction effect in the pump and then pressurise the system. I would look for loose hose clips, damaged piping or leaking seals on the pump body between the pump and its fluid reservoir.
 
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Hello, thanks for the reply. I have managed to get a pump from eBay for £30, it has a 30 day warranty and the seller has assured me that it's 100% working, does do you know if you can get a pump repair kit at all? I have read that the seal between the resovoir and the pump can become brittle and let air in. If possible I would like to service my pump off eBay to make sure that it's going to be good for the future.
 
I would ring your local Audi dealer parts dept and ask them if they do a repair kit for the pump.
 
Will do that, have you got any idea what Power Steering fluid these take? I understand that you can't use the standard stuff.
 
Just called my local Audi, they don't offer a pump repair kit but could supply me with a new pump for £750 + Labour haha!
 
Bit of an update: I have called WOM Automotive Ltd this morning to ask them for some technical support, they were so much more helpful than the Audi Dealer. He said that the PAS Systems in the A2 are very robust and don't usually give trouble, he confirmed that it definitely sounding like an air leak on the system somewhere, but, he said that the difficulty will be in finding the air leak, I am going to swap the pump out and check all of the pipe work for signs of damage, the car is not loosing PAS fluid so I am not sure that it will be a pipe work issue, but you never know. Finding it really hard to get information on this subject, not even sure where to start on this problem and I don't want to be replacing parts just for the sake of it, if I can help it that is.
 
I had issues with my steering last year similar to what you explain .
it turned out to be the pipe on the rack had corroded would sweat oil and draw in air , downside is its not easy to spot on the car as pipes are tucked up over rack and audi don't sell them separate and the rack requires removal, I got lucky with a second hand rack cheap and has been great ever since also oil is green mineral type oil
 
Hello Mark, I have managed to source a rack, only cost me £40 so not too bad, hoping it doesn't come to that as the rack looks like it would be a nightmare to remove. I am hoping that it is the pump, I assume that if indeed the problem is an air leak on one of the pipes it would have to be the return pipe as I do not have any fluid leaks just aeration.
 
Hello Mark, I have managed to source a rack, only cost me £40 so not too bad, hoping it doesn't come to that as the rack looks like it would be a nightmare to remove. I am hoping that it is the pump, I assume that if indeed the problem is an air leak on one of the pipes it would have to be the return pipe as I do not have any fluid leaks just aeration.
yes the rack is not a quick job , I was on my back with axle stands on chassis and on the tdi I dropped the full subframe off car to replace rack ,which had the added problems of seized suspension bolts etc, then on rebuild subframe alignment pins are required to ensure true alignment
 
Just managed to get hold of some compatible PAS Fluid.

The top of the power steering reservoir says Pentosin CH11s

I found the following Info:

Equivalent to Pentosin CH11s
Vw hydraulic fluid
G002000
G 002 000
G002000
Vw hydraulic fluid specification
Audi Vw TL 146 00

I got some Millers Oil Central Hydraulic Fluid, on Millers website it states:

Performance Profile
VAG: G 002 000, G 004 000, TL52146
MB: 345.00
BMW: 82.11.1.468.041, 82.11.0.148.132, 83.29.0.429.576
Porsche: 000.043.203.33
Bentley: RH 5000
Saab: 3032 380
Ford: WSS-M2C204-A
Volvo: 11.61.529
Fendt: X 902.011.622
ZF: TE-ML-02K
DIN: 51 524 T2, 51 524 T3
Peugeot / Citroen: PSA S71 2710 (LDS)

Hopefully this will be fine, going to change out the pump this weekend and flush out the system.
 
Swapped the pump out today, I can confirm that this problem is now sorted. Looks like someone had tried to repair the old pump at some point as the reservoir was clamped on by a jubilee clip which i know is not factory. Also changed all the fluid so it's a nice pale green colour. Hopefully that's it sorted for another 15 years.
 
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