Been a Complete IDIOT now desperately need some advice...??!!

[Dan TheMan Welburn]

Hi there was in a mega rush and stressed earlier in a rush to get back from a 3 hour journey which should of took 2 and then get to work, (and sort the kids out inbetween), and as i pulled up outside home my amber brake warning flashed up, checked bulbs, pads are worn but not dead, so thought it would be brake fluid but STUPIDLY, because i was talking and doing it ive gone and put brake fluid in my power steering bottle but it took me a few hours of town driving to realise (when my steering started making some horrible noises when steering at slow speeds or at a stop), took a look under the bonnet and straight away i realised what id done and if i had a gun id of shot myself on the spot.........


I would guess that ive put about 100-150ml of dot4 in the bottle, now ive read what brake fluid does in this scenario it causes the seals to swell and inevitably fail, so plan is to drain the system as best i possibly can and then flush thoroughly with steering fluid, this is where i need advice, does anyone know the best part of the system to bleed from??? also anyone have a rough idea of the procedure i should follow to do this??


I know im probably either gonna have to replace my rack or have it refurbed at some point but i just wanna sort it for now

 

[vr6gordy]

pull the pipe after the pump then that way you get get it all out with engine running to help save your seals try put slick 50 power steering fluid in it helps with warn seals

 

[Dan TheMan Welburn]

Cheers for that, will a general motor factor sell slick 50?

 

[vr6gordy]

think i got mine from halfords

 

[Dan TheMan Welburn]

Well i used a few litres of central hydraulic fluid and a bottle of lucas oil today steering feels better but still not great, ill give it a few hours to circulate then maybe flush once more to be safe, if no difference ill get on the hunt for a good used rack

 

[tazzy baby]

I done it the other way round and put power fluid in the brakes as i was rushing and picked up the wrong bottle. it took out the master cylinder and abs pump on my b5

 

[Dan TheMan Welburn]

Ouch, i think im ok for now, steering is still fully functional and the noises are getting better, but i think i will source a good rack to replace it with in the new year

 

[AudiLeon]

Do NOT put slick50 in. It's a synthetic oil.
Get your self to Audi or Vw and buy some genuine oil. I learnt this the hard way when it blew the seals out of my steering rack.
You can get a litre for around £9 on ebay.

There is a guide online somewhere on how to flush out the old with new.

 

[vr6gordy]

slick 50 do an oil for power steering ..its not the slick 50 that you put in your engine...

 

[AudiLeon]

slick 50 do an oil for power steering ..its not the slick 50 that you put in your engine...

Unfortunately, I'm aware of this. Do NOT use it in your audi.

 

[Dan TheMan Welburn]

I havnt i used Lucas oil which is specifically designed for power steering systems, i paid £25 for 2 litres of power steering fluid and one treatment of lucas oil from a local motor factor, then unfortunately (typical of my luck recently) my battery decided to give up on me this morning, so another £74 down....

 

[terryp]

Is your steering with the Lucas additive still OK?

Cheers
Terry

 

[Dan TheMan Welburn]

Is your steering with the Lucas additive still OK?

Cheers
Terry

Hi there my power steering is still working well, with the additive the noise when turning at slow speeds has calmed right down also, only happens turning one way now, so im going to give it another flush through soon and hopefully it will be fine

 

[terryp]

Thanks Dan!
I'll get some on order :icon_thumright:

 

[AudiLeon]

Fingers crossed around a year after I put some in, it popped out it's guts and killed the pump.

 

[terryp]

BlackQuat
Whats your story? Were you using 100% Lucas or 50/50?

Cheers
Terry

 

[Dan TheMan Welburn]

I plan to gather a good used pump and rack just in case.... but yeah im hoping the existing parts will hold out,

 

[AudiLeon]

BlackQuat
Whats your story? Were you using 100% Lucas or 50/50?

Cheers
Terry

When I bought the car it was all good. No noises or problems. As a newbie to the car, I thought the level on the fluid was down. Topped up the container with lucas. About 6 months later on a hot day the power steering just went. Then came back days later. Then 6 months later it died completely. Put a new pump on, all good again. Then few weeks later just heading on a 90mile journey down to Chester it blew the seal out of the drivers side of the rack. Luckily I had a brand new genuine Audi B7 rack in the boot. Job done.