popower assisted steering problems - please help

[steve888]

hi I took my a4 to audi dealer for its mot and they replacaed the back exhaust

which then passed its mot


BUT then on drving out of the audi garage the steering was very heavy and making a loud screeching sound

i had no probs when i drove it in earlier on in the day and never had any PAS oil leaks before

my question is - by the garage putting a new back exhaust could they have damaged the power assisted steering pipes - now causing the leak and steering probs???

when i went back to them the next day after the MOT= they sold me some PAS oil toped it up and two weeks later ive got the same probs with very heavy steering and screeching sound-its needing 100ml per day now!!!

i went into the garage on friday and the mechanic said that the PAS pipe went from the front to the back of the car!!-

BUT the SERVICE manager said there was no chance of them accidently damaging the PAS pipes/system - thjis causing the leak when they replaced the back exhuast.

He said i would need to get an indepandant report to prove anything

k

is there anything in this given the facts can anyone advise????

any help gratefully recieved

cheers steve

 

[aragorn]

The PAS pipes are nowhere near the back of the car.

They run from the engine to the bulkhead, then to the radiator, to the resovoir, then back to the engine.

Where is it leaking from?

 

[steve888]

hi matey im not sure where it leaking from
there doesnt appear to be any oil on the ground when stationary

is there anywhere i could look - specifically?

i have checked round the resvoir and pipes in the engine bay and cant seem to spot the leak

its using 100ml a day so i should be able to find it - if i know where to look
thansk for any help

cheers steve

 

[mwarrey]

Its quite common for the pipes into the cooler to leak. If you remove the undertray you will see the two pipes running into the cooler on the passenger side (just past the bumper). You will see the rubber pipes joining the metal cooler pipes with crimp on clips. This is where my leak was. It was leaking onto the undertray (so no drips under the car)

I replaced the original clips with jubilee clips. It still leaks very slightly but nothing to worry about. Could be worth checking this first.

 

[aragorn]

Try running the engine and getting someone to move the steering while looking for leaks.

Might be hard to spot though, a mate of mine had a leak in a high pressure line on his pug that only appeared when the engine moved around under accelleration. When idling it didnt leak.

 

[steve888]

thanks matey i will check this

sorry to be a bit thick but what is the undertray - ie what does it look like so i can remove it

cheers
steve

 

[steve888]

Try running the engine and getting someone to move the steering while looking for leaks.

Might be hard to spot though, a mate of mine had a leak in a high pressure line on his pug that only appeared when the engine moved around under accelleration. When idling it didnt leak.

this may be the case as after taking it on several short trips in one day the resevior was competely empty

i will try your suggestion

cheersb
steve

 

[mwarrey]

Hi, the undertray is a large plastic tray that is under the engine bay. To remove it you will to jack up the car and the remove the large screws that hold it in place (which should be fairly obvious). There are also two screws in each of the front wheel arches.

 

[steve888]

Hi, the undertray is a large plastic tray that is under the engine bay. To remove it you will to jack up the car and the remove the large screws that hold it in place (which should be fairly obvious). There are also two screws in each of the front wheel arches.

thanks for this - im onto this tommorrow

 

[AndyMac]

Could be the steering rack also as this seems to be a common weakness on the B5. I hope it isn't as it's a major job and will cost around £600 for a recon rack fitted as it's lots of labour. When mine went it was leaking onto the passenger front wheel hub. I'd pull up somewhere and park and smoke would pour out from the wheelarch as it hit the hot brake disc. Very impressive but a tad worrying at the time.

 

[Broken Byzan]

Self oiling brakes...Nice.


I cannot imagine anything that Audi, or anyone for that matter would have done to the rear exhaust that would affect the PAS sadly, as much as i would like for you to be able to point the finger.

At 100ml a day, it will be visable somewhere once the plastic skid plate has been removed from the underside of the engine. I hope its a leaky pipe and not the rack

 

[jcb]

i recently dropped my intercooler a bit and fitted some HID.
now I have a PAS leak front left going into the cooler. unfortuanately they are high pressure systems and on old cars it doesn't take much for them to crack, split, pop a leak.
I spotted some oil but only as I don't run an undertray, a spot about 8cm in diameter on the ground but it is a lot more oily inside the front bumper. get a torch and shine it down behind the front left headlight (the one on the right as you look at the car!)
you will see two rubber pipes with metal fittings running into the PAS radiator. you can also see the oil on the undertray and inside of the bumper

 

[Markey]

Similar thing happened to mine at an MOT. When they do it depending on the person they put a lot of pressure on the steering going from side to side and that was just enouhgh extra work for them to kill my pump!

Check the front of the pump you can shine a torch down from the top and see if its leaking there that is a common area for the pump to fail.

 

[steve888]

Similar thing happened to mine at an MOT. When they do it depending on the person they put a lot of pressure on the steering going from side to side and that was just enouhgh extra work for them to kill my pump!
/QUOTE]

cheers mate the mot link sounds like what happened with my a4

wiil check my pump- if i can locate it !

steve

 

[Markey]

What engine is it?