stillinanaudi

91 200 auto.
I recently replaced my high pressure hose, then started seeing a small amount of leakage from my pump. This became immense last night losing a quart in 5 minutes. Initially everything looked okay at the rack, but after losing the full quart, the rack area looked wet too. I will remove and inspect the reservoir as perhaps it is cracked underneath and leaked onto the rack where the boot is already torn. The previous owner had used drug-store mineral oil since the hose leaked so bad. After fixing the hose, I filled up with Pentosin. Maybe the mineral oil killed all my seals? I wish I had read up on the Mobil1 ATF alternative before now. Maybe I could've saved a lot of headache.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

stillinanaudi

p.s. My current plan of attack is...

1. inspect the reservoir for cracks

2. reseal/rebuild the p/s pump
(might I have destroyed it by running it dry?)
(does anyone have a rough time estimate to reseal the pump)

3. if necessary replace the rack myself.

RussB

I've read that running the pump dry will destroy it. I've never re-sealed a pump.

Kneale Brownson

Most common pump leakage--and it can be very fast--is the mushroom caps around the front of the pump.

I've seen the whole driver side of the engine bay coated with oil from a bad pump leak like you describe.

You can get the seals kit for something like $6-7 from Autohaus AZ.

The Bentley for 200s has a good writeup of the resealing procedure.

You can tell once you take the pump apart (need to press off the pulley flange on the front) whether running it dry scored the inside parts enough to cause damage. Be sure to support the flange well while pressing. Otherwise you might get:

stillinanaudi

Thanks very much for the input.
I pulled the reservoir last night and it seems intact. I used soap and water to clean it and the screen, which is drying thoroughly. Hopefully that got it clean enough.

Unfortunately I don't yet have the bentley. Any description of the procedure would be helpful and appreciated, otherwise i'll be going on intuition.

The leak seemed to be coming from the "x-bolt" closest to the pulley as shown. I would love to only need to do the simpler rebuild, but it sounds like I should be doing the pulley seal as well. Will need to borrow or buy a press.

Kneale Brownson

Your "X" caps are the "mushroom" caps I mentioned. You need what's called a 1/2" drag link socket (like a huge screwdriver blade) with a couple mm ground off the end of the blade to fit into the "X" depressions. Audi recommends a manual impact (one of those things you whack with a hammer) to get the caps loose. I use an air impact gun. I've never found a way to anchor the pump sufficiently in a vise in order to use the whack system, and I've never been very successful using one of those elsewhere either.

What happens is the O-rings get hard and start leaking. In my--and many others' experience--if one is leaking, the others in the pump will be also soon. So you at the least want to take the pump's two halves apart (long blots your pix shows at the rear of the pump) so you can replace the seals there, as well as the seals under the caps. You could get away with not taking the flange off, but then you can't replace the front shaft seal, which rarely leaks oil but can suck air, causing the hydraulic oil to froth. I personally would want to replace that seal in a pump that had run dry. I have had two pumps dump almost the whole load of oil and not have any internal damage, but they were driven very short distances after the leaking began and still had oily surfaces when disassembled.

You want Bentley Pages 48-27 thru 48-36. Go to http://www.pbase.com/kneale_brownson/image/114727641 and keep hitting the "next" button.

stillinanaudi

Kneale - THANK YOU very much. I truly appreciate your help on this and other Audi matters.

stillinanaudi

I got the seal kit at Napa for $8 or $9, and the 11/16" drivelink socket for about $24+/- and it fits perfectly.

I pulled the pump and split it in half. It's still oily inside.

Some folks refer to an RSFH "the rubber seal from hell"... (quote: looks like the result of a midnight assignation between a demented "H" and a drunken "Z"). My kit didnt come with anything like that, and the images in the manual I looked at dont seem to refer to it. Do I need to concern myself with this, or skip it?

What method/device is recommended for supporting the flange while pulling it? Any recommended pullers/presses for doing the flange? Might Autozone have one to borrow?

Thanks in advance.

Kneale Brownson

No idea what an "RSFH" is. There is a check valve with a seal that requires a tiny allen wrench, something like 4mm, that I've never been able to remove because the allen twists or breaks before it comes loose. I've not seen a leak or had a pump pressure problem, so I've not worried about that seal.

You need a hydraulic press to take the flange off so you can replace the seal there. You need rounded support plates all around the flange to avoid breaking off a wing.

stillinanaudi

thread link re: RSFH (slang term)....
https://www.audiworld.com/forums/sho...highlight=rsfh

I think it must be under that allen bolt in the center of the pump portion that doesnt have the mushroom caps.

I wont be worrying about that one.