Disappearing pas fluid!

[kevn 0]

My son came home the other night complaining his power steering on his 93 Corrado VR6 had gone, i took a look and the fluid level and it was very low, so i bled it by getting the wheels off the ground and turning the steering lock to lock, then took it up the road, all seemed fine untill the next morning it was started up and it was making a right racket again, yep the fluid was low again.

 

I have since bought it into work and got it up in the air, there are no signs of a leak and there doesn't feel like the rack gaitors have fluid in them, i have put about 2 ltrs of fluid in over the last couple of days, anyone know where it might be going!?

 

Cheers Kev

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Did you actually peel back the gaiters to check for fluid? They can hold a surprising amount.

 

Usually takes a good few weeks to lose 2 litres of fluid to a blown rack seal. Are you positive there are no other leaks? If none, it can't be going anywhere else. That is a very substantial leak.

[Supercharged 2]

2 Ltrs!! - the whole system only holds 1 ltr

[kevn 0]

I haven't peeled the gaitors back yet, but with the amount of fluid i have put in there i think i would of been able to feel it, i have been thinking, if the pipes or actual reservoir had a leak directly under the reservoir is there a part of the inner wing that might hold an amount of fluid that can't be seen from below? IYKWIM.

[Supercharged 2]

No - not really - I'm sure you'd see it leaking...

 

Could be the cooler at the front of the car but I've never seen one go, common places for leaks are around the pump and the metal swaged connections on the pipes where they go from EPDM pipe to solid - these rot.

[kevn 0]

Thanks for the replies chaps, but this is really weird, the fluid has gone down overnight! just sat on the drive, surely it would only leak into the gaitors when being driven and the fluid is under pressure?

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yep, the gaitors only fill up from leaks under pressure, i.e. from the rack when driving.

 

The offside seal blew on my rack last year. The fluid pot was taking a litre over a few weeks at it's worst but during this time I could always smell vomit from the engine bay!! It wasn't until I was working on something else under the car I thought I'd peel the gaitor back out of curiousity and sure enough, out it all poured. A good litre or so and it stank of said vomit :gag:

 

If it's going down overnight, I would take out the battery and screen washer bottle and check for a nice PAS fluid puddle under there. It could be the pipe at the bottom of the bottle, or the bottle itself may have a split or something.

[kevn 0]

I have just had a look at the bottle and pipe coming from it, no leaks, i topped the bottle up yet again and left it propped up where i could see it whilst i sarted the engine and noticed that when i turned the steering one way the level stayed the same when i turned it the other way it was like i had turned on a tap and the level shot down.

 

I suppose it must be going in to the gaitor, i will get it up in the air and check it out, where is the best place for a reconditioned rack if needed? or is it a doable job to replace the seals in the old rack?

 

Thanks for all the help so far.

 

Kev

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yep, a seal has definitely gone then!

 

1H0 498 020A is the VW part number for a seal kit. No one on the forum has fitted a kit as far as I know, so you're on your own there. Feel free to pass on any tips and pics if you do it and suceed though!

 

VW want £550+VAT for an exchange rack. I've never seen a VR6 rack so worn it needs a new rack and pinion, it's usually always just the seals that fail on these racks.

 

Recon racks from a 3rd party are usually around the £300 mark, or there is of course ebay and s/hand racks.