1997 Audi 80 Cabriolet issues, Please Help

[veneto rs2]

One of the usual culprits of pump leaking it's the infamous (2 of them) plugs with the big "+" on them.
I just changed one of them on my cabriolet pump.

Infos (good as usual on S2 Forum) can be found here:

http://www.s2forum.com/forum/showthr...rew#post879135









......

[newsh]

Well I agree on that, but even if I added up everything, no way would I break 5 hours. I'm not a pro mechanic or anything... The detail on how to it is in the link I posted above, the servo should fit straight up.

I'd hope being a 1.8 cab there'd be a bit more room in the bay as well.

I went for it given that if one part was failing, then another was probably not far off, and in my case it wasn't clear which part was failing, so staring at £1000 bill or ~£250 it was an easy decision. The problem with the pumps is that they are notoriously bad quality when 'reconned' by large firms (degreased, squirted with black paint and shipped out), and generally start leaking very soon after. Second hand ones are a lottery of course.

Put like that it does makes sense [emoji106]

I did go through 2 "reconditioned" pumps before getting a good second hand one..

[Shyam]

Servo conversion here: http://www.s2forum.com/forum/showpos...&postcount=200

Sorry, no pics as per post, but pretty easy to work from that, or do a search. Some bits are specific to a 20V (making space), suspect you will have more room that I did.

Error404 is this guy, send him a PM : ) http://www.s2forum.com/forum/member.php?u=4880

PAS pump, while access is tight, is an easy job, just make sure you get the sealing washers in the right place.

You can use LHM, which is citreon mineral fluid as well, much better than ATF! But I would still flush it out once I got my hands on some proper Audi/VW G004000.

Thanks for that Bowie69, very helpful. I am curious as to know where the £1000 figure came from, is that with the assumption that your Brake servo and power steering pump were both on their way out? I've found some PAS pumps on ebay going for sub £50 mark. But I'm guessing I will need gaskets and seals on top of that too. I am in two minds at the moment, but PAS pump looks favorable as I know it's just a straight flush/swap job.

Shyam, keep your spirits up. These Cabrios are beautifully made cars but with well known weaknesses that have become apparent with ageing. You will end up with a great tourer for your hols.
I wouldn't personally try and change to vacuum servo, I' d stick with getting everything working as nature (Audi) intended.
My own cabrio is the 2.6 v6 which has a central hydraulics system for the power steering and brake SERVO. The brake circuit itself is of course a separate system with it's own brake fluid reservoir.
When the fluid dropped in the hydraulic reservoir I got an audible ping from the dash plus the brake lamp warning. This was at Biaritz and was topped up with the wrong red fluid. That worked OK for the next few hundred kilometres into Spain and back but then the hydraulic pump started to leak badly. The lack of servo made the brakes incredibly hard work. I finally twigged that I should have used the correct green fluid and kept topping up with that until I got home.
The hydraulic pump was u/s and not repairable so I got a second hand replacement. By this time there can have been no trace of red fluid left. Apart from the pump no further damage was apparent.
I realise your 1.8 car may have some different components but the central hydraulics principle will be the same. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the words of encouragement ljh61, I will bear that in mind. I am in two minds about converting to Vacuum Servo or just replacing PAS pump and seeing how it goes. The latter looks the favorable choice at the moment. I was driving the car around on short journeys thinking it would only affect steering but it's probably not a good idea to drive it at all if its linked to the brake system ???

the fluid you need is CHF11S.

several brands are available

Mikes2, thanks for joining the thread. I was under the impression that this was a synthetic grade of hydraulic fluid?

Put like that it does makes sense [emoji106]

I did go through 2 "reconditioned" pumps before getting a good second hand one..

Newsh, I will keep my fingers crossed when I order my second hand pump! It sounds like a common problem that occurs on Audi 80's so will be a lottery like Bowie69 describes.

One of the usual culprits of pump leaking it's the infamous (2 of them) plugs with the big "+" on them.
I just changed one of them on my cabriolet pump.

Infos (good as usual on S2 Forum) can be found here:

http://www.s2forum.com/forum/showthr...rew#post879135

Veneto rs2 thanks for that, do you think changing the 'x' plug will bring back Power Steering or will I need to go ahead and change the whole pump?

Thanks again gents.

[Shyam]

!!!

Okay guys, so the strangest thing just happened.

Took the audi to the local corner shop and whilst pulling out, I snapped at the tight steering wheel to turn right to pull out of parking spot. It still felt very heavy. As I was travelling down the road, my steering felt really light for a moment but I thought it was because the car was moving....Get to the end of the road, become stationary. Then pull out to turn left and to my disbelief, my power steering had come back!!

My thoughts are that there were a few trapped bubbles in pump causing it to not function?? Nevertheless, I'm planning on flushing the fluid out and putting in the proper stuff.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Is my pump still going to fail on me further down the line?

Thanks

[Mikes2]

it self bleeds if you turn the steering side to side with the engine running.

I'd suggest doing that and check the level afterwards. It's easier with the wheels off the ground

[newsh]

Either an air lock due to the level dropping or a valve stuck which is now unstuck!
Either way you bled the system accidentally by turning right then left.
You still need to flush and fix the leak though