Pas pump moaning and light coming on.

[QuattroFever]

Hey all,

Went for a blast up the m40 last night all was well, until...

I got in the car this morning and fired her up, straight away i noticed the steering wheel juddered as i turned and the (!) warning light came up.

I checked the PAS fluid and it's fine, in fact it looks like it's risen (above the max mark) and there is a constant moaning from the pump?? It looks like a slight leak from the shaft coming out of the pump, Heard of???

How can the level rise and I've got a leak??????

Seriously stuck on this one guys. So many things seem related to the (!) that I'm not sure where to begin!

These cars are money pits

[A80Avant]

depending on the steering wheel position,the PAS fluid may be lower or higher than it's normal position mark.So nothing to worry about there.PAS pump could be on it's way out by those symptoms.I had them myself when i mistakenly used the wrong fluid.Although i drained it quickly and replaced it with the correct one,the damage had been done...

[QuattroFever]

i've always used febi fluid from GSF which is the same as the audi green stuff.

Completely flushed through with clean fluid about 4mnths ago after fitting a new rad.

Will a worn pump not produce enough presssure to keep the autocheck happy??

[A80Avant]

well i dont know.but i was getting rough judders without the autocheck lighting up.Eventually i payed 750euro and got a new pump in

[QuattroFever]

whoa 750 euro thats like £600

[A80Avant]

yup thats the cost of the original part from audi stealers..

[QuattroFever]

any chance a faulty bomb will cause the system pressure to rise as I have just checked and i've got hydraulic fluid pushing out through the top of the resorvoir!!!! been ok for months what with the occasional beep after heavy braking but now it's all the time!!!

[A80Avant]

a faulty bomb may cause the alarm on the autocheck and also give you a spongy feeling on the brakes,but i dont think it will have anything to do with juddering on the steering wheel...

[Jamo]

a faulty bomb may cause the alarm on the autocheck and also give you a spongy feeling on the brakes,but i dont think it will have anything to do with juddering on the steering wheel...

The rack is connected to the bomb ( in the family album ) so theorectically a lose in pressure could affect steering

[maRS2]

the bleep can also come from the brake master cylinder level sensor.

I tryed every thing to stop this bleep ( changed, bomb, servo brake, pas pump) and at the end I just unplug the master cylinder level sensor wire and since then no bleep on hard brake or bump. Not one bleep since month's.

[A80Avant]

in theory yes,but i have never heard of someone complaining of steering juddering that ended up in replacing the bomb to fix the problem

[QuattroFever]

maybe just crap luck that both have failed together? I have to admit that I'm surprised that one day a pump is fine then the next it's groaning. I would have expected it to get louder and worse over time, not over night. I'm going to change the fluid and all the belts today as a matter of course, some look a bit worse for wear.

Anyone know what I should say to GSF if they say S2forum isn't listed for discounts as they did before.

[Error404]

i'd say better off with a secondhand Audi pump than a crappy GSF replacement - they often fail within a few hundred miles!

[QuattroFever]

I'm just buying the belts and fluid from them and a few other goodies oil pressure sender, coolant, pollen filter......yawn, boring stuff.

Only simple stuff from GSF, or if I'm absolutely stuck - I'm not too keen on the quality myself.

If I buy the pump or bomb it will be VAG parts or main dealer all the way for me

[QuattroFever]

ok, update....after leaving her parked up for a loooong time I finally bit the bullet and got a new pump from VAG parts....£455

Thing is, after yesterday night, with the new pump fitted, full of fluid and no leaks my PAS is intermittant, one minute it's feather light and the next it's like the pump isn't there (seriously, like when you turn the engine off), not good when you're halfway round a roundabout!!!!

I don't get it.

I've tightened the belt, I've turned lock to lock, checked the fluid and changed it twice already. with a little blip of the throttle it kicks the p/s into life for a few seconds and sometimes when you let it sit and idle for a while it sorts itself out but then when you drive off and try and tackle a corner it goes again.