Im@wesome~ out!

helping my friend with his car... this is the issue.
2001.5 a4 1.8t quattro Tip
he got into an accident and the powersteering fluid drained out. From there he had to take the car in to get all the body work done. He filled the system, all the fluid got sucked in, but he still does not have powersteering.

We did the bentley thing and raised the wheels, lock to lock and hold.. did it for over 10mins solid... we are getting little bubbles coming up... but nothing else.. every once in awhile big bubbles will come up... but for the most part just little ones. Should I assume it's still air, or is there something else we can look at?

I don't get it... just little air bubbles, but nothing more. Also should we have the cap on/off while doing it?

Also is the powersteering system completely mechanical or is there something electrical we could look at?
Thanks for the help

Jon-1.8t

sounds like the rack is shot and there is a major hydralic leak

Im@wesome~ out!

no loss of fluid

77'911

If he drove the car with the system dry, then the seals in the pump are probably not in great shape. The pumps are not exactly robust in these cars. They also don't care for any other fluid then Pentosin 11S. Its easier to bleed the air out of the system if the front wheels are "just off the ground". It also helps to turn the wheels back and forth a few times when the wheels are raised. There is either a huge bubble in the system or the pump is shot.

Im@wesome~ out!

if we are still getting air bubbles coming up.. does that mean there is still air?

Also if the pump was shot... would there be anyway to check besides installing a new one?

Hillbilly

but then again, one would assume that there would also be fluid leaking. Sounds like it may be time to blow the dust off the old AAA card.

77'911

the small bubbles will go away, really nothing to worry about. If you have no power steering, especially after bleeding the system out completely with new pentosin 11s, then there can be two issues: damage to the rack(bound up, damage to gears, damage to case), or damage to the pump. Without looking at it, hard to tell over the web. It sounds like that accident was a fairly hard hit. With the wheels slightly raised off the ground and the engine running, can you easily turn the wheels back and forth by hand(not using the steering wheel)?

Im@wesome~ out!

hmm.. i'll try that right now

77'911

If the person drove with system dry and there is binding now , good chance its the pump. If its binding and they did not drive on a dry system, the rack probably has damage.

BSK

take a look at the boots of the upper inner and outer tie rod ends