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Our power steering has been making some unhappy noises, especially when first starting the car. I thought I'd check the power steering fluid level, except ... I can't find it under the hood. I checked the owner's manual to see if it would offer any insight and ... it's not in there at all. Manual says how to check the other fluids but it doesn't even mention power steering fluid.
Is it in some very odd place? How can it be checked? How is it changed?
FWIW, that's another of the 'ignored by Audi' fluids. Our hydraulic/power-steering rack fluid was dark, dark, dark, so flushed it through completely with fresh Liqui Moly Hydraulic fluid to match the application. There are videos online for flush methods.
If it has never been changed, definitely do it! Pentosin CHF202.
It is terribly easy to do on this car (shockingly!):
1. Lift up the front end of the vehicle (both sides), and place jack stands under it so it remains secure.
2. Take a short length of 1/2 rubber hose (even a piece of 5/8" or 1/2" garden hose works fine), stop one end on it with a large bolt or something and a hose clamp, and leave about 3/4" of length open on the other end.
3. Pull the low pressure return line from the reservoir and place it securely into a small container, like a half-gallon juice bottle or milk jug, and place it so that it will not tip over (there's a lot of space in the engine bay in this immediate area, so it should be easy to tuck it down into a secure spot).
4. Immediately after pulling the LP line, put the stopper you made in #2 and push it over the fitting on the reservoir. You may need to clamp it on there if it was too large for the fitting, but it is not under pressure, so it won't leak much, if any, even if it isn't terribly tight.
5. Turn the steering wheel from lock to lock, back and forth, which will quickly pump out the fluid from the reservoir and through the system.
6. When the reservoir is nearly empty (it doesn't take much turning of the wheel to get there!), refill it with new Pentosin.
Keep up this process until the fluid coming out is a nice green color (e.g., like the new stuff you're putting in). It takes about 1.5 quarts, or a bottle and a half, of the Pentosin, to fully flush it.
Put the low pressure line back on it (quickly pull the plug and press on the line to prevent any significant spillage), top off the reservoir, and you're good to go for another 50-100,000 miles! It really doesn't take long to do this procedure. Including jacking up and lowering the car, I think it took me about fifteen minutes on my Q7.
Side note: Try not to, but if you mess up and introduce some air to the system by letting the reservoir completely drain, just keep adding fluid like you would normally and continue to flush it per the above procedure. When you start the car, it will make some noise due to the aeration of the fluid, but it will settle down over the next couple drives and quiet down once the bubbles get completely worked out.
Sorry, I should have specified that you do this procedure without the engine running, but with it in the 'on' position so as to allow the steering wheel to turn fully (without locking). Do NOT start the engine with the low pressure line removed, or you will be quite surprised at how fast it can pump out every last drop from the reservoir!
09-03-2023, 06:10 AM
Power steering on Q7 Mk1?
