Brian Lajwii

Hey guys, I'm Brian a new member here, I've been a proud owner of a 2007 S8 for around 18 months now and ownership has truly been sensational.


But now I find myself faced with my first real issue with the car. Over the weekend the car started randomly juddering as I was pulling away from a junction and the steering got slightly heavy so I managed to pull into a quiet side road before it became almost impossible to steer. When I jumped out there was a lot of fluid pouring out from the intake grill on the passengers side. Got it into the garage and they've said that the steering pump needs replacing and because of the location of the timing chain, the whole engine needs to come out so I'll be looking at 22 hours labour at ridiculous rates and £1200 for the part.


So I was wondering if anyone has had this issue before and if so how they fixed it or even if any UK member could recommend any specialist. At this moment in time I'm willing to try anything

haggisuk

Hi your problem is not unique to S8 owners.

However there may be a glimmer of hope for you.

The fact that you state the oil was leaking from the front of the car leads me to suspect it's one of the hoses that connect to the cooler near the rad.

It's a couple of hundred to fix if it is and can be done at home if you have some normal tools.

I have wrote about the whole process over at A8 parts forum in UK so you can read about it there

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/showthread.php?t=11345

If you can't view the thread you'll need to register.

ScottCNelson

...you're screwed to use the vernacular. I had a similar issue, sudden and total loss of power steering. It turned out to be the return pipe from the hydro oil cooler to the steering pump reservoir. This was replaced and can be accessed by removing the front bumper, left front wheel and fender liner.

If it really is the steering pump,there is no alternative to pulling the engine and tranny, a 29 hour job per the workshop manual costing about £5.000 here. There is a procedure for testing the PS pump(attached), did your mechanic do it? If you trust your garage, then that's your call, otherwise perhaps a second opinion?

haggisuk

Like Scott says the pump is a bitch of a job to do.

I think with clever tool twiddling that it may be possible to get it out without removing the engine but it would be a long shot.

If it can or can't is for later, you need to have the car properly checked over visually to find the source of the leak, rectify it, fluid replaced and the pump tested prior to committing to such an expense.

You mention the oil was coming out of the grill which is a long way from the back of the engine which makes me suspicious of your garage.

The usual failure point is on the return hose as mentioned and it goes in the area behind the foglight grill on the passenger side.

Mine was perished through under the nylon sleeving and could only be seen when it was slide back to expose the damaged section

Access is tight at the end next to the steering rack but its not impossible.

One thing that you must make you indy aware of is the importance to not run the engine with no steering fluid to prevent pump damage.

Filling and bleeding is done in start and stop bursts until the reservoir level doesn't drop, and when i say start stop i mean fill it up, start it and immediately stop the engine and fill it again, and repeat.

Greg5OH

thanks for those pics!
regarding engine removal, one thing I am sure i missed in some shop manuals,
I assume the AC system has to be recovered and opened up in order to disconnect the compressor lines from the evap and condenser yes?
Hate dealing with AC systems!
Other than that, it looks relatively straight forward to drop the entire subframe with engine and trans together if you have a lift and hydraulic table.

MP4.2+6.0

Yes, A/C is also part of this same shaft drive related series of subsystems and certainly needs to be disconnected for any motor pull. I suspect it might be do able by supporting motor in place, dropping subframe away along with removal of motor mount and perhaps exhaust on that side, and then accessing.

Audios_79

Hello everyone I need some help in identifying a particular PS hose down below and its part# please. I'm having a hose leak for power steering, thank you to "haggisuk" I saw his link on the process with pics. Very helpful.
MY S8 is stuck in my garage and I will be having a mobile mechanic come fix it, so I ordered hoses as preventative measures considering I still haven't located which hose is leaking but can see the hoses around Reservoir side is wet.

Oredered so far;
1. Return hose from rack cooler- 4E1422891N (diagram #18)
2.Cooler to Reservoir- 4E0422891AA (diagram #10)
Im confused by what hose is this and I need a part# for it please (see pic below of hose removed by haggisuk)
Can someone be kind enough to explain to me if this hose connects to the " Return hose from rack to cooler part# 4E0422891aa"?
"Haggisuk" mentioned in his post this was the culprit hose that he showed the hose of but with incorrect part#. IM baffled trying to find out, 😞.

Thank you for your help😇









***Need part# for this hose ABOVE? I ALREADY have part# 4E0422891AA.

fjord

I can't help much with identifying but that hose burst for me and you can slip it on the cooler...therefore any hydraulic hose with close diameter would work. All I had to do is use a box cutter to cut out the damaged section and used a standard coupling to add some hose I bought at my local Parker dealer.