Okay, I've had the A4 for a few months now, and one of the biggest problems is an ungodly whine from the power steering. It's a '96 Quattro, 5-speed, 12v?.

Anyway, it does manage to lose power-steering fluid. Not too quickly, I probably add to it once a week from daily driving. I do add the specified fluid, as did the owner before me (not sure about the first owner). After driving for a certain amount of time, the fluid does get pretty foamy, and the sound gets worse the longer I drive it. The previous owner says that the pump was replaced not long ago, and he doesn't think that's the problem. So, would a problem in the steering rack be possible?

It doesn't seem to affect me steering the car too much, it obviously still works, but maybe not as well as it should... I really don't have much to compare it to, as the car's been like this since I bought it. It is a bit stiffer than my Acura, but the Acura is a smaller car.

Anyway, anyone have an experience with this specific problem?

 

Ibelieve it foams because air is getting in the system from somewhere, usually it is the power steering pump, cracked line, or bad connection somewhere. Do you see any oil leaks coming from the pump or any of the lines? You said the power steering pump had been replaced already so its possible it was not done right, or it was a cheap replacement(if they even make those for Audis) or used junk yard partand you might want to start there

I do not have an Audi yet, but I am replying due to the fact that I have had to deal with about all the power steering issues you could possibly deal with in a car. I am hoping to buy an A4 later this year.

 

My cousin recently had this issue in his "1998 Svt Contour" When he turned it made a very disturbing noise and we found out the power steering fluid was leaking. Horribly. It went through like a bottle of fluid a day at least... Finally he took it to Fletchers and for a nasty 600$ I beleive he had the crack repaired... Now it works great, but don't push this issue off to the side its not good. I'm sure a smaller crack is a smaller fee, or mabye you can find someone to do it for a lot less... Just know thats the issue so get it fixed.. even putting "anti-leak" power steering fluid into will help, it might be thicker and give you more time before it leaks away... Thats your best bet untill you get it fixed.

 

i have had the same prob since i got the car 7 years ago. i add fluid prob about once a month when it starts to wine. i have to replace all the clamps and do something about the dry rot at the conection points. been way to lazy to fix. i go through a bottle a year so it has been cheeper to keep adding fluid then anything else so far.

 

Find the leak.

 

lol, 7 years? To lazy to fix it?

That made me laugh.. come on now, get on it!

 

Alright, well, thanks for the tips. My next step was to find the leak. I'll have to do some cleaning first, as there's also a respectable oil leak, so it's a bit of a mess under there. It just so happens that we just got our first real snow, so I'm gonna have to put it off for a little bit, but I'll get around to it.

 

oil leak is prob your valley pan gasket