Not really, but yeah. Got fluid leaking out of the left boot.


Time for a new rack


Any tips on this one?

Found one write up,

http://www.passatworld.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=213051

Really not looking forward to this at all.

 

Link was dead.

I know zero about what I'm talking about on this but I've had cars and own a car with boots (MB TDwagon 300K and of course my A6, give Carsteering.com a look..sounds like a bad seal, there shouldn't be fluid in that boot, the rubber boots are there only to keep out dust and dirt, if you find fluid in there it's because the seal has failed..you'll most likely replace the rack but get expert help..at least Carsteering is waaaay cheaper then Audi and most shops. Keep us posted

 

Try PowerSteeringPros.com for the rack.

AS for replacement, I have copied, below, a set of instructions up I wrote after I did my rack - no pictures though and it is for a 2.7t where access is a bit more restricted. You might not have to go through all the hoops with a 2.8.

Good luck!

Bob

Audi A6 Steering Rack Replacement DIY

This is a difficult job requiring a reasonable amount of mechanical knowledge, experience and tools. Do not attempt this as your first DIY unless you have access to the above.
Tools needed:
Small torx wrench for inner liner screws, not sure of the size
Small allen wrench for wheel sensor, not sure of the size
45-t Torx wrench
8 mm socket
10 mm 12 point socket – must be 12 point to fit the steering rack bolts
13 mm socket
14 mm socket
16 mm socket
16 mm wrench
17 mm allen wrench and a piece of pipe
18 mm socket
18 mm wrench
19 mm 3/8s drive socket
21 mm 3/8s drive socket
3/8s breaker bar
#2 Phillips screwdriver
Flat blade screwdriver
Assorted BFHs
Assorted extensions, including wobbly extensions
Jack and two jack stands

Park car on flat surface. Set steering wheel straight ahead.
Remove the interior filler piece just above the steering wheel by pulling directly backwards. This will reveal two screws.
Remove 5 – 8 mm screws holding knee bolster and hush panel in place (2 that you just revealed, 2 others at the bottom of the knee bolster and 1 behind the fuse cover on the left end of the dash). Unhook the knee bolster from the top left connection point by pulling upwards. Pull knee bolster to you to disengage the hush panel from the body of the car. Disconnect the OBDII port from the hush panel by squeezing both tabs and pulling. Disconnect the courtesy light by pushing it out of the hush panel, then turning it and feeding it back through the hush panel. Set hush panel aside.
Turn steering wheel enough to gain access to the nut on the pinch bolt where the steering column connects to the steering rack. Remove nut (16 mm). Re-center steering wheel. Remove the key to lock it into place. Remove the pinch bolt (45-T Torx) by turning it slightly. It is an offset bolt and comes out after ¼ turn. Remove the bolt. Release the steering wheel up-down-fore-aft adjustment handle, pull the shaft end off of the steering rack then slide the shaft up into the column to get it out of the way. Re lock the adjuster. Remove the boot covering the steering rack by pulling it inside the car.
Open the hood. Remove the engine compartment to hood seal then remove the plenum cover. Remove the 14 mm bolt clamping the battery. This a great time to change your cabin filter!
Put the car on jack stands, but not too high as you are not done in the engine compartment. Remove the front tires (17 mm socket). Remove the undertray if you still have one (not included in these instructions as mine is long gone).
Move back to the engine compartment. Remove the two Phillips screws holding the air feed horn to the body. Remove the air feed horn and the air tube to the air box. Remove the engine covers. Remove the cover over the Power steering reservoir. Remove the air box top, the MAF sensor and the MAF to intake y-tube tube. Remove the single Phillips screw holding the coolant reservoir in place and release the reservoir from the rear by rotating up then pulling forward. Remove engine covers over valve cover gaskets. Remove the 5 – 10 mm bolts holding the y-pipe in place. Remove the two clamps holding the y-pipe to the recirculating valves. Remove the black vacuum thing by pinching the connector and pulling. Remove the y-pipe (be sure to put rags in the intake holes!). Remove the air tube at the rear of the engine from the passenger side air valve and the intake manifold and set it out of the way towards the driver’s side of the car. Right in this area, you will see two metal hoses connected. Have a drain pan under the car as PS fluid will drain out then undo this connection (19 mm and 17 mm wrenches)(this connection was the point of all of the above! You might be able to get this job done without this step, but doing this makes life much easier!). This is a great time to change your spark plugs, valve cover gaskets and vacuum spyder.
Jack the car up some more. You will need to be able to get under the car with your nose clear of the transmission and exhaust while you are looking up.
Move to the right side of the car. Remove the pinch bolt (16 mm) holding the tie rod end to the knuckle. Loosen the 13 mm top bolt, then tap the tie rod end down. Loosen some more, tap some more until you run out of bolt. Remove the bolt. Finish tapping the tie rod end out.
Move to the left side of the car and get ready for the real fun! Remove the axle bolt. I put a small chisel into one of the brake rotor slots (and put a couple of lug bolts back in) and rotate that against the caliper to hold the axle in place. I use a 17 mm allen wrench and a pipe to get the bolt loose. I undo the bolt a few turns then tap it in to get the axle loose. I continue to do this until the blot is out). Remove the tie rod end as described above. Remove the brake sensor (small allen wrench) and the brake caliper (21 mm socket). Wire the caliper onto the axle for safe keeping (you don’t need to remove the hoses or electrical wires, just remove the caliper from the knuckle). Remove the rotor if it hasn’t already fallen off and hit you in the foot. Remove one of the sway bar end link bolts (16 mm wrench and socket). Remove the two bolts holding the lower control arms to the frame (18 mm wrench and socket). Remove the three bolts in the engine compartment and plenum holding the strut on (18 mm socket). Remove the knuckle assembly from the car (best done by your brother-in-law with the bad back that owes you money!). You CAN get away with only some disassembly, but this process avoids dealing with a frozen upper control arm pinch bolt and gives you lots of room to work, which you will need! At a minimum, the strut must come out. Remove the inner fender liner (small torx wrench).
Remove the splash shield surrounding the tie rod end by removing the two plastic Christmas tree push pins and by twisting off the electrical bracket that also acts as a nut (very clever!). Stuff some rags in the bottom of the opening under the steering rack. There are gaps there that will swallow bolts and crush washers and sockets and anything else of value. Move your drain pan to under this area. Use the 19 mm socket on the 3/8s breaker bar to remove the rearmost banjo bolt for the line with the coil in it. You get it started with the breaker bar then finish by hand. Watch for the crush washers! You should be able to remove this hose to get it out of the way. Use the 21 mm socket and remove the front banjo bolt.
Shine a light onto the rack. Below the rack you will see a heat shield. In the heat shield just below the rack you will see a slot. This is your target from below. Put the 10 mm 12 point socket onto a 3” extension. Add a couple for wobbly extensions then a 12” extension to this assembly. Route this from the underneath between the transmission and the exhaust up through this slot. Feel with your free hand for the 12 point bolt on the bottom side of the steering rack (look at a parts diagram to get an approximate location or at another rack to get a better look. This bolt cannot be seen and is very difficult to even feel. Remove this bolt. Move back to the plenum and remove the battery. Remove the 12 point bolt underneath it then reinstall the battery. Remove the last bolt from just to the side of the brake booster. Now you can remove the steering rack from the car by carefully bringing it out the driver's side.
Move to the engine compartment. Remove the clamp holding the lines to the bottom of the PS fluid reservoir. Place a drain pan under this area and pull the lines loose. Pull the lines down through their routing clamps (which are loose) to drain the low pressure side of the system (you have already drained the high pressure side. Filter some of this fluid through a shop rag and look for any metal particles. If you see any, you need to replace your pump (this is a requirement for the rack warranty as well).

Reassembly:

Reroute the PS lines up through their routing clamps then reattach them to the reservoir.

Place the old rack on a bench and mark the outer limits of the tie rod outers onto the bench. Remove the tie rod outers.
Place the new rack on the bench and install the old tie rod outers. Count the number of turns and keep them equal on each side. Stop when the tie rods match the width marks made in the previous step. Optional: fill the hole of the third bolt with some silicon sealant then insert the bolt with just a tiny bit of the threaded end protruding. Hold until the silicon sets. This will give you a fighting chance of getting this bolt back in. Otherwise, plan on doing what 90% of indy mechanics do: discard the third bolt. If you are going to discard the bolt, put a little silicon sealant on the top surface of the hole to dampen any possible noise issue.
Wrap the passenger side boot of you new PS rack with cardboard to protect it from a couple of unused (at least on my car) studs.
Feed the PS line with the coil in it back into the hole, but not all the way, just enough for the bend in the engine compartment to clear a couple of electrical lines (you’ll see the obstacle if you look). Feed the rack back into its hole carefully, but do not go all the way in. Reattach the PS line with the coil to the rack using the 19 mm banjo bolt. Be sure to use both crush washers and make sure all surfaces are dead clean. Hand tighten but leave a little bit of play. The less play the better as you will have to tighten this with a breaker bar 1/12th a turn at a time so the fewer turns you have to do, the better! Feed the rack all the way in. Use a prop of some sort to hold up the rack, then install the bolts in the plenum. If you are going to install the third bolt, then feed your socket up from the bottom. The bolt should be much easier to reach! Reattach the return line using the 21 mm banjo bolt. Getting this bolt started is very touchy. You should practice with your old rack until you get a feel for it. Tighten as hard as you can.
Move to the engine compartment and reconnect the high pressure line at the back of the motor. Move back to the wheel well and tighten the 19 mm banjo bolt. The only way I found to do this, due to clearance issues, was with a 19 mm socket and a breaker bar. There is probably a better tool out there, but that is all I had or could find to work. Congratulations, the hard part has been completed!
Reinstall all the motor compartment items so you can start the motor. Fill and bleed the system per the instructions that come with the rack and check for leaks. Make sure you center the steering wheel on the correct turn. Lock the column in place.
Reconnect the right tie rod end and tire.
Re-install the splash shield around the tie rod end. Re-install the left side suspension. DO not tighten the lower control arms bolts beyond hand tight. Reconnect the tie rod end. Re-install inner fender liner. Reinstall the brakes. Start the axle bolt. Install the wheel but remove the center cap. Let the car down off the jack stands. Tighten the axle bolt using the 17 mm allen wrench and a pipe. Torque the wheel bolts.
Reinstall the plenum cover.
Take the car directly to a front end alignment shop for an alignment!!!

 

Nice job Bob, it's convinced me in the future to find that Euro shop that does this kind of work or at least get a few written estimates.

 

Years ago, I did a full rebuild of my steering rack in the parking lot of the apartment I lived in. It was a 1978 Audi 5000. It doesn't sound like the rack itself has changed much.

BUT...

It does sound like most of the work on these "new" cars is moving everything that is in the way!

Just reading these instructions will make people think about using the correct fluid in the power steering!

 

Correct. What Ive read is that typically the accordian seal fails internally, allowing fluid to escape into teh boot. Ive gotten a few price quotes, about a grand from Audi for a new one, same for a re-man one too.

500 from Oreilys, who knows on Quality.

Il check out that place, thanks Bob. Also thanks for the write up, probably wont tackle this job till spring, unless it gets worse fast. I just dont have the money to drop on it. Got some fluid today, gonna keep an eye on it.

 

It's the o-rings inside the rack that leak, not the accordian seals (which only seal out dirt). Make sure to use the proper Audi specific mineral oil fluid (or straight mineral oil if you are just adding and not flushing and are going to replace the rack in the spring).

When mine went, waiting was not an option. 5 miles and the system was empty!

The rebuilt rack from PowerSteeringPros was under $400 shipped overnight. Of course, they shipped me the wrong one BUT they bent over backwards to replace the rack with the proper one including upgrading me at no extra charge, overnighted it at their expense and return shipping for both at their expense! A+++ on customer service!

Good luck!

Bob

 

Yeah, I got fluid from Audi.

Its only 15 bucks a quart!

Mines no where near that bad.