where the hell do u fill the rack at? or is the pump supposed to circulate it to the rack by itself

 

yeah the pump circulates the fluid. so there is no real place to fill it other then at the ps reservior. it sucks that everything runs off of one belt too.

 

If I may weigh in on this...

I have an 02 A4 3.0L. It's in the shop right now with a new rack going in today to the tune of $1465.00. $420 of that is just for the Remanufactured Rack itself. Then they call for 8 hours of labor plus a 4 wheel alignment when all is said and done. (they were going to charge me $515 for the rack until I called and told them I can get one online for $365 ($200 core value)).

I replaced the pump about a month and a half ago myself (making noise, leaking fluid from intake hose, air bubbles in reservoir). I got the reman. pump for $185 with $50 core... Not necessarily an easy job.

So what I think happens (because I've read a lot of threads with people with Power steering issues) is that the rubber power steering hoses start to suck in air at the clamps after they get old and the seal loses integrity. Air gets into the system and causes the pump and rack to wear down faster. Then, guys like us, who want to get a fancy/performance (most likely used) vehicle that costs a ****-load to fix, get stuck replacing expensive parts before their time, because Audi uses a stupid crimp style hose clamp on rubber hoses, instead of something that actually works and lasts.

 

you can't fill the rack, the air will leak out after you turn the wheel lock to lock about 50 times. you can go to car-parts.com and get used parts. the rack swap is a biotch but the pump is a piece of cake.

pump swap instructions

1. the pump is the big pulley right in front of the engine at the top.

2. remove the bolts holding the ignition coil bracket down and take the wires out from the spark plug side and move the whole thing out of the way.

3. loosen the 3 screws on the pulley

4. take the belt off

5. take off the 3 screws holding for the PS pump bracket. if you have a haynes manual, it shows you where they are. if i remember i'll take a pic and circle them for you

6. undo the banjo bolt and take the the rubber hose off.

7. then the whole thing comes out.

8. install in reverse and voila, you're done.


tools:
17mm socket
12mm socket
7 (or 8?)mm allen bit
24" breaker bar
2 - new 7/8" screw clamps
7/8" (or 13/16") wrench
something to remove the one time clamps

i think that's all you need. i wish i took pics when i did mine but i was by myself and in my garage with a little desk lamp for light lol. it was 20 degrees outside too

 

whats his name just wrecked his car ask him he posted it up on here

 

oh his sn starts with sn.... right? the black ice thread

 

yep black ice thread thats the one and phill no power steering means a extra 10hp and plus you can build your muscles up haha

 

lol i fixed the problem like a week ago lol... but if it starts up again then i will

and b6 guy... audi told me almost 700 for a rack.. so u should feel lucky