That line should not be returning any fluid at all. If there is fluid in the boots, the rack is shot. The line only moves the air from the boots so they do not collapse or blow out as the rack moves side to side. A knowledgeable mechanic should know how this works. It is common to most rack and pinion set ups. The pump will eventually be damaged if allowed to run out of fluid. Dennis
-----Original Message----- From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of Mike Finkbiner Sent: Monday, February 23, 2004 11:11 AM To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM Subject: Power Steering Rack Balance Line Popping Off Volks - I have an '87 Westy. A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a whining noise from the rear which got louder when I turned the wheels. The power steering reservoir was quite low. When I filled it up, the noise went away, so I drove about 50 miles on the highway. The noise was back, and the reservoir down again. I re-filled it, drove 50 miles home and took it to Randy, my mechanic. He discovered that the pressure balancing tube on the top of the PS rack had popped loose at one end. Thinking I might have had an odd bounce from a chunk of ice or some other unusual occurance, he popped it back in, refilled and tested the system. It seemed to work OK. I drove around town for a bit and checked for leaks. No problems, so I drove the same 50 highway miles. The noise was back and the reservoir down again. Randy hasn't looked at it yet, but I assume the line has popped out again. When we talked about it this morning, he said he had not run into this before, and the line just seemed to press in. As it is a line to return fluid from one side of the rack to the other, it shouldn't be under much pressure. Bentley doesn't show any means of fastening the line down, or mention it in the troubleshooting section that I can see. Randy is willing to JB weld it in, or something like that, but we are both concerned that if this is a symptom of a problem inside the rack that I could be asking for trouble. Has anyone run into this before? If so, is there a good solution other than replacing/rebuilding the rack? How about damage to the PS pump from running low on fluid these several times? The reservoir has never been empty, but it has been down to an inch in the bottom. Any help would be appreciated! - Mike Mike Finkbiner '87 Westy Moscow, Idaho mike_l_f@hotmail.com I respect faith, but doubt is what gets you an education. - Wilson Mizener _________________________________________________________________ Click, drag and drop. My MSN is the simple way to design your homepage. http://click.atdmt.com/AVE/go/onm00200364ave/direct/01/ |
Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of
Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection
will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!
Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com
The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.
Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.