I have a mk2 golf 16v with power steering. The rack was leaking so got the garage to replace it. They did and charged me about 460 all in all and a few months later, it started leaking from the same place again. Its leaking from the drivers side boot every time. So i took it back to the garage and they swapped it under supplier warrenty. 2 days later it started leaking form the same place AGAIN! was well chuffed off so went straight back to the garage. He did a bit asking around and he said it could be that the PAS pump is knackered and is dropping loads of little metal bits into the fluid, causing the seals to go. Does this sound right to you guys? or is he tryin to trip me off? He isnt 100% sure if he's going to be able to get another 1 under warrenty as it wasnt the rack that failed, its the pump. I suggested a pressure relief valve somewhere being kanckered but he was told that there isnt a pressure relief valve for the power steering set-up. Any thoughts on this would be helpful!
what fluid are they using? MK2 PAS setups use dexron II ATF. I beleive the new spec fluid VW sell is slightly thinner, so this may explain it i guess. Other thing it could be is the pump is chucking out too much pressure, any MK2 PAS pump will do you, except G60.
Im using the hydraulic fluid from GSF, white bottle with a green top. Cant remember the name. So do you think this guy is talking rubbish or some truth in it? He mentioned something about a thicker fluid but what about the little metal bits being put into the pipes by the pump? Is he tucking me up or what?
Mk2 PAS setups use the G000 000 001 fluid or whatever it is. Isnt it a mineral oil? ATF will destroy the seals on the rack. The proper VAG stuff is green.
MK2 systems use Dexron II ATF, it says so on the tank. later models may have used the vag stuff though. My mate ignored my advice and used the VAG stuff, and guess what it leaked because the fluid was too thin The seals on later cars/mk3s are different which allows them to be used on the vag stuff. I've used Dexron II in my refurbed PAS setup for 3 years and its been perfect, I'm even using a MK3 pump.
john what year dose the fluid change i was thinking of changing my fluid it looks a red brown color yes the pas tank dose says ATF ol
not sure, but if the tank says ATF then thats what you should use, the later tanks have a green lid on those are the ones that use the VAG fluid
Sounds like you're using mineral oil dude, I know cos I just bought the same stuff from GSF and its wrong! If your PAS reservois has a red cap then use the red ATF stuff.
The green LHM-type hydraulic fluid will work fine in a mk2 16v rack, I've a 160K mile rack on a 16v Corrado, the parts are identical to the mk2 16v system and it has the mk2 rectangular tank with the red cap, both marked with ATF. The car has been running on the green FEBI/LHM fluid for over 10 years, after the original VW pump failed at 80K miles. The later Corrados with the green round tanks have basically the same racks and pumps which I've always thought rather odd, but 80K miles further on and the rack and pump on mine are still perfectly happy. Based on that I can't see the fluid causing a rack failure, even the carb 1.6 mk2 golfs I've seen have the same components with the exception of the slightly different ratio rack to the 16v cars. The only possible difference I can see is that somehow the lower ratio mk2 8v racks had red ATF for some reason, but externally the racks are the same design??? (Edit: just read the commment about seals possibly changing over the years to accomodate the green fluid) It seems just as likely that the pressure relief valve in the pump is sticking, a common problem on old pumps, especially if components are changed and crap gets into the fluid, the drilling the valve fits in inside the pump gets scored and then the valve sticks causing the pump to pump pressure to the rack even when you're not turning the wheel, usually the first symptom is a leaking pressure hose where the flexi-hose joins the metal pipe.
Later corrado rack isn't the same as a MK2 rack, different part number and UJ spline. Corrado possibly uses later type seals that can cope with mineral stuff, as its built later than most MK2s were. Also depends on what internal rack seals are used on the MK2/Corrado rack, compared to what seals were used on refurbished racks. May be the refurbished racks are built with ATF use in mind, rather than the thinner VAG mineral stuff. Or it could be the pump is pushing out too much pressure as I said originally before all this discussion came up Either way, a fluid change to ATF is cheaper than replacing the pump/rack again, and is certainly worth a try
Ive always used the VAG fluid. Heard plenty of horror stories of cheap nasty ATF destroying the seals on Mk2 PAS racks and making the pumps whine like hell. But like you say, its hard to know what is fitted to cope with what, especially if racks have been refurbished.
really? I've neaver heard of any at all. if anything I've only heard horror storys of the VAG fluid making the pumps noisy and leak like hell from the seals
