Ever since I got my Mk2 gti back from the full engine rebuild in April I have noticed that my power steering feels very strange? When the rebuild was carried out, I supplied the garage with a replacement power steering pump. I bought this part off a guy on the GolfMk2 forum and he told me that it was a reconditioned part. It certainly looked new when I received it, but had no paperwork. This was then fitted to the car along with a new geniune (Gates) pas belt and new VW spec fluid from GSF. The pump seems pretty noisy in operation. If the steering wheel is central it is quiet, but the minute the wheel is turned in either direction the pump makes noticable whirring noise which can be heard inside the car??? Is this normal? The other symptom is noticed when driving the car. Basically the steering feels a little 'lumpy' with varying levels of resistance from lock to lock? Sometimes it feels light and other times it is heavy. My girlfriend also has a Mk2 gti with pas and when her pump was completely knackered, she had the old one (genuine) from my car fitted to replace it. I have listened to the pump on her car whilst she turned the steering and this one is also noticably noisy?? However when her car is driven her steering is MUCH lighter than mine and feels fine. My car has the Golf R32/Powerflex wishbone bushes combination and also stiffer Eibach ARB's, but that should not effect the pas steering should it? Could it be a possibility that the reconditioned pump I got is not actually reconditioned and is knackered??? How do you get the system tested? I have read a few threads on this and some have suggested that the main stealer can test power steering...I imagine they charge a small fortune for this? If my pump is knackered what are the symptoms? My car has had new G60 top mounts, and ball joints and trackrods have been checked. Could the rack be faulty? My car has done 190K now. BTW when the fluid was replaced, I got the stuff that GSF supply? If I do need a new pump, are the GSF ones any good. The main stealer prices are eyewatering!![:^(] Any ideas guys this is driving me nuts?? Car is in for the MOT tomorrow as well!! Cheers Alpenweiss2
It's not the pump!! Well it seems it's not the pas pump but possibly the pas steering rack...oh happy days...NOT!! This job will be a bit expensive methinks!![:^(][:^(][:^(] Cheers Alpenweiss2
yeah sounds rack-y to me, but if i was in your shoes id convert the whole alt+ pas setup to MK3 stuff, newer, lighter and better. not to mention much easier to find in scrappies. if that doesnt solve it at least you have a better charging and belt setup for your efforts!
Wrong PAS fluid? An update. I am down in Southampton for a family wedding this week so I took the opportunity to pop into Wagenwheels today, a Golf Mk1/Mk2 Gti specialist near Southampton. Ian the owner of the garage drove my car and reckons that the power steering is iffy and reckoned that my pump was not working very well. He also noticed that the fluid in the reservoir is green and not red. He said that the fluid should be the red Dextron II stuff. I am going to pop the car back to him on Friday and he is going to swap the pump over for a good second hand one and drain the fluid and replace with the correct stuff. Is it worth just having the fluid swapped first? The reason I ask is because the power steering pump currently fitted was sold to me by GolfMK2 forum member as 'reconditioned'. Would the wrong fluid make the pump ineffective? I don't want the extra expense of swapping the pump if draining and refilling with the correct stuff will cure it? p.s Hope my rack seals are okay Cheers Alpenweiss2
i ran green fluid in my mk2 for a week or two before changing back to the red stuff,but i'm afraid it didn't cause any of the problems you have.
PAS feels better! Well after my trip to Wagenwheels the power steering on my Mk2 gti feels alot better. The green (incorrect) fluid has been replaced with the correct red fluid and the steering is now smoother and lighter. Ian the guy who did the work reckons that my power steering pump is fine and that it was just the incorrect fluid that caused the issues! He drained it and flushed it and put new red fluid in. Ian was very helpful and really knows his stuff when it comes to Mk1/2 gti (only services and restores these!!). He only charged me around 40 and also supplied me with a couple of trim bits included in that price!! Anyway if you live in Hampshire or Dorset I would highly recommend him!! Just put Wagenwheels as a search in Google!! Having driven the car for 300 miles since the fluids swap, the PAS feels smoother and lighter, but still not as light as the PAS on my girlfriends Mk2 gti. Does the power steering really vary that much on Mk2's??? My car has Eibach ARB's and the wishbones have (front) Powerflex bushes and (rear) Golf R32 bushes. Apart from that the chassis is standard. Just a thought...I still don't think the passenger side track rod on my car is set to the specified length? I forgot to mention this to Wagenwheels (Have posted about this before). How much would this affect steering feel? My car drives in a straight line and doesn't pull, however the steering still feels a bit sensitive/vague to undulations in the road? The steering wheel pulls around? It's hard to describe really but other posts on here have described similar problems??? Another possible issue?? If on the rear wishbone (large round) bushes (Golf R32 ones) the inner thin sleeves were missing and the bolt was just going through the metal insert in the bush itself, would this lead to play and thus make the steering vague? Lot's of questions I know?? But something doesn't feel quite right?? Cheers Alpenweiss2
Different size and make of tyres? Toe and camber set exactly the same? The little things can make your car feel different to your girlfriends.
But her steering feels quite a bit lighter?? My car has standard BBS alloys with 195/50/15 tyres, her car has after market BK Racing alloys also with 195/50/15 tyres!! The same garage did the tracking and camber on both so it should be the same?? Cheers Alpenweiss2
Looking at Vagcat ... the R32 / 4Motion bush does not use a separate sleeve whereas the Mk2 does ... both use the same diameter bolt hence there should not be any play due to not using a sleeve. Whether the R32 / 4Motion bush should be used is another (?) matter (half the price of a Mk2 Powerflex item I notice)
the metal sleeve is there simply to centre the bush in the subframe. just make sure the bush is central in the hole before you tighten the bolt and its all good. once tightened down it wont move anywhere
I had 2 new PAS pumps from GSF and both were rubbish, in the end i bought a 2nd hand genuine pump from nealey and apart from belt slippage issues its been fine.
