power steering fluid flush DIY

[subversion]

Great DIY, did this tonight and everything went fine.

The only difference for those of us with 1.8T engines is that we only need 1 liter of P/S fluid, not 2 like the 3.0L guys.

Also, to answer another posters question: the 3/8" barbed hose is what you need to use, no bigger. That worked perfectly for me.

[Dirty(30)v]

great write up

[ADCS]

Great write-up but I have one question... Is spraying brake cleaner into the reservoir a good idea? I realize the hoses aren't connected so it isn't going to the pump but there will be residue even after it dries. Brake cleaner is pretty corrosive stuff.

[bigdadi]

Call me lazy. I use 'turkey blaster' to suck out the old as much as possible from the resevior, then fill the fresh one back. It take 4 times or so to change the 1 Lit fluid but I don't need to touch the others as the existing hoses are fragile when the car is 8-10 yr old.

[Scrwedtxboy31]

Great write-up but I have one question... Is spraying brake cleaner into the reservoir a good idea? I realize the hoses aren't connected so it isn't going to the pump but there will be residue even after it dries. Brake cleaner is pretty corrosive stuff.

In for an answer here. On the fence about this!

Call me lazy. I use 'turkey blaster' to suck out the old as much as possible from the resevior, then fill the fresh one back. It take 4 times or so to change the 1 Lit fluid but I don't need to touch the others as the existing hoses are fragile when the car is 8-10 yr old.

How many times did you have to turn the wheel from lock to lock before the bubbles went away?

[takenotes]

i need one for the 1.8T

[Jimmybeattie]

Thanks very much for the write up

I used it yesterday to do a fluid change on my tdi b6 and it was really informative with great pictures for an extra hint when I needed. Managed the change without a hitch thanks to you and now my power steering system feels like new and no longer makes groaning noises

Keep up the great work

Cheers
Jim

[DPDISXR4Ti]

I've currently got the nose off the front of my car and the lines to the cooling loop disconnected, so I'm looking to do this in a different manner. Since I can't start the car up right now, I'm thinking I'll get 90+% of the fluid out by going lock-to-lock with the steering wheel and manually spinning the pump (wheels in the air of course).

I was thinking about adding in a Magnafine in-line filter (didn't even realize there was a lame one in the reservoir), but I'm not certain of the direction of the fluid flow (which you need to know to orient the filter properly). Can someone shed some light there?

BTW, list price on the fluid is $29.70 (as of yesterday) but my local dealer usually gives me "Internet pricing" via whatever print-out I bring in, which in this case was $19.08.

[Matt Devo]

I was thinking about adding in a Magnafine in-line filter (didn't even realize there was a lame one in the reservoir), but I'm not certain of the direction of the fluid flow (which you need to know to orient the filter properly). Can someone shed some light there?

adding another filter isn't going to provide any real benefit. fluid flows into the reservoir above the filter, and out of it below the filter. from there you should be able to figure out the rest :)

[DPDISXR4Ti]

adding another filter isn't going to provide any real benefit. fluid flows into the reservoir above the filter, and out of it below the filter. from there you should be able to figure out the rest :)

Okay, thanks - sorta thought that would be the flow direction but thanks for verifying. I guess what I'm questioning is the effectiveness of that stock filter in the reservoir. It probably does a good enough job on the "big chunks" but I bet the Magnafine filters to a higher tolerance.

[Provistic]

Looks complicated for me :(
Will this work for the 1.8ts?

[Provistic]

kinda strange that there are several people posting about p/s fluids in B6's these days, don'tcha think?

i'd love a DIY too.

Damn nice ass, brah

[Kingzilla17]

The only difference for those of us with 1.8T engines is that we only need 1 liter of P/S fluid, not 2 like the 3.0L guys.

@Provistic , this should help out.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

Looks complicated for me :(

Then maybe it's not for you? Dunno, you'll have to assess your own capabilities. FWIW, it's much easier when the nose is off for a timing belt change, as long as you can live with getting ~90% of the fluid out - see my post above.

[Ritz]

Perhaps I'm just lazy, but I use the turkey baster method (or big syringe with a few inches of vacuum line on the end) to siphon the reservoir dry. Then I refill with clean fluid and start her up and turn the wheels lock to lock a few times while it's running. Shut her down and repeat a few times until you're only seeing clean fluid in the reservoir. Usually takes me about 10-15 mins. Once I've done this to a car one time, I just do 1 iteration of the siphon/fill every time I change the oil and that keeps the fluid fresh and clean with a minimum of fuss.

Best,

[Provistic]

Then maybe it's not for you? Dunno, you'll have to assess your own capabilities. FWIW, it's much easier when the nose is off for a timing belt change, as long as you can live with getting ~90% of the fluid out - see my post above.

Never mind I took my time reading it, and im currently doing it as we speak. I just wanted to make sure I stick the 3/8" hose into the smaller hose.

[Provistic]

whoops i think i broke something :/ or something was already broken? either way i broke something that looks like an air connector it connects 2 of those air valves things that look like tops you spin its half grey and half black there doesnt seem to be a part number just a date when it was made

[Matt Devo]

whoops i think i broke something :/ or something was already broken? either way i broke something that looks like an air connector it connects 2 of those air valves things that look like tops you spin its half grey and half black there doesnt seem to be a part number just a date when it was made

that's a check valve, it restricts air so that it only flows in one direction. fix with superglue if you can and order a few more

[Ritz]

You can get them for a fraction of dealer and online parts stores prices here (thanks to the a4darkness thread):

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/ite...2234&catid=489

Best,

[biglip]

i did mine

-put the front of the car on stands, wheels off the ground
-suck out the fluid from the power steering using a suction needle
-turn car on, let fluid flow
-turn steering light left and right till fluid pumps back into reservoir
-keep sucking all fluid out, you will notice the steering seizing up
-you will probably hear the "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" noise from the steering pump
-put new fluid in then steer left and right, monitor the car while its on and add more if needed

ever since i did it that way, i no longer get that "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" noise and steering is ALOT smoother.

rememeber to not steering too far left and right when the car is on with no fluid, it may damage the steering rack, just a little turn is all u need

you can repeat it if needed... just note that the fluid may be green when it goes is and a few hours later its probably gonna turn brown, but thats normal.

[Sam091990]

Wouldn't it be easier to just disconnect the return line and have a friend start the car while you continue pouring in new fluid?

[genesantini]

Could you attach a Mity vac to the return line and suck all fluid out without starting car?

[paul3x16]

hey my car is doing the same noise i didnt know what it was.. and now that i remember 3 months ago i put a little of break fluid in the power steering fluid.. and i just realize it yesterday arrr im so piss when i open the PWF reservoir it was low and has a brown color but 3 moths ago it was at it max.... i took it today to my mechanic to flush it. i had to buy 3 liters of the fluid 19.08 each bottle. hopefully nothing else is broken.. i just makes that noise when its cold but during the day the sounds goes away... plus i also broke the air connector...

[04 S4]

Thanks for the DIY! Found this while searching for the process for my b6 s4. Was 99% the same and worked great!!!

[sleepy_dinosaur]

I just replaced my PS pump on a '99 A6. Steering is tough and spongey. We tried putting the car on stands and turning lock to lock with car off and saw a good bit of air escaping through the res. We did it again with car on (res cap off) and nothing. We loosened the nut on the high pressure line running from the pump to the back of the engine and the steering fixed itself and felt normal...seconds later my guy took the cap off the res and the steering went back to tough/spongey. I am nearly certain there is a ton of air in the system....will it work itself out? How do I get the air out?

I'm desperate!

[brazilianbusa]

I just want to thank the author of this tread for all the good information on it.
I did mine yesterday, following the instructions on here and it worked out perfect!!!

[jiinxsta]

Thanks OP followed diy process was just like your diy! Super easy!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[JieMan]

Did mine a month ago 3.0 and have had no problems, got rid of the mating whales. Thanks OP

[needmovies]

anyone know if this will work for a b6 3.0:
http://www.blauparts.com/proddetail.asp?prod=J1B1001-A


there's some stuff I wanna buy from blauparts, but they have a minimum of $25 per order and the stuff I need is just $12. I'm planning on flushing the ps fluid soon anyways so I thought I'd grab some to get past the $25 minimum. But this is the only one they have available for b6 3.0

Thanks

[SlickFix]

^^ Yep, that's the stuff. Order away!

[needmovies]

^^ Yep, that's the stuff. Order away!

thanks man

[Lornnn]

Pentosin CHF11S is showing up on Blauparts as well... I used that in my B5 but use Pentosin CHF202 in my B6... have I been using the wrong stuff?

[SlickFix]

Pentosin CHF11S is showing up on Blauparts as well... I used that in my B5 but use Pentosin CHF202 in my B6... have I been using the wrong stuff?

According to this site, CHF202 is compatible with CHF11S. But interestingly, they only list CHF202 is being suitable for 2006+ A4's.

I guess if there's any doubt at all, Lornnn, I'd use CHF11S from now on.

[coowhip]

So this is or is not the right stuff for a B6??

[SlickFix]

So this is or is not the right stuff for a B6??

Depends what you mean by "this".

If this = CHF11S, then yes.

If this = CHF202, then maybe(but I wouldn't use it, personally).

[coowhip]

anyone know if this will work for a b6 3.0:
http://www.blauparts.com/proddetail.asp?prod=J1B1001-A


there's some stuff I wanna buy from blauparts, but they have a minimum of $25 per order and the stuff I need is just $12. I'm planning on flushing the ps fluid soon anyways so I thought I'd grab some to get past the $25 minimum. But this is the only one they have available for b6 3.0

Thanks

"THIS"

[SlickFix]

"THIS"

Yes, right above the price on that page it shows that it's the equivalent of CHF11S.

[needmovies]

Pentosin CHF11S is showing up on Blauparts as well... I used that in my B5 but use Pentosin CHF202 in my B6... have I been using the wrong stuff?

yeah I was gonna grab a couple pentosin CHF11S from them but noticed that they were no longer stocking that, and they said that they were replacing their stock with the ravenol one on the link I posted above so I was wondering if they're pretty much the same, which SlickFix said they were so I went ahead and ordered two bottles for my flush :D

[03a4b6ztk]

Interesting, ECS lists the CH202 for the b6.

[SlickFix]

It appears that the Ravenoil SSF fluid, along with the Pentosin CHF11S meet Audi spec G 002 000 M2

Pentosin CH202 and the other fluids on the ECS page meet Audi spec G 004 000 M2

So I guess the real question is whether the B6 is compatible with the Audi G 004 000 M2 spec.