Power steering fluid shooting out of the reservoir cap!

[Drenick]

03' A4 avant 3.0 I had a small power steering leak somewhere, and about once every month or two I had to put a little bit more ps fluid in to stop the groaning. Pretty sure I was using the right stuff--11S. Then a couple weeks ago, I put some more in, and next thing I noticed it was shooting it back out of the reservoir cap.
I took the reservoir off and inspected it the best I could, all the ports seemed functional. When I put it back together, it just bubbles and splashes out of the top. And when I put more ps fluid in, the power steering works fine and is quiet, but it still shoots out of the cap, and starts groaning again when it gets low on ps fluid. I have talked to 3 different shops and gotten 3 different answers..?%#
I also tried bleeding it..
I ordered a new pump last week, but then they emailed back and said they were out of stock. My question is should I start w replacing the ps pump? Or is it possible that it is not the pump? One guy from one Audi dealership said he had only seen this problem once before in 10 years, and it wasn't the pump..
What ta do? Where should I start?
And if you think it is the ps pump, can anyone send me a good DIY link for 03' 3.0 ? Thanks so much.
Doug


Now I think it is the pump, the return line, or the reservoir...?) In the small hose feeding into the filter, there are two hose clamps about 3 inches apart.. Doesn't show these in the Audi diagram. Maybe some kind of flow control? I read another post and a guy said he bought that new hose from the dealer and it didn't have one either...???

[AudiNFS]

It's supposed to shoot out the cap. It's how it counteracts the reservoir being overfilled. There's a little hole in the cap for that exact reason.

[old guy]

You are probably pulling air into the suction side of the P/S pump. Check the hose fittings between the reservoir and pump and make sure they are tight.

[road_tripper]

Read this thread

[old guy]

Read this thread

Nice link! Lots of detail on the problem.

[rollerton]

I've experienced a sort of similar problem- on a C5 A6 Avant O owned last year. When I got the car the owner had replaced the P.S. pump fairly recently. But it still had some intermittent groaning. After a month or so of ownership I did all the clamps etc and did a quick P.S. fluid refresh. Didn't help. Pretty soon I noticed the reservior seemed like it was leaking- replaced it. Same thing.
I found that it had almost no power steering assist at idle, but it worked OK when the engien speed was up- but it would groan. Also, when I looked I saw the fluid didnt circulate at idle but would shoot out the reservoir when teh engine was rev'd = leak found.
Removed the pump, it was *mint* . No slop, totally smooth.
Bleeding/ flushign did nothing.
Removed the pump again, tore it apart. I found a very VERY small hairline crack in the inside oval-shaped pump housing. I can't recall what that pump design terminology is- but it's confusing when you take it apart. I assume the crack was opening up under pressure- and that there was higher pressure in the rack end of the circuit than back to the reservior when the engine was rev'd. Causing the fluid to back up.
Anyway, summary: when a similar thing happened to me I had a bad P.S. pump.

[JEENYUS]

i'll tell you right now i had the same issue. i replaced the reservoir and it solved the issue. there was something that was not allowing it to get pulled into the system so the return line would shoot up the ps fluid due to the back pressure.

[Drenick]

Hey guys, thanks so much for ur responses. I'm gonna try to work on it tomorrow. I'll post back when I figure it out.. Seriously appreciate the help and advice.

[Drenick]

Thanks, but I know the cap has a hole for that reason.
It seems to be pulling the fluid in ok, but it shoots it back into the resrevior with a high spattering and spitting, making it splash up everywhere. I guess I'm gonna study more diagrams on the power steering and rack, check all the lines the best I can, (I bought some screw clamps) and then I'll try to fill and bleed it one more time? Maybe I'm not bleeding it right?? I'm lost@%#! The pump, and power steering all seem to work perfect when filled w fluid, but it spits it out on the return to resrevior, making it spit air and fluid.. Maybe it's pulling in air somewhere after the pump? Everything is dry around the pump.. Does anyone think it is or isn't the pump? Any other ideas?