Stranded, massive power steering leak

[Jtozier9]

I was driving in reverse and went into drive. All of a sudden I had no power steering. As I pulled forward there was a large power steering spill in the road. It appears to be from behind the engine. Here are some pictures. I also broke the secondary air pump hose while trying to look, so ignore that broken POS.

[Jtozier9]

Pictures in my gallery.

[glennda5id]

The rack is behind the engine. Could be supply or return hose. Probably a return hose.

The car should be driveable without power steering but you might burn out the pump with no fluid. Probably best to get it towed.

[Jtozier9]

I drove about .5 miles to a safe parking spot so hopefully it is ok. I don't have a diagram so it is hard to tell what is what back there. Say I find the hose do I need special clamps? Can I just replace and fill the reservoir?

[Xplycko]

The best way to see it imo is to disconnect the battery then take out the battery. Under the battery is a tray, you will need to take it out to see the top of the rack. All of these bolts i just mentioned are 13mm. If you need to you can take off the front wheels to get access through the side. The rack is under the battery and acc tray.

Sent from my LGL62VL using Audizine mobile app

[glennda5id]

The return hose is something like 15mm but 5/8" fuel line or even coolant hose would work in a pinch.

If its the pressure feed line then you will need the part from audi and it loops up under the intake.

Could be something else too like a blown rack seal.

[Jtozier9]

I uploaded a new photo to my gallery. It has a red circle around a hose that has a pretty significant amount of fluid/gunk on it. How to test? Do I dismantle and examine the hose or fill up the reservoir with more fluid and watch for leaks?

[glennda5id]

Fill it up and check for leaks.

Looks like its shooting fluid up the firewall? Could be the pressure hose.

Where is the car currently?

[Jtozier9]

We got her to my house so that's good. But my only vehicle so I am slightly stranded here and our closest auto parts store is an hour away. Not sure if ace hardware has the right fluid or not.

[glennda5id]

The system calls for a hydraulic fluid. Standard Dexron Transmission fluid will work in a pinch.

Once you have it repaired I would drain and fill with the OE stuff or Pentosin Hydraulic Fluid (available at Oreillys if you have one near by)

[Jtozier9]

I have some pentosin atf1 on hand. Either way it will probably just run out of it once I start her up. So you think that would be ok?

[glennda5id]

Thats fine but kind of a waste given the price of that stuff. I would push Dex through it until you figure out the issue.

[glennda5id]

The hose in you picture in the gallery is the return line I believe. The connection at the pump is a steel line braided to a rubber line. Best repair option is the whole line.

C5_PowerSteering.jpg

What is your make/model/year?

[Jtozier9]

Thanks so much for your help. I have been working 13 hour days through the weekend so I have had limited time to take everything apart. Biking to work now without the vehicle!

2004 Audi Allroad 2.7t

Is there a trick to getting the hoses off? Do they have a special clamp?

[Jtozier9]

The hose in you picture in the gallery is the return line I believe. The connection at the pump is a steel line braided to a rubber line. Best repair option is the whole line.

C5_PowerSteering.jpg

What is your make/model/year?

I was finally able to get under the hood today and put some ATF in the system. It drained really fast from a different location. I could see it coming from this spot (new picture in my gallery). If you are looking at the throttle body it is to the down and to the left. There is some hose headed to the back of the engine. I could barely see in there but could see it leaking out of a connection. Could this be 6 in the diagram you uploaded?

[glennda5id]

That is a good possibility
That is the pressure line. If leaking there is should be filling up the area under the intake with PS fluid. Can you see fluid under the intake?

Sounds like your next step is to pull the intake.

[Jtozier9]

Yes I could see fluid there. My Bentley manual should be showing up Thursday. Will that describe how to take out the intake manifold? Do I need any special tools to change this hose out?

Have you ever used a used PS hose or is that a bad idea. I can get one for $40 vs. $300.

[Jtozier9]

That is a good possibility
That is the pressure line. If leaking there is should be filling up the area under the intake with PS fluid. Can you see fluid under the intake?

Sounds like your next step is to pull the intake.

Since I won't be able to look at how to do this job till I have the manual. Is there anything I need to order before hand you can think of? Like any gaskets, etc. New vacuum lines?

[glennda5id]

You will need the hose, seems to be dealer only. You will need a set of intake manifold gaskets.

[glennda5id]

The job is only listed as 1.8 hours, grade B mechanic. Shouldn't be too bad. Maybe you don't need to remove the intake.

[Jtozier9]

Just an update. I ended up getting a used hose from audis 4 parts for like $40 and have driven about 3k miles since. I was able to change it out in about 30 minutes by fishing it under the intake manifold. Thanks for the help with running the ATF through the system, that really helped diagnose what hose it was.