power steering leak - pump relief valve??
Discussion
Hi all,
Backed car out of garage this morning only to discover two seperate pools of PAS fluid on the floor. Ran engine whilst watching pump/hoses etc and found it is leaking heavily from both ends of the hi-pressure pump to rack hose.
Was fine yesterday - don't see how both ends could have simultaneously failed overnight...?
Am I right in thinking that the pump has some kind of relief valve to stop it over-pressuring the rest of the system when it's not under load...??
If so, anyone experienced it becoming stuck shut or blocked with similar symptoms to above?
Any other views on cause?
many thanks, Andy
Backed car out of garage this morning only to discover two seperate pools of PAS fluid on the floor. Ran engine whilst watching pump/hoses etc and found it is leaking heavily from both ends of the hi-pressure pump to rack hose.
Was fine yesterday - don't see how both ends could have simultaneously failed overnight...?
Am I right in thinking that the pump has some kind of relief valve to stop it over-pressuring the rest of the system when it's not under load...??
If so, anyone experienced it becoming stuck shut or blocked with similar symptoms to above?
Any other views on cause?
many thanks, Andy
the hose as died simple as that 
It's a damned horse thief!Mine just got this:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1601914.htm
Its a big improvement on the original design and is now leak free for the first time in the three years I have owned my Chim.
In my opinion replacing the PS pipes should be part of your preventative maintenance schedule.
All hydraulic hoses tend to degrade internally over time, as they start to breakdown nasty streaky black deposits will appear in the PS fluid.
The early signs of this can be very hard to see in a black PS fluid reservoir.
The next thing that happens is tiny parts of the fine metal strands within the structure of the hose will come free and start to circulate through the system.
At this point failure of your rack seals is inevitable, and that's when it starts to get very expensive.
Remember the Chimaera PS rack is unique to the car, rebuilding it will be your only practical option.
The delicate internal parts are easily damaged when stripping and resembling the rack so a rebuild is a job you should only trust to a very experienced hydraulic specialist.
Avoid at all costs the so called PS rack reconditioner that operates in a dirty environment using a set of stilsons and a filthy hide hammer, there are lots of them out there.
Most of these monkeys end up scoring the internal bore of the ram, if they score the bore the new seals will never hold the fluid back.
Your only option will be to find someone who can machine away the original industrial hard chrome and re-chrome the bore of the ram, & that's very very expensive.
If your hoses have started to leak it's the car asking you for new hoses.
I strongly recommend you replace every hose ASAP, ultimately it will save you a lot of money & hassle in the long run.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1601914.htm
Its a big improvement on the original design and is now leak free for the first time in the three years I have owned my Chim.
In my opinion replacing the PS pipes should be part of your preventative maintenance schedule.
All hydraulic hoses tend to degrade internally over time, as they start to breakdown nasty streaky black deposits will appear in the PS fluid.
The early signs of this can be very hard to see in a black PS fluid reservoir.
The next thing that happens is tiny parts of the fine metal strands within the structure of the hose will come free and start to circulate through the system.
At this point failure of your rack seals is inevitable, and that's when it starts to get very expensive.
Remember the Chimaera PS rack is unique to the car, rebuilding it will be your only practical option.
The delicate internal parts are easily damaged when stripping and resembling the rack so a rebuild is a job you should only trust to a very experienced hydraulic specialist.
Avoid at all costs the so called PS rack reconditioner that operates in a dirty environment using a set of stilsons and a filthy hide hammer, there are lots of them out there.
Most of these monkeys end up scoring the internal bore of the ram, if they score the bore the new seals will never hold the fluid back.
Your only option will be to find someone who can machine away the original industrial hard chrome and re-chrome the bore of the ram, & that's very very expensive.
If your hoses have started to leak it's the car asking you for new hoses.
I strongly recommend you replace every hose ASAP, ultimately it will save you a lot of money & hassle in the long run.
Edited by Chimpafrolic on Sunday 16th October 11:11
BliarOut said:
I'd replace all the flexible PAS pipes, flush the whole system and fit a magnefine filter in the return line unless you fancy a rack rebuild in the very near future.
seconded,i would recommend changing the fluid every couple of years also especially considering how little fluid the system holds and the miniscule cost and work involved to carry out.Gassing Station | Chimaera | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff