Hydraulic failure happening?

[meep]

My trusty TZD seems to be giving me some hydraulic problems, after having been fine since I bought in Oct '04.

Quick history, when I got it I was going to flush the hydraulics, but the LHM was nice and bright and clean, so I didn't.

Anyway now the Stop light is on all the time, but without any of the others (and I've changed all the dash bulbs, carefully checking that they were all working first ).

Steering is well heavy, and the suspension isn't rising fully.

First candidate is to change the pump belt, as I haven't done this at all yet - that's been fine, but's got maybe a bit more than a 1/4" play now, so I'm going to start by replacing that anyway.

As far as I know, there's no leaks.

The regulator used to click about every 30 seconds, didn't hear it at all tonight.

Anything else I should take a look at tomorrow/spares I should get before everywhere closes by tomorrow afternoon??

[cauchoiskev]

Have you tried taking off the leakage return pipes one by one to see if there's anything amiss?

If your regulator is not ticking, then the pump is unable to supply enough LHM to overcome the internal leaks. This could be due to the pump itself (or slack belt), a dirty/faulty FDV, or a serious internal leakage. The easiest thing to check first is the return pipes.

[jeremy]

The hydraulic pump belt should be VERY tight - much tighter than an alternator belt!

Check the LHM level - it will drop as the spheres age - and drop suddenly if one ruptures.

If you've still got problems - look at the hose from the reservoir to the pump - any air getting in here will cause all manner of problems. In particular this should be suspected if the hose has been removed. BOTH ends must be clamped tightly.

Look for the easy things first - before dismantling anything!

[meep]

Have you tried taking off the leakage return pipes one by one to see if there's anything amiss?

If your regulator is not ticking, then the pump is unable to supply enough LHM to overcome the internal leaks. This could be due to the pump itself (or slack belt), a dirty/faulty FDV, or a serious internal leakage. The easiest thing to check first is the return pipes.

Spot on!

On Saturday, I bought 3 litres of LHM (the motor factors didn't do 5 litres, but did me a price on 3 bottles ). Two litres later, normal service was resumed, with a nasty leak

After a fun time crawling around underneath, I eventually found a union of three return pipes at the LH end of the steering rack. The one going into the sleeve above the rack along with some other pipes had pulled loose. Shoving it back in has sorted this for now.

Is this part of the dreaded octopus?

Also there seems to be LHM on the outside of the accumulator sphere (but not an active, dripping leak), not sure where it's coming from?

Although I can't see any leaks, the regulator is clicking almost continuously, so I guess I've got more issues? (even though I've done at least 100 miles since then with no problem)

And one last question, what are the two thin pipes that go into the reservoir filler cap?

(or rather, the ones that went into the cap - the 'Y' piece has snapped off )

[Philip Chidlow]

The drip of LHM on the Accumulator sphere is probably from the FDV (Flow Distributor Valve) that's on the front of the engine with lots of pipes going in and out. (You can see how technical I am). If it's weeping LHM as my GTi is it might be a case of tightening GENTLY the union/connections. I haven't got round to doing mine yet...

The pipes that drain into the reservoir are from the power steering, I think.