Power Steering Fluid Reservoir Filter Removal?

[Pauls898]

Hi all, I'm trying to change my Power Steering Fluid as it's gone very black :-(
I have tried to suck some out of the Reservoir but it has this White Filter mounted in the filling neck so you can't suck much of the fluid out of it :-( I have tried a couple times but the fluid is still very dirty?
The hose clips on it seem a special crimp on type and I have no way of putting these back if I break them off, OK I could use jubilee clips as a last resort. If anyone know how to remove this white filter? it is loose and will turn around but obviously it's clipped in some how? Is there a special tool to remove this? and does anyone know if there's another filter deep in the bass which would require cleaning as the circulating fluid doesn't go back though this filter, this is purely for filling purposes only to stop dirt or other items falling in there.
I have attached a picture of the type of Reservoir which is fitted to my car.
Thanks

[niall campbell]

you could use a syringe or a suction tool ..................... perhaps the one to drain engine oil via the dipstick. Sealey 6.5L Manual Vacuum Oil and Fluid Extractor: Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-Manual-Vacuum-Fluid-Extractor/dp/B000RA16CO/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1459527757&sr=8-6&keywords=oil+suction+pump) I have that one and love it

You could also slacken off a pipe and run engine,, turning the wheel lock to lock but watch the pump doesn't dry out too much

The syringe or suction would be best, just keep switching engine on/ off , turn the wheel and top oil up, oil goes black & drain again.

Use MINERAL or SYNTHETIC as marked on the cap !!

My A6 has upgraded oil spec so check with dealer

[Pauls898]

No Thanks Niall Well I've done the Power Steering (http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_nkw=power+steering) Fluid change, well as well as I could do it, I found I couldn't remove a hose as they have special high pressure hose clips and I got no way of re-doing these up :-( So I took to sucking the fluid out of the reservoir filling cap, however there's a filter in there so I could only suck out half the fluid out, so I did it about 5 times using up a litre of Power Steering (http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_nkw=power+steering) fluid, it was very black what I sucked out, ran the car went for a drive and sucked it out again, seem a lot cleaner now and is now Green, looks like Fairy Liquid :-)

The stuff I got from Audi dealer recommended was VOLKSWAGEN G 004 000 M2 in case anybody else fancies doing there's As I said I used up almost the whole litre bottle by sucking out as much as the filter would allow re-filling, turning the steering from Lock to Lock a few times, on the forth go I drove the car about 20 Miles and did it again, so think I've got most of the old dirty stuff out.

But does anybody know how to remove that little white filter from the top of the reservoir ? It seems loose will turn around but it won't lift out eerrrg to enable sucking out the whole reservoir contents :-(


If not I shall break the two clips and remove the whole thing, give it a good wash and clean out and replace using standard jubilee clips and fill it again with fresh clean fluid, my problem is un unable to empty it fully so it may well have dirt and slug in the bottom? When I put my steering on FULL lock I get a grinding noise from the pump in both directions when at FULL lock? is that normal behaviour?


Thanks

[niall campbell]

you should never put the wheel on full lock as this will burst the seals

you should hear a change in note the power steering, but no grinding noise ......................... you may want to hear another car to distinguish if its grinding or more like a slight squeal

The oil depends on what it is , hence its either mineral oil or not. They should not be mixed

[Pauls898]

you should never put the wheel on full lock as this will burst the seals I never knew that :-( Maybe it's not a gridding noise but a noise as if the pump is under load?

The oil is what Audi dealer recommended was for my vehicle, it's green in colour and has the part number of VOLKSWAGEN G 004 000 M2 I got 2 litres of the stuff, just frustrated as I can't get this filter out of the reservoir so next I'm going to break off the hose clips off and remove the reservoir from the car so I can empty it all out and clean it out properly and then put in some fresh fluid and try again :-)

[niall campbell]

yes it will sound as if its under load, this is normal sound

I am sure the oil is correct, its just if anyone else reads this post, its read the cap to check if its mineral or not.

Just run engine and turn wheel lock to lock a few times, if the reservoir fills up with black oil, suck out with a syringe, fill up with your green oil and repeat turning wheel until theres no sign of any black oil

That's it.

Turning the wheel a few times will also get rid of any air if present

[Pauls898]

Yes that's basically what I've done, today I did try to remove the reservoir so I could properly empty it, I got the clamp off but the hoses were much too short to enable me to get at them, plus they were really thick steel spring type clips, which I couldn't even cut off with risk of breaking something, so I decided to put it all back together and just fill it once more with clean fluid.

On the cap it does say G 002 000 which it what I thought it was, obviously Audi have superseded this with their G 004 000 M2 fluid :-)

[Rob69]

Paul - As Niall says, best to try and compare the pump noise to another car, the fact your oil went very black and you think your pump may be noisy suggests to me the pump is breaking down, I've never had an A4 pump to bits on the bench, but suspect they will be sliding vane type pump and one or more of the vanes has broken or they are very badly worn.
All that contaminated oil will ultimately damage the rack seals in the longer term.
I'd suggest keep an eye and ear on the green oil and pump and maybe budget for a replacement pump and system flush as far as possible. I think your oil change is a short term fix.

[Pauls898]

Cheers Rob, yes I shall keep an eye on it's colour, but from memory I don't think this has been attended too since the car was new :-( It's now 7 years old so expect it would of got dirty over that time, the car has covered 37,000 from new and I have in the past had it serviced at the garage, but having caught them out in the past, ticking things off in the service manual and not actually changing the part!! I decided from now on I'm going to service it myself.
I've done an Oil and Filter change, Bled all four brakes passing 250ml though each wheel, changed the air filter, pollen filter and now the Power Steering fluid, the only thing I'm not so sure about is the fuel filter? someone said it was under the floor somewhere but as yet I've not found it :-(
I don't do the mileage since I'm now retied I only do about 3000 per year so this service will last me another 2 years having used long life Oil. Next is the MOT :-(
Cheers

[Rob69]

Ok Paul, keep an eye on it, but low mileage and 7 years old I wouldn't expect the oil to be very black. It's a sealed hydraulic circuit and the only place (in theory) contamination can come from is the system itself. Good luck with the MOT, mine's later this month!

[Pauls898]

Thanks Rob, yes car sailed thought it's MOT with no problems, I even got the dealer to reset the service indicator giving me 730 Days and 365 days respectfully on the system inspection service and oil service so at least that won't nag me again for a couple years lol (I know I can reset the Oil one myself in the MMI. Glad I was able to change out all the fluids so good for another 2 years motoring :-)