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I have an '02 C4S. Several months ago, I accidentally drove up onto a curbed island and then very slowly eased the car down which caused a minor impact. I instantly noticed I had no power steering. I nursed the car about a mile home and had it towed down to my mechanic...needed a new steering pump/reservoirs and hoses leading to steering rack later...was shocked that such a low impact shunt caused such extensive and expensive damage. My mechanic was surprised at the damage and said there was no obvious evidence of impact...anyone else have similar experience?
An impact at just the right place it sounds like. The pump won't survive long w/out fluid...
Though I do have at least one extra pump at the shop if you need a used one. They're shared w/the boxster, not expensive or hard to find used.
Yeah...I guess that was it...and then, when I did get it back, turned out that there was an issue with the coupling on the reservoir...which took another few weeks to figure out...just got it back last week after almost 3 months...just crazy.
The bump didn't cause the steering problem, at least not directly.
What it reads like is the bump didn't ruin the rack but a high pressure relief valve failed and routed too high a pressure of fluid to the rack. This forces fluid past the rack seals which ruins the rack. The fluid is caught/held by the dust boots.
But things work ok until they don't.
The pump runs low on fluid and makes noise. By this time it is too late. The pump, rack and line with the valve have to be replaced.
That sounds like what I was told...as I understand it...the check valve at the end of the hose stuck closed, which backed up the steering fluid and I guess caused everything to back up and caused the melting of the pump and reservoir...I am stilll hearing very intermitent and very brief...like a millisecond...noises from the pump when I go over a bump on an incline, or like when I go over a driveway apron at a quick pace...not sure if there might be something up with the replacement pump that may have been damaged when the faulty reservoir parts were installed...but I'm not really sure yet. Keeping an ear on it...Thanks for your input.
The car should not make any noise of note when going over a bump certainly nothing from the engine compartment.
There have been reports of noises coming from steering or suspension hardware or a loose exhaust hanger or a loose/broken heat shield so I would believe the noise you are hearing is from one of these areas/sources. Your imagination puts it at the power steering pump.
You should hear no noise from the power steering pump (any accessory drive) at any time, unless of course you have your ear up against it when it is running.
Are you sure the noise is coming from the power steering pump? It would have to be some kind of weird problem to have the pump making noise when going over a bump. Hard to imagine a pump loose and flopping about but maybe (long shot) a power steering pump hose is not routed right/secured properly and the hose is thumping against some body panel when the car goes over a bump?
But have it looked into regardless.
I assume it's from the pump as it is a siimilar type of sound of the pump not getting fluid that I experienced before the first replacement reservoir failed...although it is only instantaneous...and most people probably wouldn't even hear it...could it maybe be an airbuble or something in the line? It is very intermittent (has happened on 3 occasions over a week and 250 miles). I appreciate your thoughts.
Well, my thoughts are the noise is not characteristic of a power steering pump. They just do not make noise when the car encounters a bump.
But there is a first time.
If you drive the car slowly down say an empty parking lot and turn the wheel sharply in one direction the other is the power steering pump (the car in fact) quiet? Be forewarned that if the tires are cold if the pavement is cold the inside front tire may skip and give you a false positive.
If you drive the car slowly down a parking lot with a lot of room and make a slow speed full lock u-turn and do this in both directions and at the end of the u-turn let the wheel come back to its center does the wheel return to the same center position every time?
If you encounter a bump does someone standing near the car and listening to the car hear the noise coming from the engine compartment, the power steering pump?
Have someone looking carefully under the car to see if something under the car is making contact with the pavement.
At the front of the car, are you sure the plastic bumper cover is not damaged, loose? Are you sure none of the number of panels at the front of the car underneath the car are loose, that all are secured? These include the wheel well liners.
This comment in another post of your's bothers me: "...the replacement pump that may have been damaged when the faulty reservoir parts were installed...but I'm not really sure yet".
Well, you need to be sure this was not the case.
There is the possibility debris from the previous pump in the pump reservoir or any reused lines could recreate the same failure/problem all over again.
