Yesterday the strut tops arrived so I can make my Saab safe to drive again. Today, on the way home from work, the power steering pump in the bimmer died.
No warning, I was pulling into a parking spot and suddenly the car is jerking and shuddering.. doing worse the harder I turn left. Shut the car off, check the fluid, fluid was good, but there was smoke coming out of the reseviour.
So, I get the car home.. I have power steering going right, manual steering going left. It is only a matter of time before the pump compleatly goes to E36 M3 and takes something else with it. To judge by the pully, it is causing a lot of drag as it is the ONLY pully on that belt that is compleatly shiney. As it shares the belt with the waterpump and alternator, I am parking the car until I can get it fixed.
At least I can fix the saab today and drive that
The final straw that made me buy a newer car was when on my way home from work one day I had an issue with my 280Z. I looked at the antique 4 cars sitting in my driveway and had to decide which one I had to work on so I could get to work the next day. Soon after that I bought an 06 MINI.
I'm having a week like that at work.
But when my Z3 blew up (water pump took out, well, a whole bunch of E36 M3), I drove my Miata for a month while I waited to gather some extra money so that fixing the bimmer wouldn't hurt so much. Wealp, 3 weeks later, the Miata stopped pumping fuel. I had to rig it up to work with a fuse, in a wire which was attached to the battery at one end and the pump at the other. Of course, I spent $140 on a new fuel pump because I thought that was the problem with the Miata. No. It was a mothertruckin' wire!!! Easy fix, but man, hard to digest after you almost blew your $2008 budget.
Sounds like the shuttle valve in the rack failed more than the pump. The pump tends to just provide pressure, the rack actually directs it. Perhaps flushing the rack and pump might help.
Carefully jack the front of the car up, brace it properly and disconnect the return line to the pump at the pump side (should be a smaller line) and put this line into a bucket or drain pan, use a small clamp or duct tape to hold the line in the pan/bucket. Start the car and slowly turn the wheel left/right lock to lock and watch the fluid level. If you're lucky the gunk in the rack will get pumped out and all will start working again. If you're not then you still have to replace the pump and possibly the rack including the lines and belt.
Good luck!
Stefan
Yeah, I wuz gonna say sounds more like rack than pump.
510: That's how I wound up with a '97 Camry in '98.
510: that's what I used to call my "one car on payments" theory. The idea being that I should always have at least one car new enough to still be under warranty, and theoretically reliable. It has been ammended to include the "never mess with the daily driver" theory.
Now I call it the "just drive the friggin' Corolla" theory!
well, I got the saab all fixed.. nice and smooth again and got rid of that annoying clunk. Guess I was right for once.
As for the Bimmer, took a small look under her. No fluid in the resevour, so I refilled it, started her up, and ran the rack back and forth.. and sprayed fluid all over my driveway. What ever it is, the spray is most when the rack is at full lock.
Sunday, when I have a free afternoon, I will get the car on ramps and try and find the leak. It is hard to tell with the pump sitting right ontop of the rack like that
Probably the hoses. It will be a messy, awful repair, I'm sure.
At least the Saab is fixed!
Well to add to my upcoming misery. Got word today they are going to ripping up my street and repaving it this coming week.
Of course this coming week is one of my busiest. I have 5 "project: Graduations" I need to work with my video gig. These start at 11pm at night and end at about 3am.. which means I get home around 5am... get to sleep around 5:30 or 6.. and they will start roadwork around 7...
