E30 Zone

Hi,i need a bit of your help and opinion on the power steering pump system.I had a small leak coming from under the reservoir and it was due to a small crack at the top of the hose which i solved by cutting a piece from the edge and put new clips but whilst everything was out i decided to change the oil so i took out as much as i can of the old,fitted everything back,refilled with new oil and obviously i bled the air out as much as possible by turning the steering wheel from lock to lock several times,even with the car on axle stands as recommended by haynes manual.Air bubbles came even with the wheels straight with turning the steering wheel (I found that quite strange) But the problem is that after the oil change and bleeding,the steering is still quite stiff which wasn't before,when turning from lock to lock there is a whining noise and now there is a leak from the underside of the pump which i can't locate but it's not from the hose connections....I will try to upload a video clip soon.

Help would be greatly appreciated !
Thanks

What fluid did you fill up with?

Air bubbles in the system usually means a leaking hose...the return hose to the reservoir can pick up pin pricks which let air in.

I used ATF DEXRON lll.....what's really bothering me is that the pump is leaking oil and it doesn't seem to be from the hose connections.

And the hoses attached to the reservoir are quite tight...in fact i'm afraid to tighten them more cause it might crack the reservoir itself !

If the pump is leaking oil, that'll also be where the air is getting in. Replacement pump required.

Is it a whole pump or is there any kind of kit ? I find it quite strange cause this e30 has only just covered 15,000 miles !

Gaskets are listed for some makes, but no internal parts.
They are usually reliable, but can be damaged by a low fluid level. Your best course is a second hand one from one of our reputable traders, even if the carriage is a bit costly.

I will give the pump a good check first and i go from there.cause all this happened since i changed the belt strangely enough.

Excessive belt tension?

Pump mounting bushes worn out? Moving the pump to fit the new PAS belt finished off bushes - pump now at angle because of he bushes so original shaft seal now being encouraged to leak due to angle?

RealOEM.com lists repair sets (RS) or this time they are calling it a "DS" to rebuild the pump might be worth a try - look up your car by chassis number and see (for example):-

06 GASKET SET VANE PUMP VICKERS 1 32411133023 $37.04

06 GASKET SET VANE PUMP ZF 1 32411135880 $41.08

Use the part numbers to see how much the items listed as Repair Sets (or "DS"?) on the pictograms cost at your local franchised BMW dealer.

Thanks for the spares info,I will definitely check with realoem.....the belt is quite tight,infact it's never been so tight before cause the belt was a bit smaller in size and it fitted exactly so there was very minimum room for adjusting.
Could the leak or stiffness be due to this ?

Use last seven numbers of VIN as chassis number on RealOEM to find out what size belt you should be using - according to RealOEM for me it should be "05 FAN BELT AVX 10X813 1 32421316785 $34.33" with 10x813 (10mm being width of belt & 813mm being belt size) it is printed on all drive belts so compare to what you have now - a shorter belt will turn pump slightly faster so might increase assistance slightly - if the belt tension adjustment was seriously over tight it might damage an old seal.

15k miles is noted - but seals can fail with no use just by going hard with the passage of time.

What make of Dexron III did you use & where did you get it?

Isn't there a strainer built in to the bottom of the PAS reservoir - I wonder if that strainer gets blocked what symptoms it would cause - stiffness? Would probably limit the flow of oil to the pump.

Putting on a new oil supply pipe to the pump might be a cheap solution - once they have gone that hard it can be difficult to make them seal even with tight clamps. Some people say they can disintegrate internally too.

Easiest way to get air out fast is to fill up reservoir leave engine off then slowly turn steering from lock to lock a few times (which will make the hydraulic assistance piston in the rack push most of the air out) top up repeat then finally start engine - check and finally top up again - often there will be a residue of bubbles left that are normally gone by the next day - but if they wont go away and keep coming back then you have a problem.

If your E30 has only done 15,000 miles it is also worth bearing in mind that all rubber pipes and hoses deteriate with age....and particularly the timing belt so you need to consider replacing these items soon if they were not replaced recently!