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[coach123]

i have been trying to find an answer to the problem above...found a thread in the old forum but alas already locked.

anyway, following the suggestions in the old thread regarding resealing the ZF milano PS pump (by Nizam) i actually managed to get some shop here in malaysia to replace all the o-rings (yes, he has the o-rings...even for the 6 small ones, one big one, and the 6 other o-rings located behind those big-cross caps located on the circumference of the pump head). but i still get mixed results.

1) the PS pump itself has definitely stop leaking (used to leak at the sides, etc).

2) but the PS pump is still causing foaming/bubbling of the PS fluid, resulting in the fluid to foam out of the reservoir (thru the vent hole in the cap).

is there anything else that needs to be done to solve problem (2) above? i've even replaced those pressure hoses (one more to replace) but after replacing 2 i don't see much improvement in problem (2) still. a new pump is very expensive and it will be the last resort.

btw, since my name is hard to pronounce and remember, my friends always refer to me as 'coach'...nickname.

[Barry]

Coach,Power steering pumps normally foam and froth in the header bottle-You sure your level is correct? Not overfilled??

Is thre pump whining or grumbling at all?If not,check the level-I hope its something as simple as this......

Barry

[MD]

Background
I have carried out a conversion on an Alfetta Sportiva and fitted a power steering rack using a combination of 75 rack and 164 pump. All worked fine for about 12 months.

Problem
The pump is now making a whinning/grinding noise and causing a lot more foaming in the oil tank than it used to. The system still operates well but obviuously there is a problem.

No apparent leaks and the system "integrigty" otherwise seems fine. Good belt, new hoses and connections.

Have worked on a lot of Alfa stuff over the years but must confess detail ignorance of power steering diagnostics.

Power steering Gurus, please step into the spotlight.

Any advice (of the helpful kind) much appreciated.

MD

[coach123]

hi all,

i don't think it's normal to foam and bubble till it becomes like a float, and thus spilling out of the reservoir. when i custom fit a 146 boxer PS pump to it, there was no foaming, but it wasn't working properly with the rack. also, the PS pump in my 155 16v doesn't foam the fluid.

anyway, i guess have to live with it till some guru has a final solution.

cheers!

[Barry]

Coach,MD,We ran [power steering on the 3 gta race cars here and found to be replacing pumps regularly.As in at least 2 pumps per car last season.The problem we had was temperature.The strange thing was that we replaced the pump and it was good and quiet.opening up the old pumps we found that they were as good as new!! No visible deteriation at all,yet the whined more than a mother in law when used again.

The pumps lasted longer with more cooling of the fluid though.

This realy does not help anyone does it?

Barry

[MD]

Hey Bazza, (Australian for Barry)

Picked up on your suggestion for cooling the fluid.

I omitted to say that I also fitted an auto transmission cooler in the hydraulic circuit.

I am starting to think it's more customisation time and fit a foreigner on it that is possibly more reliable. It already has German electrics, Jap air conditioning so another deviation is neither here nor there.

Thanks just the same.

MD

[coach123]

hi all, just to provide some updates.

a few weekends ago, decided to try something to see if it helps the pump. used some 100% silicon and basically sealed up all the joins, gaps and such on the ZF PS pump (outside) in the hope of sealing off any potential air leaking into the pump. result? not much help...foaming still occurs.

got a bit fedup, decided to just fabricate a spill-over tank for the PS fluid reservoir. fit a hose to the breather on the reservoir cap, run the hose into a mineral water bottle thru a fitting hole in the bottle cap. also, drilled a breather hole (with a L-shape breather straw fitted into it) on the bottle cap as well to ensure no pressure build-up. secure the bottle properly at the side of the reservoir. result? so far so good! very satisifed with the simple contraption...the PS fluid will just overflow into the bottle thru the hose (thus avoiding spilling out all over the reservoir and onto the engine bay). also, since the bottle is long enough (600ml), the overspilled fluid doesn't get out of the bottle thru the breather hose (prevents foaming and bubble in the bottle as well...fluid stabilizes). also, since the hose is long enough to reach the bottom of the bottle, when u turn off the engine and it cools down enough inside the reservoir to create a lower pressure than atmosphere, fluid gets sucked back into the reservoir, keeping the level ok. of course, i could always just refill the reservoir with the collected fluid in the bottle.

been running hard with this workaround for 1 week plus, and i can say i'm happy with the result. hope it will help those with similar problem.

cheers!