Help!

[BarryD]

My Father-In-Law's P reg (Mk2?) GTi has just decided to dump all of its' power-steering fluid on the drive.

Power steering jiggery-pokery is a mystery to me and I wondered if anyone could point us in the right direction?  Presumably it's undriveable with no fluid?  Is there a weak point in the system from which the leak may have come from?  What sort of pressure is the system under?

Would greatly appreciate any help.

[kniterider]

car should be ok to drive but steering will be extra heavy and take alot of work, leak could be any where, try topping it up with fluid and see if it works again? get it on the drive and leave it there, not for you to pay for!!!

[mk1]

Get it off the drive and phone the AA or RAC ( if he is a member) and get them to take the car to your local garage . Poss a corroded pipe or the pump has failed, racks tend to weep more than "dump".
Steve.

[richandhazel]

If you've lost all your fluid then don't run the engine until you have disconnected the drive belt to the pump! The pumps aren't designed to run without fluid in them!

My Hydraulic pump on my Audi blew a seal on the way to Wales, lost all my fluid. I cut the drivebelt off and continued my journey. Steering was extremely heavy and I lost the power assistance to the brakes.........it was worse than trying to stop a Mk1   (The Audi doesn't have a brake servo, it has hydraulic assisted brakes).

[golfvr6]

Agree with Rich again! The pump will be damaged if it is allowed to run without fluid, new pumps should always be primed. I wouldn't drive the car at all until it is sorted, if there is a leak from the rack then i'm sure i read somewhere that you shouldn't drive the car. Some Audis and VWs have a hydraulic servo instead of a vacuum one, but this will not affect your car.

[kniterider]

if it aint your car dont worry park it up and deny all knowledge!!! lol!save syou pounds!