Power Steering Finally Sorted!, What a ******** job though.

To all those who have followed the loss of power steering saga it is now working. Having changed pump, FDV, Doseur valve in the belief that the pad warning light that comes on if I touch the brakes but goes out if I rev up had something do do with it, pressure regulator and finally having bitten the bullet, the dreaded steering pinion valve. That was the culprit. Having been told that this could be changed without rack removal I started but by the time I reached the rigid pipes that go to the ram, having already removed most of the skin from my hands on the various bits in the way, I decided that there really was nothing else other than removing the entire rack. Having long forgotten the twist and turn sequence for getting this out through the ridiculously small gap by the time it was out, comes out with the pinion spline at 1 o/clock, I had had just about enough and looking like Al Jolson I went off to have a shower. Bought new O rings and rack to subframe nuts. Day two saw me full of the joys of spring till I got as far as bolting the rack in. Alone there is nobody to counteract the rack's desire to tip backwards and so make screwing the nut and bolt together impossible. Slammed everything, told it what I thought of it and went for another shower. This morning with a friend's help bolted rack in connected everything up and hey presto power steering works. Very small leak from pressure regulator area but will look at that another day. Red pad light still comes on if I touch the brakes and goes out when I rev up but who cares!!

Congratulations Jim!
I know this one has plagued you for quite a while now, well done for having the determination to stick with it, when lesser mortals would have binned it long ago out of sheer frustration. It mustve been a satisfying feeling when it finally worked!

Ciarán

well done Jim!!

know what you mean about doing the job solo, took me 14hours when I swapped the rack out on the V6. Mine didn't keep tipping back over though, was just a mega pain getting it back in and then turned to sit on the subframe, another pair of hands would've been a big help.

It's a sod trying to get it back in and not tearing the gaiters though isn't it.
Any reason for renewing the bolts? They look pretty solid and seemed in good nick so I didn't bother on mine.

Hope you have some trouble free motoring for a while after all this...

regards
Dave

Well done Jim, I ended up taking mine to the Indie when my ram fixing snapped. I tried for three days lying on my back under the car and gave up in the end. Congratulations on your determination

Once you have sussed out the twisting turning routine it is relatively easy, compared say to flying a 747 solo with no previous flying experience, but it is a two person job because otherwise you are constantly on one side of the car then the other, underneath it then on top. Citroen have excelled themselves on a couple of bits, like the leak off pipe which needs the centre sphere removed to get it back in and the two pipes that connect to the pinion valve via banjo bolts and need to be in exactly the right attitude to go back in without the O rings falling out.

I never renewed the bolts I renewed the nuts I baulked at the bolts price, £27!! I had to renew one of the nuts because when the rack was tipped backwards the thread got damaged before I realised what was happening. Give Measham Citroen their due I ordered the O rings and nuts at 3.30pm and they were there by 8.45am the following day.

By the way if you are in a scrappies and get the chance to buy the return pipes from the pinion valve, two shortish metal pipes joined together coming up to two brass connectors on the pinion valve, my ones sprung a leak £130 from Citroen!!

It is one of the most frustrating jobs I have ever done, I came so close to beating the car to death as I screamed at it. My neighbours must think I was barmy.

me too

luckily I've still got the rack I swapped out and the pinion on that seems to have been ok, just the housing mounting plate is cracked. The pipes on it are ok too, which is handy as the ones in the car are, so as you say, useful spares to have.

Must've been lucky with the o-rings as mine stayed put.

regards
Dave

I recently grabbed a set on Ebay for under £3.00 just in case, even the salesman said "Bloody hell, go to a scrapyard, these are £130 +VAT" Trouble is they are unique so you are knackered. How you did it on your own I don't know.

Hi Jim

That's where those pipes went! I was with you all the way on that job - congratulations! I changed the rack on my previous estate only to find that the play was in the universal joint.

The ram retaining bolt fell out of my sons estate laste year and concertinered and fractured those two pipes, you can imigine the problem I had removing them and fitting replacements. I did get them in eventually but it must have taken me at least six hours over a period of three days. Having get the first one in, I had to remove it again because I couldn't tighten the other one up! They let me out a few days later and I am almost OK now apart from the twitch.

Peter.N.

Problem is they are rigid pipes and have to be lined up exactly, a fraction out and they just will not go in and it is heart in your mouth when you start up in case an O ring has fallen out. When I saw the pipes on Ebay I recognised them immediately and as I got mine from a scrap car I don't know how long they will last so better safe then sorry. There is still a slight leak from either FDV or Regulator pipe or pipes but I will look at that later once I, and my neighbours, recover. My neighbours must love me, Colin Salmon, the black guy, M's assistant in the Brosnan Bond's lives opposite, David Cameron lives two streets away and often visits his mate who lives opposite too and is I believe something to do with the Financial Times editorial office, might even be the editor, Laurence Delaglio was living around the corner so you can just guess how happy they are at seeing some pikey with his car on axle stands and litres of green oil running down the road and being trodden across the pavements. I bet every time I raise the bonnet property values drop by fifty grand in my road!! "Don't consider that road there's a gipsy living there".

I don't have any neighbors

Peter.N.

Lucky you. Mine glare at me as the go past specially when it decides to dump litres of fluid on the road.

Jim