Viewing an S8 Tonight - Help!!

[Turbo Tony]

Thanks very much for the viewpoints. They're really appreciated.

I've got to work on recognising my own prejudice and making sure they don't lead me to the wrong decision, so it's only fair to ignore the stuff that isn't to my taste.

I've managed to get my VCDS working (the button must have got pressed while it was sitting in a drawer and reset the password) so I'll try to get to see the car again this weekend and scan it. I'll also have the time to check all the bits I missed last time round.

If I'm still unsure, I'll get it inspected by AA.

Ok, so over the past few days the power steering has been on my mind. I was surprised that when I got out of the S8 and back into my 1995 Volvo 960, the steering felt more responsive in the Volvo. Although the steering in the Volvo has lighter steering, there was more kickback when turning than in the S8, which gave very little feedback. I need to satisfy myself that it's not on its way out, especially as the £1000 claims limit on the warranty wouldn't cover the whole cost of replacement.

So what are the signs that a PAS pump is about to die? Should I be concerned about the slight hissing on full lock?

Can VCDS scan for the pump efficiency/operation?

As always, any comments or suggestions would be most welcome.

[paulrstaylor]

Originally Posted by Turbo Tony

Thanks very much for the viewpoints. They're really appreciated.

I've got to work on recognising my own prejudice and making sure they don't lead me to the wrong decision, so it's only fair to ignore the stuff that isn't to my taste.

I've managed to get my VCDS working (the button must have got pressed while it was sitting in a drawer and reset the password) so I'll try to get to see the car again this weekend and scan it. I'll also have the time to check all the bits I missed last time round.

If I'm still unsure, I'll get it inspected by AA.

Ok, so over the past few days the power steering has been on my mind. I was surprised that when I got out of the S8 and back into my 1995 Volvo 960, the steering felt more responsive in the Volvo. Although the steering in the Volvo has lighter steering, there was more kickback when turning than in the S8, which gave very little feedback. I need to satisfy myself that it's not on its way out, especially as the £1000 claims limit on the warranty wouldn't cover the whole cost of replacement.

So what are the signs that a PAS pump is about to die? Should I be concerned about the slight hissing on full lock?

Can VCDS scan for the pump efficiency/operation?

As always, any comments or suggestions would be most welcome.

Why not drive another S8 to compare?

The steering can feel different from car to car, especially if it has dynamic steering vs standard - a trait that I noticed when driving different D4s.

[Delboy]

Hissing at the end stops is normal you are effectively closing a running tap that has 135 bar behind it so to protect the pump it vents over a relief valve and that is the noise you hear.

There is no diagnostics for the pump other than is it working and sounds ok for us, and for the dealer they have a gauge that they can fit inline to test the max pressure of the pump.

Ian mentioned about their failures but I haven't heard of any on this forum or others.

Power steering hoses fail and I have seen plenty on the forums and experienced it for myself, not a horrific job on rhd cars.

Best thing is go drive one or two more like mentioned then you can compare