1987 w124 300d stupid question

[PraiseCannstatt]

Believe it or not, I cannot find the power steering resevior....not listed in the book, cant see it anywhere on inspection under the hood. Have always been able to find em on all other cars owned, boy i feel dumb....

Where the heck is it?

[babymog]

The topmost belt-driven accessory on the driver's side (assuming LHD) of the car is the power steering pump. The lid has a black spin-off knob.

[Jeremy5848]

Originally Posted by PraiseCannstatt

Believe it or not, I cannot find the power steering resevior....not listed in the book, cant see it anywhere on inspection under the hood. Have always been able to find em on all other cars owned, boy i feel dumb....

Where the heck is it?

In the picture below, find the pink rag. Look to the left from the rag. First you see the upper radiator hose and then a gray circular thing with a black knob in the middle. That is the cap of the PS reservoir. Unscrew the knob, it is actually the nut that holds the cover on. Once you have removed the knob/nut, the cap will lift off. The PS fluid is inside. There's a filter down in there too.

Jeremy

[awsrock]

I just changed my fluid the other day..the level was down to the filter! Seems to be much smoother now, and the groan during a cold start is long gone. Took maybe 15 minutes to do, very simple.
I just wonder where that fluid went, as there are no apparent leaks present...

[sixto]

Originally Posted by awsrock

I just wonder where that fluid went, as there are no apparent leaks present...

I got rid of two leaks that would drop the reservoir fluid level 10-15mm every 3000 miles - steering box lower pitman arm bearing o-ring, PS pump reservoir seal.

The pump leak was difficult to trace because it leaked down the engine side of the pump and AC compressor. Because the pump had ATF when I got the car, what probably caused the leak in the first place, I thought it was a leaky transmission cooler line. Another reason I prefer PS fluid in the PS system.

Reservoir seals are easy to replace in a Vickers single pump (don't know about SLS/ASD tandem pump). There are 3 bolts under the filter holding the reservoir to the pump body. There's a big o-ring between the reservoir and the pump body and each of the washers under the bolts is a metal reinforced o-ring. No more difficult to do in the car than off. If the backside of the pulley is grimy (mine's clean) you probably need a front seal. You can probably replace that with the pump in place as well. There are a few more o-rings in the pump body for which the pump has to come apart. Loosen the pump body bolts before removing the pump from the engine.

Sixto
87 300D

[babymog]

I think I found your boost problem Jeremy.

[Jeremy5848]

Originally Posted by babymog

I think I found your boost problem Jeremy.

Hey, you're right! How did I miss that? Thanks, Jeff, this forum is great!