Ka powersteering woes

[craig1010cc]

Evening all, I've brought a cheap R plate Ka to run around in at the mo and its started to make a nasty noise

I've got a nasty rattle/whine from the belt end of the engine which (with the aid of using a long screwdriver) I think is my power steering pump dieing. I've checked and its got plenty of fluid (was hoping that it was running low and a topup would sort it ).

2 questions,

1) do they get to a point that they seize (I can live with the racket for a little bit but don't want it to seize and snap the water pump belt)

2) If I wanted to replace the power rack with a manual one, what would I need to change (as I can buy a new non power rack for under £30)

Cheers

Craig

[cobblers]

My sister's ka ran for yonks with no fluid in due to the steering rack leaking. Eventually she got a rack fitted and it was fine.

Kas seem to froth the fluid up and airlock if it's low, which sort of fakes a high level. Maybe try adding more fluid (til its brimmed) put the cap back on, turn the engine on and off and cycle the steering a few times before brimming it again and doing whole thing again. Both my mums and sisters ka too a load more oil this way which "bled" them out and got the steering quietened down for a while.

[Fat Jack]

You'll need a new steering column as well as a new rack.

Probably easier to pop a new pump on, or even another power rack.

Pump isnt too tricky.

Remove the wheelarch liner (T30 Torx Screws)
Bumper is secured round the wheelarch with 4 push-fit plastic trim clips that will most likely break when you try to remove them. (might be wise to buy new ones before you start or do it on a day the fraud dealer is open)
Remove self-tapper securing bumper to rear of wheelarch and pull wheelarch part of bumper away.
Remove R/H headlight assy (you may need to dismantle bumper a bit further)
With a 15mm spanner, turn the belt tensioner CLOCKWISE to release the belt tension.
18mm spanner to remove the pressure line from the pump (it's tight access with a normal spanner)
Feed line is just a hose clip and pull off.
4xT40 Torx screws hold the pump on.
Pump will come out with pulley through headlight hole. It will not come out through the top of the engine bay, or through the grille.
Refit in reverse.

[craig1010cc]

Cheers chaps, I think I will scrub the manual rack idea

I did brim the resiviour but will try cycling it through. Did your sisters sound really rattly? Mines got a real whine from about 3000 RPM +

[craig1010cc]

turns out it wasn't the power steering pump after all, was the water pump pulley coming lose. And how do I know this, cause it threw the belt off in traffic this afternoon on route to the MOT and blew the headgasket So that's going to the scrap man in the next few days

[cobblers]

Blimey

If it's an alright car otherwise, a HG on one of these isn't really much of a task.

My sister ran hers without water until it pretty much siezed solid and it was fine after cooling down, just filled it back up and off she went for a few years.

[rodney]

as said , headgasket is curse word easy , a novice could do it in a afternoon with some advice and right tools,.

[dave21478]

If its the last gasp before the scrappy, fling in some K-seal and see if it will soldier on for a while?

[craig1010cc]

Its a pretty rough Ka to be honest, needs an MOT, (which will need 1 sill doing, discs and pads, theres a knock from the front suspension), it needs good service, the clutch judders a bit and its been heavily key'd down both sides.
All of which is doable and I was planning on 'saving it' and having a bit of fun, but realistically its now going to need £2-300 in parts to get it going again and through the MOT and then there is the worry of whats going to go next, so its time to call it a day on it.
I brought it for scrap money a couple of weeks ago, its covered the period of selling my Passat and my Cooper getting MOT'd so its saved me a lot of hassle there and I'll not lose anything on it scrapping it (plus I'll have a better rear bumper and a set of good tyres for the wifes Ka on top)

[vaughant]

Impressive to blow a Ka headgasket!!!!
I've NEVER seen one fail,despite some hideous driving conditions.
Did the right thing though,get shot.
If the heater valve works,pull it off before scrapping as they always fail.
Windscreen maybe worth removing as well as they're often in demand on breakers.
Also leccy window switches(if fitted) particularly drivers door side.

[workinprogress]

where doyou get 200-300 quid from,,,all you need is a headset which is about 60 quid and an afternoon,,,as said there arrent many easier car to do a head gasket on than a Ka

[craig1010cc]

Mar 31, 2012 12:37:44 GMT workinprogress said:

where doyou get 200-300 quid from,,,all you need is a headset which is about 60 quid and an afternoon,,,as said there arrent many easier car to do a head gasket on than a Ka

That's including the MOT work that I know off
Headset
waterpump
Aux belt (poss tensioners)
oil
filters
plugs
discs and pads
1 sill (plus door step patching)
pair CV boots
steering rack gaiters
what ever is knocking on the pass front suspension and anything else I haven't found.
But with the condition and miles on it (98k), with all that work done it will be only worth £400 tops, better off bailing now whilst I'm slightly in profit on it.

Normally I'm with you and want to keep cars out of scrapyards for simple jobs (Kas seem to be ripe for this, and very little parts seem to sell 2nd hand on eBay either), but 3 years of neglect of the previous owner have stuck the nail in the coffin on this one I think

[cobblers]

Yeah fair enough at that - tow it to the scrap yard, collect £130 or so and move on to the next. Perhaps even syphon the fuel out of the tank and sell it to a moron for £3 a litre.

[craig1010cc]

the fuel tank will be empty tomorrow, there's over 3/4 of a tank in it