So if you're broke and/or a cheap ass like me, you hate shelling out $150 for a rebuilt power steering pump. The 944 ps pump is notorious for leaking. I'm actually kinda leery of a reman, a new one is NLA, and the original pumps are failure prone, so what options are left? Well I was looking on the shelf at work and noticed a pump from an '85 528e that had been there for six years. It looks identical. I took it home with me to find out the only difference is the pulley flange, the one on the BMW is way bigger. So I dug through my pulley bin to find that an 8v VW PS pulley with the dual bolt pattern fits perfectly! It's the exact same size and offset! Here are some stock pics. Actual pics coming soon.
944 Pump:
<img src="http://img1.cdn.tradejob.net/Y201011M190C201/T6G850145/W499H499
E28 Pump:
VW Pulley:
These pieces should be readily available at just about any U-Pull salvage yard in the country for close to free.
Make sure to get the VW pulley with the dual bolt pattern. I think it's from a MKII 8v, but may have been used on other models as well. The VW uses the small pattern, but the BMW uses the large pattern.
Here's the interchange for the BMW pump that I used. Looking at pictures, the E36 pump looks like it would probably work too, but I have no first had experience with that pump.
BMW 318i '84-85
BMW 325e '84-87
BMW 325e '88 ZF
BMW 325i '87
BMW 325i '88 ZF
BMW 524TD '85-86
BMW 528e '84-88
BMW 533i '84 from 5/84
BMW 535i '85-88
BMW 633CSi '84 from 5/84
BMW 635CSi '85-86
BMW 635CSi '88-89 110 bar
BMW L6 '87
Since the 944 uses VW/Audi bits that doesn't surprise me, so wouldn't that mean the VW part would be just as failure prone?
carguy123 wrote:
Since the 944 uses VW/Audi bits that doesn't surprise me, so wouldn't that mean the VW part would be just as failure prone?
The only VW bit is the pulley. The pump is a ZF pump from a BMW. You would think since both pumps are ZF pumps they would be equally failure prone, but in all my years almost every 944 I've touched had a leaky PS pump, and I've never seen a pump failure from one of the BMW models listed. Even if the BMW pump is failure prone, they're so common I could change it every six months at $10 a pop and still be ahead of the game years later.
Mine doesn't have a leaky power steering pump. Manual Rack, Baby!
Maroon92 wrote:
Mine doesn't have a leaky power steering pump. Manual Rack, Baby!
I almost put a manual rack in mine, but the jackass at the junkyard cut the intermediate shaft with a torch. I figured a power steering pump would be easier to find than the proper intermediate shaft so I sold the manual rack!
Most leak because they put the wrong fluid in them. They don't take Power steering fluid.
Still a great solution to resolve a pain in the butt problem.
I think the only time I've ever used anything but ATF in a power steering system is on a Honda. They take some goofy special fluid.
Alfa Milanos used the same pump. We used to buy ZF rebuild kits for them from...Porsche. They don't still make the seal kits?
I honestly don't know. I haven't taken one apart, but was thinking that they look like they would be pretty easy to rebuild.
RossD
UltraDork
5/31/12 9:04 a.m.
16vCorey wrote:
I think the only time I've ever used anything but ATF in a power steering system is on a Honda. They take some goofy special fluid.
Oddly enough, the guy I bought my supercharged MR2 from said he sent out a sample of the super special snake oil used to lube the 'Yota's supercharger and it came back the same as Honda power steering fluid.
