Siphon pump: No clue how to assemble this thing...

[OnTheFence]

Went 0 for 3 today.
I was going to try swapping out my PS reservoir but I had no clue how this little siphon pump is supposed to work. Any ideas on what attaches to what??



http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...er=574855_0_0_

[topaz540i]

I dont think that pump would work well for the job. This is designed for larger amounts of liquid for a continious flow, like draining a fish tank or transferring gallons of fuel at a time.

What you want is called a fluid extractor.
It looks like a modified grease gun. Maybe someone can post a pic.

[rf900rkw]

Yep, that is the wrong type of thing. For the power steering, a simple turkey baster will suffice. Just don't tell the wife.

[topaz540i]

Actually do tell the wife so u dont poison everyone at thanksgiving next year lol

[OnTheFence]

You mean this, right?
http://www.harborfreight.com/oil-suction-gun-95468.html


Actually, I figured out how to assemble this $3 pump.
See photo. Note the rubber tubing on the very left of the photo.


You put the left side tubing inside the fluid container, and it will flow out of the right ride of the hand pump.

This thing works GREAT with water! And if you position the pump lower than the water source, it will create a siphon flow with just 1 or 2 pumps to start it. It keeps going until it's empty!

Why shouldn't I use this again? Will steering fluid be too viscous? For $3, I am going to try it on my PS reservoir tomorrow.
Update: ATF fluid is too viscous to create a "flow", but it does go through the pump, one pump at a time. It would be inefficient and slow, but it should work.
Alternatively, I might one could just dump the PS reservoir upside down to empty. (Just keep it sealed yet unbolted while you turn the steering wheel between fills/flushes)

FYI, this is the DIY I am following: Seems like a 2 in complexity.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4Gp1vNgOLc[/ame]

[ElleShooTiger]

I have a Mix Mizer, its a small plastic syringe which works great for sucking out power steering and brake fluid reservoirs. Its about $4 at Wal-Mart, and some auto parts stores probably sell them too. The handle ring isnt that great and you'll probably break it sooner or later. It doenst have a real seal on the plunger, but it still seals very well.

http://www.amazon.com/Hopkins-10111-.../dp/B000G72U0K

[bimmerfiver]

Squire, disconnect PS hoses underneath and let drain. Also, what type of new fluid are you using? Lastly, get under there and report if some/all of your hoses are weeping/leaking...they always do. Put away the Austin Powers Swedish Pump.

[topaz540i]

Powersteering pump has a drain bolt on the bottom.

[Cyrix2k]

Squire, disconnect PS hoses underneath and let drain. Also, what type of new fluid are you using? Lastly, get under there and report if some/all of your hoses are weeping/leaking...they always do. Put away the Austin Powers Swedish Pump.

this. If you're up to it, I disconnect the return line to the PS reservoir, point the return line into a catch can, and turn the car on. I have a volunteer to the wheel lock-to-lock while I keep the fluid level up (it goes fast!), then shut the engine down after the fluid looks new. I haven't done this in the e39, but it did the trick for the e36. I had to run a LOT of fluid through the system to fully flush it; there's no way a turkey baster would do much.

[OnTheFence]

I did the PS reservoir job today.

Cyrix, I did not do the return hose flush method b/c it was just too tight with the airbox back in.
I would have needed some sort of hose coupler that would allow me to add an extra length of hose to redirect it into a bucket.
(I'm not sure if you can start the car with the intake apart...)

To address any leaks, I cut the damaged ends of the hoses off.
The hoses were hard to remove. I had to cut one off.
They were also very hard to reseat fully, even though I put a dab of oil @ the contact areas.
It was a pain in the ass to reseat the PS hoses onto the reservoir. I think party b/c the rubber was cold,
and partly b/c the curved part of the hose starts to interfere, since the end of the hose was cut off.

I bought this for $12 at AutoZone and it worked great. Emptied the reservoir in 1 pull.
I did about 3-4 cycle & refills and the fluid seemed pretty red. A big step up from the brown it initially was.


I smashed open the PS reservoir.
Here is what the filter looked like
It's like a cheese cloth membrane.
I don't even think it needed replacing (10 years, 120k miles)