Misplaced power steering cooler return hoses, fluid pressure affection?

[Vega2k]

Hello guys. I recently got me a 1998 bmw e39.

I just replaced the feed and return hose and also the reservoir as the hoses was greasy and fluid was dark.

I now struggle a little bit with what i hope and believe is air in the system. I have tried bleeding procedures but the whining noise is still there, sounds a little worse than before i did the flush. Either the pump it self is damaged or there is just air that needs to bleed out.

anyway, i noticed something before i changed anything, that the previous owner had misplaced the return hoses connected to the cooler.
As seen in the picture 10358_LI.jpg

The return hose from the rack, is connected to where the return hose from the reservoir is suppose to be.

At the time when i replaced the reservoir return hose, i didn't really care to change the positions of those two because i thought, what is the big difference anyway?
So I just left it as it was and replaced the hose. I did not replace the rack return hose, as this looked ok and was not greasy.

But then now I start to wonder, if this has any affect on the fluid pressure? does it matter and cause problems if they are misplaced?

Any reply is much appreciated.
Thanks.

[jclausen]

It's just the cooler tubing so it should not matter really, if that's what your talking about

[dworthy]

+1

Did you put the front end up in the air and turn the wheels lock to lock 5 times with the motor off? That is how you bleed out the system, not running the motor and turning the wheels.

[Vega2k]

Thanks for the quick reply.

Ok so that is what i thought too since its just the cooling tube.

Yes i lifted the front but i did not turn lock to lock 5 times.
I did turn 2 times and then i started the engine for 1 sec to make it suck fluid, then stopped it.
I poured more fluid, turn lock to lock 2 more times and started the engine for 1 sec, stopped, and poured some more. then i repeated this until it was "full" and then did several lock to lock with the engine running, to mix it. Then, with the engine off, i sucked more fluid out of the reservoir, and poured more new fluid. Started the engine and repeated, until it was complete red fluid in the system.

Perhaps i damaged the pump with the few seconds on when it did not have proper fluid in it? its not the worst whining i have heard, but its a little more noisy than it used to be.

What i am doing now is another bleed method i read on another forum, where i left the left-side lock over the night and right-side lock during the day and its beginning to sound better and the fluid level have lowered a bit. its still above minimal though.

But for a conclusion then i think i might have damaged the pump a little bit when it did not have enough fluid in it, even if it just was a second and 2. Its not hard steering and its beginning to sound like it was before the flush.
And for the record it has driven about 175500 miles, so the pump is getting old and mature enough for a replacement soon. A new original is way to expensive and the car it self is too old for that kind of money, so ill be looking for a good condition used one.

[dworthy]

Okay, if was whining before the fluid flush, then there is a chance that the pump was going bad already. I like to just drop a hose to drain it all out, then refill. The way you are doing it will only get about 50% of the old fluid out and then it is just mixes in with the new fluid.

[ross1]

Unless you are seeing froth in the reservoir it's probably not air but a damaged pump. It will likely soldier on noisily forever as long as you keep fluid in it.