"NinetyQ" (NinetyQ)
08/27/2013 at 02:55 • Filed to: A90Q20V
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"NinetyQ" (NinetyQ)
08/27/2013 at 02:55 • Filed to: A90Q20V | 0
| 0 |
Tonight, I bought new door trim for my 90 Quattro 20V and commissioned a guy to rebuild a hydraulic pressure accumulator for me. For those not aware of the intimate details of the hydraulic (rather than conventional vacuum) brakes on my car, the accumulator holds a huge amount of pressure to assist in panic braking and other scenarios. One of its main purposes is to provide up to full-power ABS-enabled stops even if the engine dies.
Right now, I think what's wrong with the accumulator is that it's not capable of holding that pressure. So when I'm not on the brakes, the brake warning light usually isn't on, but when I am on them, it illuminates. My theory is that this is because the pressure supplied by the hydraulic/power steering pump is insufficient to both replenish the accumulator's constantly dropping pressure, and provide adequate brake assist to the pedal. It's the weirdest feeling too. Before I worked on the pump, sometimes the brake pedal would be completely rock hard, and then "loosen up" suddenly. Even now, you can feel it kind of pulsating or vibrating when you press down hard. Not like ABS pulsing, but just a weird... hydraulic anomaly or something.
Anyway, that is the state of things right now. Putting that accumulator in shouldn't be too difficult, but it's new territory for me, so wish me luck when I get to that. After I finish that job, I still need to get it aligned, fix the handbrake, adjust the throttle valve potentiometer, and possibly weld in a new catalytic converter.
For now, here's a video I made of it from a couple years ago when it last ran decently well (although you can clearly see the Brake warning and ABS lights on the dash), although it did have an exhaust leak which is noticeable at the beginning before it goes full throttle.