So, my daily driver 7A (or actually I have NM, but since the 7A word is more familiar here..) lost power steering and brake assist yesterday evening. Luckily I was making the last turn to my homeyard when it happened.

I examined the situation today and it seems that when turning the steering wheel even a tiny bit, there is coming a loud groaning/buzzing sound from the PS pump. Surprisingly quiet at idle (usually the pump has been operating with a little grinding noise)
The brake warning light in the cluster is flashing now which naturally means there is not enough pressure on the rack.
I changed the fluid to Redline today, I had been running Comma Central Hydraulic Fluid (rated to G 002 000) in there for a year. Changing them didn't effect at all like i assumed.

SO I'm just ensuring does this mean the pump is kaput. The belt is pretty old but if it slips would it be possible to cause these kind of symptoms? I personally don't see how that could happen. I also thought what if the "triangle pulley" is slipping? It's just pressed in right?
I'm pretty sure I can't find a used 20V pump easily here in Finland or do I even want one.. and the new ones cost waaay too much if they're even available.

I could be interested in going electric PS, but I wouldn't want to also have to change vacuum booster for brakes. Why do people always change to vacuum booster when going electric? They dislike the bomb, or the electric pump can't handle both PS and brakes? I would put the Astra pump but don't want to buy it if it doesn't work with the bomb.

I've been thinking about all of this the whole day. Help me gather some thought together. I need it running asap because its my DD.

Pretty sure you'd need to swap to vac assist with an electric pump.

There are a couple options available. The common MR2 pump. I believe some people have used one from a Mini, and have recently heard of some sort of modern Toyota option fitting. I'd also look into modern (mk6+) VW electric pumps as a possibility.

If you want to get up and running quick, talk to guys like dean16v or Toledo Joe Marconi, I'd bet they have a good stock PS pump on hand ready to ship.

You could also swap to a vacuum booster and pump from a v6 b4 90.

I bought a Volvo S40 electro-hydraulic pump to try on our 90q race car. Haven't installed it yet, but those are cheap and plentiful in the junkyards, unlike the MR2 pump.

Regards, Eric

true, but it needs like 70A ...

I abandoned the electric idea for now to get the car running faster.

AAN pumps were offered to me in Finland for the cheap. Do they work with my early 7A system? I know the pulley is for serpentine but it can be changed of course. Does AAN pump have 120 bar operating pressure, and if so, is it too much? Are there other things to consider about?

The AAN pump is higher pressure so no it won't work.

Yeah, I'm wondering has it been tested before.. why shouldn't it work. The rack is gonna blow up?

100 BAR vs 120 BAR (the difference is around 20 BAR, 280 PSI)

few times you turn it all the way and bye bye.

But why don't you test it, and report back?

I bought an AAN pump just for shits and giggles because i had it for 30€. It has a smaller thread on the bomb outlet. It was 10mm and my NM pump was 12mm (same as early type 7A pumps). So no fit.

A week after my last message I disassembled my broken pump and the AAN pump i bought. There was nothing wrong visually in my pump, but I changed all the "middle section" parts from the lower mileage AAN pump to my NM pump to keep the 100 bar pressure spring (in the back of PS pump) and the right outlet for brake bomb.
The pumps were almost identical inside, only tiny differences that don't effect the functionality. Used the old rubber gaskets because I didn't have time to wait for new ones. Then I installed it back with new pentosin and v-belts and I have now driven it a few hundred kilometres and it works better than ever. The pump even operates more silent than before. It leaks a lil bit of pentosin approx. the same amount as before, nothing dramatic.