Power Steering Pump Leak

[mitherial]

I just acquired a great looking 1989 D90 LHD (with the infamous 19J / 2.5L Turbo Diesel), and am neck-deep in sprucing it up and sorting out the expected mechanical gremlins.

The most pressing issue at the moment is a substantial power steering fluid leak, apparently coming from the power steering pump itself. I am in the process of degreasing and checking the hose attachments, but pending an easy fix:

(1) Assuming that I keep refilling the fluid reservoir, is it safe to drive for the short term? Should I use the leak-stop products available at every corner auto store?

(2) Alternately, as a temporary measure, should I just take the drive belt off and use it sans-power steering?

Additionally, during the test drive and subsequently, the vehicle sways back and forth at speed and won't keep a straight line above 40. The sellers shop (quite reasonably) diagnosed too-much play in the steering box as the cause and quoted me $800 parts+labor to replace.

(3) Obviously, two unrelated things could be broken, but is there any reason that a faulty steering pump would lead to higher speed instability, as opposed to too much play in the steering box? Should I go ahead and get the steering box replaced, or see if fixing the power steering pump does the trick? (the shop has experience with old Land Rovers, but is an hour away)

 

[Napalm00]

They sell rebuild kit for that power steering pump of frankly it doesn't work. I'm looking at where your pump is leaking from it's probably leaking from the front seal. Aftermarket nunuts are available but they really aren't cheap. The washers or rtv on the hi pressure output isn't correct, they should be an aluminum bwssher with a rubber center.

The weaving on the road could be a worn steering box but you need to check these other items first : steering drop arm ball joint , tie rod ends , swivel ball upper pin preload shims , all rubber bushings , front wheel bearing play .

If all of these check out ( they probably won't ) there is also a steering box preload adjustment on the top of the box , big Allen and a nut.


Welcome to land rovers!

There are plenty of YouTube videos on how to check each one of these items on a Defender. All these checks should take no more than 30 minutes with the front of the truck jacked up. If you don't know what you're looking for that's just taking to a Land Rover specific shop first before replacing the steering box, they take eons to actually wear out.

My guess is that you have a severely worn steering drop arm ball joint and tie rod ends, along with some play in the swivel ball preload and wheel bearings. Pretty much every truck I've touched has had some kind of wear in these items. The good news is that the videos are very thorough and a basic set of hand tools can help you fix pretty much all of it

 

[Napalm00]

To answer your other questions. Yes you can just keep on filling it up with ATF as for your ps fluid as it leaks out. The only harmless to the environment.


Yes you can remove the belt and run it as manual steering, be prepared for a work out as you'll be working against the box and the tires. The ratio in the box is also oriented towards power assistance so you'll be working harder than an actual manual box.

Fluid will still leak even if you don't have the belt hooked up. The power steering pump is surprisingly simple on these trucks but notoriously week and leak prone.

The outer "can" has a large o-ring and the front pump shaft has a single double lip seal without a garter. Pretty much designed to leak

 

[mitherial]

Got it, many thanks for the detailed reply!

I've actually owned Land Rovers for over a decade (LR3 first, then a RRS -- now traded-in for a 4Runner daily driver (meh), but the Series/Defender was always what drew me to the brand.

 

[Napalm00]

Np , welcome back !
Take that thing to a coin operated car wash and power wash the entire engine and suspension it'll make working on it so much easier

 

[Jeff B]

Pump, box... just pur some Blue Devil innit....



.

 

[mitherial]

Followup Power steering hoses attachment issue.

So, in the process of (finally) replacing my power steering pump, I decided to replace all of the power steering hoses too while I had everything in pieces (and the PS reservoir --> PS pump hose split while I was removing it).

Now, for the life of me I can't get either the new or the original hoses that attach to the power steering box to reattach. The threads do not look stripped at all to me, but the bolt head keeps rotating and won't catch or slightly catches but feels mis-threaded and won't tighten enough (after several hours of trying).

My Craftsman tap & die set doesn?t go large enough for these holes, but I have a 16mm tap on order (though having metal debris in the steering box can?t be a good thing).

Am I missing something? Should I try something like a helicoil, or give up and have the truck towed to the shop?

 

[mitherial]

More photos

 

[nas90tdi]

I wouldn't put a tap on it. There is no real way to keep the shavings out of the box, and it will chew it up if you get metal shavings in it.
You probably are frustrated and really don't want to hear this, but, I am will to bet you are not lining the nipple up correctly. It can be a real pain if you don't have it right and you can spend hours fighting those types of connections. Walk away, go do something else. And then give it a try.
Years of experience has made those fairly easy for a lot of us, but I remember fighting those very types of connections for hours to no avail and then they suddenly line up and thread right in.

Chevy QuadroJets used to have a fitting on the back of them that I have spent countless hours when I was younger trying to start. Exact same type of fitting/situation. Walk away, come back later and I bet you get it.

And if all else fail, pull your radiator and breakfast and you will be able to reach right in and also see what it is doing.

 

[Napalm00]

Have you compared the orginal line to the new one? Maybe the line you bought is the wrong one or has the wrong g fitting g o the end. There are plenty of lines that will look like they will fit but may be incorrect depending on the box or truck

Make sure it's square to the box when you are trying to thread it in, it may take some bending/tweaking of the end of the line to get it to fit. If you haven't already disconnected the other side do that as well so the line isn't as rigid.

Make sure to replace the oring if equipped.

Do not tap it

Just lookig at that last pic the line isn't even close to being vertical in the port, it has the be centered.

Easiest way I've found to install these lines:

Slide tube nut back and insert the tubing all the way into the port, holding it square and plumb as possible. Then slide the tube nut forward and thread it in.

 

[mitherial]

Thank you for the advice (and helpful encouragement).

The short pump->box hose indeed was a reversed angle configuration and would not fit at all, it is probably for the 200/300 TDI instead of my 2.5L TD.

Fortunately, the hose that split was the reservoir->pump hose, which has rubber fittings on both ends, no problem there. Right now I am trying to reinstall the other two original pipes.

The first steering pump I ordered (following Rover Norths recommended replacement part) had a later design and different fitting and there was no way that the supply hose was going to fit without fabbing a custom hose. I finally found a much more reasonably priced original design pump from LRDirect (and decided to replace the 45A alternator too since they had a BritPart one for 50GBP).

It is amazing how complicated of a process it is to figure out which is the right part. Superseded parts are all different in subtle and frustrating ways and the parts manual illustrations show the RHD instead of LHD configurations, which makes me cross-eyed. The NAS-specific illustrations from the NAS workshop manuals seem a lot better, but the NAS engines all have a different setup than my 19J.

 

[nas90tdi]

He said he tried both new and old. That is why I say they aren't lining up for him.

 

[Napalm00]

Missed that.

It's has to be an alignment issue then


And yes that Ps pump pic you posed is for the disco 200tdi engine. You need the defender version that has a banjo bolt and flare fiittibg on the end of the banjo

Superceded parts are the exact same fitment, there are no changes. You just need the correct part number


Check the sticky about repair manuals to find the real deal early parts and repair manuals that are for your truck. Will make it much easier.

Don't even bother with the rovers North parts diagrams and purposely obscured part numbers they will just complicate the issue.

 

[nas90tdi]

Wait until you start mixing and matching engines,transmissions,and drive train parts. It will get real interesting for you figuring out what goes with what. Hopefully by then you will have a more thorough understanding of your truck and won't order too many wrong parts. I still do after 20 years though. It just adds to your parts hoard. I am far to lazy to send anything back.

 

[mitherial]

I keep finding new very small bits of black debris in the threading, which makes me wonder if there is still thread-locker on the blind hole; I had to chip it off of the original pipe in attempting to reuse it.

 

[RDavisinVA]

If the problem persists, remove everything and have it on the bench and make sure it will screw in straight. The threads might be dicked up and need to be cleaned by installing the proper fitting straight.
Also, it may be possible to start all the hoses with all the parts off the vehicle, tighten them 3/4 of the way, so everything still moves, mount the PS pump, and everything else, then finish tightening when all bolted in place.
I have had to do this before.