Leaky steering box.... solved.
 

About 6 months ago my D1 steering box started leaking pretty badly. Uh oh, I've seen that problem is pretty common and a pain in the arse... and rebuilt steering boxes aren't cheap! At first it was just a little, but soon I needed to put one or two ounces of fluid in the reservoir almost daily, and the car was "marking its spot" in a big way.

Well, being partly Scottish, I decided to track down a used box and rebuild it myself. Found one, bought it... and while I was waiting for it to arrive decided to go ahead and install the three new hoses I'd also bought for the project (what was in there were original hoses... on a '97 with fairly low mileage).

After the hoses were installed I took the car to a local car wash to get rid of the built up gunk around the box, to make the rest of the job a little more pleasant.

Well, surprise, surprise! The leaks virtually stopped!

It was the hoses, not the box itself. Although they looked fine, just a little oily. Apparently the old hoses (again, they were original, so about 17 years old) were seeping oil down onto and around the steering box, which in turn dripped right where you'd expect it to, if the box's seals were gone.

As of now I still haven't rebuilt the spare box and installed it. After a few months, I'm only seeing a drop or two of ATF per week! That might still be the old residue, since I probably didn't get it all off at the car wash. Have only needed to top up the reservoir once with a small amount of fluid (might have been air in the system, from the hose replacement).

Is this the answer all the time? No, I doubt it. I'm sure that I'll end up replacing the steering box eventually, even though it appears to be leaking very little or not at all now. However, I see a lot of folks who replace their steering box and then report the new one is no better than the one they pulled out. I can't help but wonder... did they change the hoses?

I also pulled out, cleaned and checked the reservoir for any cracks or leaks, and didn't find any. The old hoses didn't look bad, just seemed slightly oily to the touch. The steering box (and surrounding area) had a build up of oil all over the outside, but has remained dry of oil ever since cleaning it, after replacing the hoses.

So I'm just passing along a bit of advice here... if you have a leaky steering box, be sure to check the hoses... maybe go ahead and replace them if it hasn't been done recently... before assuming it's the seals in the box itself.

(NOTE: Loosening the old and later retightening the new hose fittings at the steering box wasn't easy. I ended up buying some open-end wrench fittings that attach to a 3/8" drive ratchet and using several long extensions to get at those fittings. The fittings on top of the steering box also have to be removed and reinstalled in a specific order, in order to be able to undo and later tighten them all adequately.)

Thanks for the information! I have a good bit of fluid all over my steering components. I will try replacing the lines first!

Could you give us a idea of the order of removal and installation?

It will be pretty obvious when you're removing them... you can only get a wrench on them in one particular order to loosen the high pressure fittings. Just make a note of that and reverse the procedure when you reinstall. If you try to install out of that order, you won't be able to tighten the last one because you can't get a wrench on it... it's blocked by the other hoses (I didn't pay attention, did it in the wrong order the first time, had to remove and reinstall in the correct order.)

Well, I went out and examined my hoses on my 94 Disco I today. It has been laid up because of a failed fuel pump, waiting on parts for that. Last time I started and moved it, it had a fairly bad power steering fluid leak. Well, I found a loose hose where it attached to power steering pump. I tightened this fitting. It was loose enough I could wiggle the metal hose end. Hope this solved the issue, but won't know until I get my fuel pump installed this week. All the other hoses with metal ends seemed to be tight.

I also have a '97 and replacing the lines cured 90% of the PS leaks. The box seals also leaked a little until I "patched" the problem with some Lucas Stop Leak. That was a few years ago and recently the box is beginning to leak a little again.

Moral of the story; your box will likely need replacing sooner or later. My rig has 96K on it and I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and replace/rebuild the box in the next year or sooner.

Another thing you might want to check is the condition of your left-front tie rod end and the radius arm bushings. Mine were in bad shape after a few years of ATF soaking and needed replacing.

Ha, I have to chuckle at yer low mileage truck. Mine has over twice the mileage.

I found the biggest p.s. leak is from the hose where it connects to the resivoir

"I found the biggest p.s. leak is from the hose where it connects to the resivoir" >> +1 to that.


Normally a loose clamp, but I just had to replace the return hose yesterday.


For anyone stuck finding a Rover part on a Sunday, NAPA #NPS 71207 is a PS hose 5/8" ID x 42". Price: $15.99 and once you cut it you will have a spare.

Yeah. Pretty low considering the age. :)

It helps that I live on an island and commute by ferry.