The power steering flush did wonders for the turning radius being loose, but I think it was too low for too long as this morning hen I popped the hood and looked inside it was a yellowish color that looked like it was slightly dirty but there was literally none visible at the top. What type of damage would this have done over a while as my turning is still slightly tight and I'm not sure if the bushings need replacing, the springs and shocks need replacing (I'm sure they do) and if it's something besides one of these. Just worried not having much ps fluid for a while could've caused irreversible damage to any parts.

 

I was going to caution you that the Power Steering uses transmission fluid on these. Also DO NOT DRIVE IT IF THE TRANSMISSION FLUID IS LOW ON the DIPSTICK DIPSTICK.

If it is low, add it immediately and look for leaks. Mine had a pinhole in one of the cooling lines from the tranny to the little round cooler coil in front of the grill. You will ruin your tranny if you run it low on fluid.

You can look at your brake pads and rotors to determine if they need replacing. Always bleed brakes all around if you change pads. Start at right rear, left rear, right front, left front. Suck the old brake fluid out with a turkey baster from the reservoir. Brake fliud is clear when new, yours is probably black. Mine was.

My calipers were severely corroded, I had to replace the rar ones.

One other tip, I print the pages from the RAVE prior to starting a task, review them, mark them up, arrange the tools for each task, make sure I have all the replacement parts on hand (ordered from RN usually).

I keep these together in one binder with the part receipts as a record of what I did and when. I Initial them and date them. That way I know what I am dealing with and have done. Makes it really simple and much less intimidating. It took me a lifetime to learn this.

Another good idea, use a digital camera. Take pics before you disturb anything, then more pics as you go. This provides instant feedback when a question pops up on reassembly.

Take your time and approach it with the care it deserves. Use long lever arms (breaker bars) and pull slow and steady with a properly fitting socket to avoid stripping hardware. Use lots of PB Blaster in advance of trying to break bolts loose.

Most of all, learn to enjoy it, as you will be doing a lot of it with a Discovery.

 

Man I cant thank people like you enough up here for schooling me to all this. I was worried that if I didn't get her up and either flush the transmission fluid myself or get it done it might mess up the tranny by just putting new aft on top, but until i can figure if it was a leak or simple neglect that cAused the fluid to get that low I wasnt sure if i should just try to test it out. Glad I know I can do that, I haven't really been driving the disco when I haven't had to fen though I love to just because I want to make certain i get all these basic issues straitened.


I may have an independent rover dealer do my brakes if I need to replace the calipers just because as easy as it seems, I'd rather a professional deal with something as important as my brakes or steering door example. I'm hoping to buy some ramps for my house out here while I'm at uni today so i can do an engine flush, oil and oil filter change and bleed the brakes. Should I wait until after I have the brakes replaced or does it not matter whenever I bleed the brakes? I figured I should bleed them first in case that's causing some of my issues besides the obvious spongy pedal issue.

 

Here's another little maintenance tip that's saved my butt many times. Get yourself a tube of valve grinding compound. If you ever start to have trouble with a screw or bolt head beginning to strip, apply a little bit of the grinding compound to your bit, socket, whatever. Apply a lot of pressure towards the fastener, and turn slowly. Don't hesitate to use the grinding compound. Stripped fasteners will ruin your day.
Enjoy!