I've done nearly everything under the hood and under the body, except for the power steering. So tonight I got some Dexron III ATF High Mileage and popped the reservoir cap. Not only could I see the bottom of the strainer but there was a chunk of metal at the bottom! Then I noticed drops of a very coolant looking green liquid around the cap and strainer. I removed the strainer and it appears to be filled with... strawberry milk. After months of fixing the PO's neglect rebuilding the engine I shouldn't have assumed the PS would be ok.

 

Have you dont anything to the power steering before this point?

 

Time for the turkey baster to suck out as much as possible, add good stuff, run, slurp out, repeat until looks as good as what comes out of the bottle. Any whining when steering ("I want a really fresh tree" does not count)?

Coolant probably sprayed from your first few days of disaster, or any radiator work done. Maybe upper hose leak? But all that is external.

Your friendly Local Independent Auto Retailer (LIAR) may have just topped off the PS with... power steering fluid.

That chunk of metal looks too big to have made it through the hoses from pump and steering box.

 

This is the first time I've opened the cap. My attention has been everywhere but here. I've only moved it around to facilitate cleaning and the rebuild.

 

Not that this is the case in your case but the dye that they add to detect leaks looks a little like antifreeze. I had a bunch of it on the underside of my oil filler cap and thought I needed a head gasket change until some correspondence with the P/O let me know it was dye put there by a shop trying to chase down a leak. If it looks too thick to be antifreeze then this may be the case.

good luck

 

It seems pretty thin so I'm guessing it's coolant. I've been diluting it repeatedly with a fluid measuring syringe and it's amazing how quiet it is now. I thought everyone's PS went wee wee all the way home...

 

It's taken me about 4 years to cover everything my PO's neglected, now I'm to the point taking care of everything I've neglected.......back to the beginning. You'll never rest for long before something needs your attention. The joy of owning a Rover.

 

Just a reminder of what you have even when it has issues. My sons girlfriend has a Jeep Grand with all wheel drive. It can't climb the hills on our private road since they've melted and become ice. These are long hills, fun going up and coming down. My Rover motors up and down them without even a slip. I kept my ABS working for this reason even though it's been a PITA to keep up with it. The ABS will not make the truck stop on a dime on ice but it will keep the truck from gaining momentum down hill along with first gear. She has to take an old road that was less challenging to get in and out of here. Just goes to show that not everything is equal in the 4by4 world and Rovers rule the mundane tasks of getting where you want to be.

 

re: It seems pretty thin so I'm guessing it's coolant

There is supposed to be an O-ring under the cap, if missing or no longer "plump" it might allow water ingress when washing off the engine area, etc.

Like Spike always says, check all the fluids weekly.

Seems like there is also a method of opening the bleed screw on the steering box and pour new fluid in the reserve tank while the pump squirts it out the bleed hole, and of course drips all over lots of stuff. But multiple turkey baster evacuation of fluid works just fine if repeated.

 

Just be sure to buy SWMBO a new turkey baster.