Good morning,

I spent the weekend replacing the three original lines for the power steering assembly in the '99 Discovery 1. The fluid that came out can only be described as looking like baby poop

I believe that someone was putting PS fluid in to the system... after some online reading I see, and now remember that ATF is recommended for the D1.

I ended up using a product called OEM ATF (a Canadian Tire synthetic brand) as it was the only ATF product I could find over the long weekend here. The bottle does not state Dex III, but a product literature sheet beside the aisle for this "OEM" product said it was Dex III compatible... after filling the system, it is noisy when turning the wheels all the way to the right (but not the left).

I would like to remove this fluid, and replace it with Valvoline Max Life.

Any tips on removing the current fluid? Turkey baster... or just dissconnect the low pressure line and let it drain?

Thank you

 

Check out these threads, they should have enough info to help:

https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...h-36191/page2/
https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...-system-27045/

I'm aware the second one is for a D2, but procedure should be the same.

 

Since changing the lines (no leaks btw!), I now have an issue when turning the wheels. There is a groan when I turn to the right... I also feel some vibration come through the steering wheel when the groan happens.

Thoughts and suggestions?

Thanks in advance

 

ATF is recommended over Power Steering fluid? I had not heard of that. My 98s PS has always leaked and did not have any "power" at idle - I had to rev the engine to turn the wheels if not moving at higher RPMs until I swapped the pump, lines, and reservoir from a 95. Now it does work at idle (if it hasn't leaked out), but it still leaks. I'm on my second bottle of Lucas PS stop leak (thick red goo) and it is still leaking, but perhaps not quite as fast. I put a catch pan under it after the first bottle of Lucas and the pan also had some beautiful golden flecks in it. So...ATF is better than PS fluid? I am thinking ATF would be thinner, but might it seal better?

 

Did you do the Right, Left turns to bleed all the air out?

Only vibration I recall from the wheel was when I had the PS pump go out, sadly a ridiculously expensive part.

 

yep, you should be using ATF.

 

Slipping belt? air in the system? Just right lock and not left? If so perhaps binding in the linkage? The big nut on the bottom of the steering box of my 98 tends to loosen over time but it adds to steering play - not vibration.

 

In an old thread disco mike advised for a flush of the power steering system " You'll need 4 quarts of P/S fluid, a Bottle of Lucas P/S additive and a turkey baster, hand pump " I am not ignoring the recommendation of ATF, but am curious about the recommendation of Lucas P/S additive and P/S fluid. Would that be the Lucas Power Steering stop leak I am trying? Are there seals that are damaged by P/S fluid?

 

https://landroverforums.com/forum/pr...ear-old-90985/

 

I'm not knowledgeable enough to answer those (good) questions in any authoritative way.

The power steering system is isolated. it doesn't 'touch' any other systems (thankfully). If you are having some leaking issues (everybody does eventually) I (if it were my truck) would drain and replace with ATF, run it for a week, then drain and replace again (with the goal of getting the greatest portion of the PS fluid out and having nearly all ATF in there.

If it still is leaky you have a choices to make... a) change the seals in the steering box. Some have success, others report continued leaking. b) change the entire box. c) add a 'stop leak product.

Mine was leaky and I added Blue Devil Transmission sealer (note...not PS sealer) which seems to have worked. It won't ruin anything that I wasn't going to replace if it didn't work anyway so I figured I give it a shot. So far, so good.

I wouldn't advocate for a 'stop leak' product in the engine or cooling system because the downside (clogging/blockage) can create more problems.