Hi,
my Land Rover Discovery 1, year 98, is having more issues. When I was parking today, I heard a pop and steering got very rough. I found a massive amount of reddish colored fluid under the car. The whole engine is covered with this fluid. Does anyone have a suggestion about what might be the issue?

thank you

 

You have a leak in the Power Steering. Could be the pump, but more likely a hose/o ring. The fluid looks "reddish" because it's Automatic Transmission Fluid and it should be. When you repair the leak be sure to use ATF and not clear "power steering fluid". It's also a good idea to replace all the hoses at the same time.


Buy the hoses where you like, but they look like this > Land Rover Discovery I Power Steering Hose Kit: Land Rover Belts And Hoses

 

also, don't drive your truck until you fix this. if you do you could burn up the power steering pump.

 

Thank you for your answers. Do you think I can drive for 5 miles to the mechanic shop or should I get it towed?

 

Hypothetically, yes you can. HOWEVER, you will most likely burn up the ps pump and can add that to the repair bill. Or, you could measure and buy a new serpentine that bypasses the pump to get to the shop. Or again, you could post a picture of the damage on here and fix it yourself in the driveway. Assuming it's a busted hose, they are really easy to replace

 

This is on the list of my things to do this weekend - got all the PS hoses from AB ready to go... it's not that hard of a job assuming it's just hoses. If you're lucky, it might even just be a clamp that came loose - open the bonnet, look to the right of the engine bay as you face the truck and look for the black reservoir that says ZF on it... there should be a couple of hoses coming out of the bottom with hose clamps on - are they tight? Also follow the lines down and see if you can find any other sources of the leak...

 

I checked all those parts that you mentioned but couldn't spot the leak. All hoses seem to be attached to where they belong. I am attaching two pictures that shows where most of the oil is piled. This is the area right behind the fan. I opened to see what is inside the unit that says zf on it. A picture of it is also attached.