I have a 2000 Disco II and have not had power steering for over a year now. Originally the power steering pump was whining and I checked the fluid and it was very low, but not empty. I was able to cross reference the fluid needed and put in the gm equivalent according to the owners manual. At this point it would not keep the fluid in, and would push the fluid out of the reservoir.

After pricing the cost of a pump both new and reman I simply can not afford to replace it. After a while the fluid was not being pushed out but started coming out of the steering box. I cleaned everything and it was coming out of the steering box. Needless to say I can not afford that either.

I have grown to like to manual steering and have had no other steering issues in the year and four months it has not worked. Is there a way to convert it to manual steering and removing the pump all together? I honestly do not want power steering back, and during the winter it handled so much better in my opinion.

If it were to be replaced, as this is a daily driver and can not be without for more than two days consecutively, can the pump and the steering box be rebuilt with kits, and if so what would make them unable to be rebuilt? If unable to be rebuilt and used parts are found, besides those two parts, what else would need to be replaced other than hoses?

The last problem it has are the 02 sensors. They have been bad for two years now and my mileage is roughly 10 miles per gallon, maybe a little less. However I drive 3 miles to work one way and do not go on any trips. If I replace the o2 sensors is there anything else I should look at if mileage does not go back to the 14-15 per gallon when I originally bought it?

Keep in mind that after paying rent, groceries, insurance, and buying gas I am lucky to have 40 dollars extra a month. I do not have a phone or internet and use the internet at work. I simply can not afford to maintain it like I used to and can not sell it because I can not afford a car payment.

 

Driving your truck without a functional steering pump does not make it "manual" steering. You're putting more strain on the steering linkage than it was designed to handle, and failure is imminent. That being said, with all of the mods that people have come up with for Discoveries, there's probably some way, somehow, to put an actual manual steering box in there. Maybe from an older Defender/Series model.
The bad news is that this will probably cost significantly more than simply replacing your power steering pump. If you're on a budget, try to find one from a junkyard. It will be significantly cheaper than a remanufactured one, and will probably last almost as long.

 

No offense intended but you need to sell your truck and get a smaller, more efficient vehicle. It won't be long before this truck bleeds you dry. Not everyone can afford a luxury European vehicle. Just because the price of entry has dropped thanks to ridiculous depreciation, parts and labor still remain exceptionally high.

 

What Paul said, but if you'reng to keep the rig anyway, fill the lines with fluid, dissconnect them and block them off, you'll have manual steering. Have done it with a mustang that weighed half as much and works fine. Given the weight, I'm sure russ is correct, so if you go that route, it should be with replacing it with a proper manual rack/column ASAP. Meantime, I'd try and remove weight off the front end (battery relocation, remove skid plates, etc) just for good measure.

 

I don't believe there are any manual boxes available for D2, and they would probably cost just as much if not more than a power box, unless you could find someone that was trying to upgrade. A power steering box without the pump running isn't the same as a manual box. For example, on my defender, the manual box takes 4.75 steering wheel revolutions to go from lock to lock. The power version, which I'm hoping to upgrade to soon, takes 3.49 turns lock to lock.

 

Agreed, but then how has he been able to use the PS ratio without PS this whole time, unless he's Popeye???