Have a 2001 Disco II about 190,000 miles. Use it mainly around my farm and have not been driving it on a daily basis the last few months, but when driven all has been working well.

Today I was getting ready to run some errands and thought I'd take the truck . When I started to drive away, I could hear a "moaning sound" (the only moaning I've heard in awhile, but I digress....

The sound was similar to what I have experienced when the power steering fluid was low and always stopped once fluid was added to system. Not that this has happened often with this vehicle.

When I opened the hood to check fluid, PS fluid was bubbling up out of the PS tank. I shut the engine off and the fluid continued to come out of the top of the tank for about 30 seconds. Once it stopped, I opened the cap on the tank and the fluid had a very frothy appearance, and, was obviously low.

Any ideas as to whats is going on here?

Thanks.

 

You have a leak and air is entering the system. You should find and fix the leak. You should have a swirling and motion but not bubbling out.

 

thanks that makes sense to me. I've never had the fluid react this way in the past; always noticed the "swirling motion" you mention.

Would leak typically be in one of the hoses? I don't notice any obvious leaking right now, but perhaps a crack could allow air in, but not be big enough to be leaking fluid?

 

I'd start looking at the connection / crimp areas, then chase the hoses. You are prolly right about it being a small spot. Good luck.

 

thanks. will start there after the Turkey-Coma wears off

 

I just replaced mine and had the same problem. It can help to diagnose the problem if you shut it off and check for continued dripping. There is a low pressure hose that comes off the bottom of the pump and goes back to the reservoir. Look for dripping where the hose connects. There is a band clamp around it. Also check for drips at the reservoir. There is a high pressure hose that comes off the bottom right of the pump and has a compression nut. Check there too. May have to be underneath to see it or at least remove the fan shroud. If it is coming from the bottom, wipe it off as well as possible and see if it is coming from the pump or the hose. If it is the pump, that means a bad gasket and you can either refbuild it or just get another one.

My pump gasket spring a very sudden leak. I pulled the pump and poured fluid in the low pressure hose (the larger one) to see where it was leaking, and it was the gasket. I got a used pump on eBay for 30 bucks including shipping and installed it this morning. Works great. Not a huge job to replace.

 

I just replaced mine and had the same problem. It can help to diagnose the problem if you shut it off and check for continued dripping. There is a low pressure hose that comes off the bottom of the pump and goes back to the reservoir. Look for dripping where the hose connects. There is a band clamp around it. Also check for drips at the reservoir. There is a high pressure hose that comes off the bottom right of the pump and has a compression nut. Check there too. May have to be underneath to see it or at least remove the fan shroud. If it is coming from the bottom, wipe it off as well as possible and see if it is coming from the pump or the hose. If it is the pump, that means a bad gasket and you can either refbuild it or just get another one.

My pump gasket spring a very sudden leak. I pulled the pump and poured fluid in the low pressure hose (the larger one) to see where it was leaking, and it was the gasket. I got a used pump on eBay for 30 bucks including shipping and installed it this morning. Works great. Not a huge job to replace.

 

Thanks for the overview of how you managed what sounds like a similar problem. I did get under the truck during the holiday and could see leaking that appeared to be coming from the low pressure hose at the bottom of the pump; fluid was leaking down the hose just as you described. I could wipe off the excess and wait a minute and more would ooze out.
I tried some Lucas Power Steering Stop Leak to see if that might help. The reservoir had standard fluid in it, near the full line. So, I removed a few syringes of fluid and added the Lucas Stop Leak. Ran the truck a bit to let fluids mix and steering improved to near normal, though I could still hear some noise from the pump. Only drove back and forth on my driveway for 5 minutes, tops then parked it. Next morning all fluid from the tank was on the ground - that was new. Even with the leak, before, the tank never drained all the way.
Could the Stop Leak have done more damage?
Will likely look for a new pump on eBay or elsewhere anyway, just curious about the Stop Leak usage.

 

You could be lucky and it is just the hose, but my hose is original (2000 model) and looked fine. There is a band clamp at the top of the hose that you may or may not be able to see (I replaced mine with a regular hose clamp when i replaced the pump).

Unfortunately, it sounds just like mine. The hose nearly meets the bottom of the pump, and mine looked like it was coming from the top of the hose. But after I looked at the hose as well as possible with the pump on (and it looked fine), I did remove it as described.

I can't recall whether I said, but the big, low pressure hose is hard to get off with the pump on--you can't really reach the band clamp (or even see it very well) in order to release the clamp. So I just removed the other end from the reservoir and left it on the old pump as I removed it. That worked out well because I literally duct taped the pump to a post, then poured PS fluid in that same hose (taping it high on the post, so the fluid went down hill) and then, using a rag, was able to see that it was coming out of the bottom of the pump just above the low pressure hose. Like yours, my pump was fine for almost 14 years, then made the noise, then just poured out. The gasket apparently just blows out from pressure.... I don't think there is ever a small or slow leak on the high pressure part of the pump; you either have a good gasket or it bleeds all over the ground. If you remove the pump, you also need to remove the high pressure line that comes out of the side. The larger nut (that is on the side of the pump, the one that you hold still) is a 22mm, and the smaller one (which your turn) is an odd 16mm size I had to buy a new (cheapo) set of open end wrenches just to get the 16mm. It is hard to reach and there is not alot of room if your wrenches are standard length, but it can be done.

I am no expert but I read that if the pump runs dry the pump can be damaged beyond repair. I drove about 40 miles with mine empty (of necessity.... icy day and I was away from home.... no choice), and my old pump now makes a loud whine whether it is full of fluid or not. I think it is toast.

If you have a new/used pump the replacement process is pretty simple with the 16/22mm wrenches and some a socket set from 8-15mm. Just remove the fan shroud (should be four phillips, black screws), loosen the three bolts on the power steering pump pulley (easier with the belt in place), remove the belt (I think it is a 15mm bolt on the belt tensioner... just pull it to slack the belt and work it off.... note how it travels around the pulleys or snap a picture with your phone), then get your sockets out and remove the plastic belt covers on top of the belt, over the compressor (there should be two... 4 bolts; don't lose the spacers that keep them from touching the belt). I removed my fan too (large nut on back of the fan). Most fans will just turn off without loosening the big nut. You may be able to just put sockets through the fan blades but I don't think you will be able to get the pump off without removing the fan and, in any case, it was cold when I did mine and I wanted to be sure I didn't break cold, brittle, plastic fan blades. Remove the four bolts on the corners of the AC compressor (10mm).... don't disconnect the lines, and flop it over to your right. A tip on that... the back left bolt will not come out because the throttle cable assembly is in the way. Just use a wrench instead of a socket and when it is loose (and the other three bolts are off), just hold the bolt up and slide the whole unit out a bit so you can remove the bolt. You will probably want to remove the air filter cover just so there is room for the compressor to flop over toward the driver side (just out of the way). You will see a bolt dead center under where the compressor was, remove that. You will see a nut just above the power steering pump. That is basically a centering bolt/nut for the little assembly that holds the PS pump and AC compressor. If you have ACE, you will need to take that off/flop it over too because it bolts to the same assembly (I don't have ACE but I imagine it is just a few bolts like the AC compressor and that you don't want to remove the lines.

You will see a few bolts around the power steering pump (that were covered up or nearly covered by its pulley); they are long. Go ahead and remove those because it is easier to do than when you take it off the truck. Unband the hoses from the reservoir. One of the bolts (top right) holds an obvious bracket that binds metal fluid lines (I can't recall if they are oil or transmission fluid lines... either way, just need to be moved slightly); remove the bolt and just be careful to slightly move the lines (you don't want to break or crimp them... there is some give so you can move them slightly out of the way; they are pretty tough). Guide the low pressure hose (which is now disconnected form the reservoir) out. Pull it out the assembly out; your pump will be on the bottom of it, held in place by friction. tap it with a mallet or hammer to slide it out. Throw it in the trash because it has let your down and is no longer worthy of your attention, and is dripping fluid on your clean work surface... satisfying. Retrieve it because it is worth money and still has your low pressure hose attached.

Once you have the whole assembly out, it will be obvious what you have to do to take the pump out and put the new pump in... I think two bolts. Another tip, go ahead and run the long bolts that hold the new pump on place (this will be obvious... left and right side of the pump from the front), because it is hard to line up the long bolts through their holes and through the pump when the assembly is in the truck (learned this through my mistake) because the fit is pretty tight. If you don't do that you will have to tap the pump up and down, left and right, trying to line up the holes without being able to see in them and staring from above; that's what I did for about 15 minutes in a very tight space until my back protested, and then just removed the whole assembly (suitably cursing) and did it right.

Honestly all of the foregoing will be obvious once you start removing the first bolt; i feel like I am making it sound complicated.

I would suggest putting cardboard against the radiator to protect it.

I use blue thread locker on every bolt and the nut (not on the fan nut, if you remove that... not necessary). I always replace the rover hose bands with regular hose clamps, but that is up to you.

Reverse process, fill reservoir, and marvel at your mechanical success. Make sure wife/girlfriend/someone take a look and make appreciative sounds and words. Estimate cost for a shop to do it, double that figure and add lost earnings, and claim you saved that much money. Go out to eat.

The power steering does need to be bled of air. When you start the truck the first time you will hear a whine for a few seconds while it sucks in PS fluid. Methods for bleeding the air are all over, but my method was to turn the truck on, turn the wheels left and right, leave it running, turn them again, leave it running. I did this for about 30 minutes (most of which was spent just playing on my cell phone out of boredom because I don't like beer) and everything worked fine after that. The next day there was a slight hesitation in the steering assist each time I turned. After about 3 miles it went away permanently.

Total time from opening the hood to driving away and feeling a wave of relief (first time, no experience, no instructions at all), maybe 2 hours. I am mechanically retarded and this was pretty easy.

As for the stop leak, I am not entirely sure. Mine was leaking so badly (about a 3/16th stream of fluid starting the moment I poured fluid in the reservoir and ending a few minutes later when all of the fluid was on the ground) I didn't bother. I doubt you have damaged it; it probably just poured out since that is the lowest point on the pump. I would, and did, get a used pump to solve the immediate problem. I would also get a 30 dollar rebuild kit for yours (eBay), then sell your rebuilt one or put it back in the truck, or just keep it as a spare. I may have gotten lucky though: including shipping I have 60 dollars in my air conditioner compressor and power steering pump (both eBay), total, and they both work flawlessly. Your mileage may differ.

If you decide to replace yours feel free to PM me and I will give you my cell number. I am sure there are more qualified members to help, but I did just do this and it is fresh in my mind.

Sorry for the long post... I was in the zone on the removal/install portion. It really isn't very complicated... a few bolts and a nut. If you had all of your overalls, tools, the thread locker (blue), and some new power steering fluid out and ready, and have no fear of removing things from your engine compartment, you could do the swap an hour or slightly more by yourself.

Best,

Charlie V

 

I had a leak on the PS return hose (the larger one from the bottom of the pump to the reservoir) it had worn through the steel/alu tubing on the crankcase/block joint which is a common fault on the TD5. I replaced the hose and rearranged the congestion of tubes/gear in that area and protected the hose by splitting reinforced neoprene tubing and wrapping it around the hoses fixed with electrical tie wraps. The easiest access was to take off the drivers side front wheel and remove the inner splash guard. This also made life easier for accessing the hose clip on the bottom of the PS pump which was a 'one shot' permanent clip which I had to saw through and replace. All works fine now.

I honestly don't have any faith in these chemical 'quick fix' products which in some cases create even more problems like, Radweld, for coolant leaks - if it blocks leaks think what it does to the radiator and heater matrix also capillary routes in the block and head. Similarly with PS leak weld..............all too much voodoo for me.