Ok, maybe not crying, but she is leaking fluid.


Background: She is a 2002 Disco II SD7 with 133,000 miles. I've only owned her for a month and she came in good shape, with brand new head gaskets and engine seals (we had a minor engine oil leak pooling in the valley).


**NOTE** Please be gentle and use common words as I am NOT a mechanic and new to this whole Land Rover thing.


Issues:

1. She is leaking Power Steering Fluid like a sieve. (As in, she will go thru half-a quart to merely take her down the street). Have had the O-rings (on the high pressure PS line) and the line/pipe itself replaced. No change in amount of fluid leaking.
2. Since we replaced the line, she now seems to be leaking anti-freeze as well.
3. She exhibits the "Three Amigos"
4. Her fuel gauge is permanently stuck at "Full", but if I top her off, she only fills to 14.5 gallons. Is this even a size tank possible?
5. Needs her alignment done (her wheels are fine, it's her steering wheel that seems off-alignment as she doesn't pull in either direction when driving).

I have no issues with the fuel gauge (will get that fixed over winter), nor with the "Three Amigos" as that doesn't seem to impact performance. I DO have major issues with the fluid leaks. Any ideas? She goes into my trust mechanic tomorrow but I'd like some professional LR owner feedback as to what you feel may resolve these issues.


Thanks everyone!

 

The power steering pump is basically 2 pieces bolted together with a gasket in between. That gasket that seals the 2 pieces together is a common place where the pump starts leaking. Your best bet is to buy a new pump if that's the case.

The coolant leak probably started after you replaced the PS line because you were leaning on one of hoses and snapped a brittle plastic nipple. Where exactly is the leak on the ground. Drivers side?

The Land Rover gas tank will hold 25.5 gallons. I have never got more than 22gals in even with the gas light on. If you reset your trip miles after a full fill up then you should be able to get at least 250 miles before your next fill up. I get around 300 miles per tank with a mix of hwy and city, so if you fill up at 250 you should never run out. The float on your gas pump is more than likely messed up.

And finally, welcome to the Land Rover club. I want to warn you ahead of time that if you are not willing to repair the small things yourself then you better have a great job because your wallet will really take a hit paying labor. A new PS pump is around $250-$300 but if you have a mechanic do the work expect to pay double after labor. A head gasket kit, bolts, and the machine shop will run you around $500; a mechanic will charge you $2k-$3K easy for the same job. You get the point. The help is here if you are willing to learn and get your hands dirty. Your first step in this journey should be downloading the RAVE repair manual. It shows step by step instructions for every single possible repair.

FYI: It's probably best to start a new thread for each individual problem and knock one out at a time. You will get more direct answers that way. If there are too many questions at once, sometimes things get missed. I would start with your coolant leak.

 

Jared~ thank you! I'm lucky in that I have a friend/mechanic who is willing to only charge me for parts (payment for labor is in cookies and baked goods).


Coolant leak is on the passenger side.


I ask about the tank because she refused to start once whilst my mechanic friend was working on her. He summized it was due to lack of fuel, put 1-2 gallons in and finished the repair. I immediately took and topped her off... at 14.5 gallons. (This is where having a working fuel gauge would be lovely.)


I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty working her, but am thankful for the knowledgable friends around me to help me figure this out.


Where can I find the RAVE download?

 

Power steering- Ultra violet dye might be your friend here, but if it's leaking that bad everything might glow under the black light. Put in the dye, let it idle and immediately start looking for where it's glowing....before it can run all over. (in case you're not familiar with this, you need a black light to see the leak glow)

If you have a Belle Tire location near you, they do cheap alignments and have a $20 off coupon if you sign up for their emails. Just shop around and don't get ripped off.

Fuel gauge- depends on if its the gauge or the sending unit in the tank. If it's the sending unit, it can get expensive. If I remember correctly, they are 25 gallon tanks. If it's just the gauge, it might be cheaper to buy something like an UltraGauge..just remember if the sending unit, nothing will read correctly. Was this Disco in an accident? My 2000 had fuel gauge problems after I got rear ended and it eventually left me stranded because the pump/sending unit became dislodged from the impact and eventually fell off in the tank.

UltraGauge OBDII Scan tool & Information Center

3 amigos...I don't know where you live and if winter driving is a concern, but remember you don't have ABS brakes until its fixed.

 

Rave is here:

land rover service factory manual RAVE download land rover resource, service manual, workshop factory manual, download, rave, vehicles including discovery, series, defender, range rover, freelander, LR3, Handbooks, Catalog, Catalogue, Land Rover Inte

 

Like Jared Said....watch that coolant leak. You DO NOT want to overheat your disco. It should be easy to track it down, but again...if you can't find it the dye can help pinpoint it.

 

Lets start by tracking down this leak. Is it more or toward the rear of the engine?

It could be the coolant tank. There is a small hose that runs to the bottom of the coolant tank, right above the front shock. My old tank was cracked around the nipple that the small hose attaches to.

If your leak is toward the rear of the engine then you may be looking at a head gasket leak. One of the most common places they leak is the passenger rear.

It's time to grab a flash light, put on some old clothes and climb under the truck. It could be several other things like just an old split hose or loose clamp. You need to try and get a better idea of where the coolant is coming from. Take some pictures if you get a chance.

 

To download the RAVE go to the link that stb616 posted above. Click "Land Rover RAVE service Manual" next to large file warning 590MB, A window will open and pick "save file" and click "OK". Wait for it to download and enjoy. If you need help navigating the download for the first time let me know.

 

That's one nice friend or some damn good cookies/baked goods. Hold onto that one - he or she is a keeper.

Good luck.

 

rent or borrow a cooling pressure system tester and find the cooling leak before you do damage to the engine.