I am the new owner of a 2004 DII, 123k miles. Also, new to Land Rovers and this forum. I have spent quite a bit of time reading other PS threads, but haven't run across one that addresses my issue exactly. Power steering pump groans constantly, but louder when turning. No leaks that I can see. Reservoir is full, and I can see the fluid being pumped back to reservoir with engine running. Steering seems to be stiff, but I have not driven other LR's to compare. Could the pump just be worn out and needs replacing? Is it starving for fluid? Would a flush be worth the effort and expense, only then to find out the pump is about shot? I saw Atlantic British video on the replacement process - pretty simple process.

Thanks in advance for the advice.

 

It could be the pump. It could be air getting into the system from the intake hose, It could be the intermediate Steering shaft.

For years I wondered why my steering was odd, and replaced the pump, and steering box. It ended being the U Joints at the bottom of the intermediate steering shaft that were worn out and caked in Grease/Dirt so I couldn't tell. So try spraying some WD-4 on the U joints and see if that changes the behavior at all. That is how I figured mine out. It got all the way to stuck before I did.

 

Mines also a bit stiff but not what it was when I picked it up. My mechanic said a ton of people tend to use lucas power steering fluid in them. Can't remember exactly what the issue was but he wasn't too thrilled about the possibility. He took out as much as he could and replaced it with the rover fluid and it helped out a bit. This was the advice I got from an independent rover shop that I hold in high regard. I took CollieRover's advice and sprayed out the U joints with WD-40. It also helped break up the stiffness quite a bit.

 

Try bleeding. Pump is working when you see movement in the reservoir. I could just turn engine off, loosen the the return hose, start engine for 2-5 secs, let all old fluid flush. Make sure reservoir dont empty completely. Add new fluid and do same procedure until new fluid is coming out of return. Then top with new fluid. Start, turn hard left and hard right and repeat.

 

Thanks for the replies. I can live with the stiffness, as it sounds like that may be normal. It's just different than what I'm accustomed to. But will definitely give the shaft joints some attention.

The constant groaning from the pump is mainly my concern. In the last few days I've made some additional observations. At idle, when making a sudden left turn of the steering wheel, there is no power assist. Sudden turn to the right, and there is power assist. With a little throttle, there is power assist in both directions. The further the steering wheel is turned in either direction, the louder the groan is. Could simply having air in the system cause this? How would the air get in?

Secondly, we have a lot of potholes and sections where the top layer of asphalt on our roads has come out. When driving over these areas at highway speed, there is noticeable loss of directional control, with the steering wheel giving a lot of left-right movement. You really have to hold on to the wheel and "steer" through these sections. This is more noticeable than in my other vehicles. Would this have anything to do with a power steering issue?

 

I'm stuck on the groan too, so not very helpful there.
But on the shake issue. Mine was like that when I first got it: turned out to just be the steering damper. Easy fix.

 

I finally replaced my steering pump after a couple of months of bleeding and flushing and dealing with the horrible Chewbacca groan.
Man! What difference it makes now to be able to turn the steering wheel with minimal force! No more pedestrian head turning from the annoying wookie noises. Lol

 

My D2 steering groans occasionally over the last 2 years. I will do a PAS fluid replacement and bleed initially but if it persists or worsens I'll replace the steering pump which is slightly different from the V8.

I'll need to save my pennies first as the LR original pump is an horrendous price but I have read many times that the aftermarket pumps are crap.

 

I totally understand. I bought a new aftermarket steering pump off of eBay for $108.
I'll see what happens with that one... touch wood.

 

Just chiming in to say that my '01 is currently on its 4th steering pump. The original lasted my dad for the first 30k or so miles. After I inherited it, I had it replaced by a local mechanic back in La.

Drove it back to the east coast and took it to an independent Rover specialist in the area for a comprehensive workup. The new pump had already started to fail. He replaced it with his preferred model. It started to fail after a year. He replaced it again, no charge. A year later, it was failing again. Once again, he replaced it for free, but told me, it sucks, but none of the aftermarket pumps out there are any good anymore. They're replacing them all the time. They've been trying to source a better one for the D2s, but so far have come up empty.

So they once again put one of the "crappy" ones in and said they'd keep replacing it for free until they can find a better supplier. They warned me ahead of time that this new one in particular is loud. They were right, it whines. But it's working fine otherwise, so far.

They said that might have a line on a new one and that they'll need guinea pigs to try it out when they get their hands on a few. I might volunteer.

I take them at their word, considering they're not charging me for each replacement. They're obviously eating a bunch of labor.

Anyone aware of this apparent pump sourcing issue?