Hey Aaron,
Wondering if you've done anything/planning anything with the Rover power steering setup?
I'd like to get rid of it...My pump is whining and god forbid I have to replace it....I'd rather it not be a Land Rover part. (Never liked the idea of drilling into it!)

Thrown around the idea of doing an electric conversion into the steering column...any thoughts on that?
Alternatively, looking for a way to bring the stock LS system back, the pump and reservoir looks to be all one unit and would help clean up the engine bay by removing old greasy lines and the rover tank.
Maybe with some kinda of bracket like this?

 

I am working on two options for the power steering currently:

1. New bracket using the Corvette pump and Rover A/C. The GM truck pump, while it is nice that it has an integrated reservoir, is very hard to fit in there because of the limited space between the power steering box, the A/C compressor. Also, the Corvette pump has an output very similar to the factory pump, which I think will be better for maintain steering feel and not blowing all the seals in the steering box. The GM truck pump output is significantly higher and have concerns about the steering feeling over-assisted or the Rover steering box blowing out all its seals from the larger output. The Corvette pump is also a lot smaller, so it won't be such an issue for fitment. I have a prototype of this bracket that is supposed to show up tomorrow, but I know that it's going to need revisions.

2. Electric power steering pump using a Volvo pump. We have been discussing this a little bit here: https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...riment-111407/. Biggest issue is that all the electric power steering pumps are big because they also have an electric motor. Second concern is what the pump is going to do to the steering feel. There is not a lot of good places to put it near the steering box, but I have two in mind right now. I wouldn't remotely consider a completely electric power steering setup (powered rack). I can't stand the steering feel and lack of feedback from one of those setups. I've only driven one car with electric power steering rack that I liked (Alfa Romeo Giulia). OEMs have taken years to improve the feel from electric steering - just look at how numb the steering was on the entire last generation of BMWs. I don't think anyone could do a fully electric steering setup on a Disco well enough for me to remotely consider it, and it would be expensive. We will see how it goes with the electric pump though - it seems like a pretty cheap solution as I got the pump for under $200.

My plan is to start with the Corvette pump and see how that goes. I may test the Volvo pump on my stock Disco, or try it on the LS one later. We will just have to see. Also, I've had a few people reach out, so I am thinking about planning a run of the GM alternator brackets if there is enough interest.

 

I Really like this idea. If you ever have that bracket off and could take an outline on graph paper and take a picture or send it to me I could draw it up in solidworks and make a dxf for it. Not that it would help you any at this point, but it might help anybody else that wants to do the same. No biggie either way. I might need to try making my own bracket anyway. Mine will probably be two pieces of 3/16" though. Our laser at work only cuts up to 1/4" and my plasma table is only good for maybe 3/16" aluminum.

Or if you want to sell them I would make you a dxf or 3d model for the modest fee of being able to cut one for myself.

 

I designed this in CAD and it was cut from that. This was cut out of two pieces of 3/8 6061 (one front, one back). I wouldn’t recommend much smaller than that as I think there would be some vibration. I have had a few people reach out to me about wanting a set, so I am planning on getting a few together. I can get the bracket pieces cut easily and inexpensively, and the hardware. The harder part is the spacers, which are a long custom length, and not cheap. I am looking into options for those.

I also have noticed a very slight belt slip that happens occasionally on startup. I pretty sure it is because the water pump pulley is not wrapped as much with this setup. I have two ideas to fix this that I am trying (1): bigger grooved tensioner pulley. (2) Rerouting the belt and flipping the tensioner upside down with a smooth pulley (which would be a better option in general). I am fairly confident that the slip would not be a problem with electric fans as the viscous fan puts a lot of drag on that pulley right at cold start.

Otherwise, I really like the GM alternator. It makes more power at idle and I feel like it drags a little less on the engine (a little bit more usable power).

 

Did a much needed brake upgrade on the LS Rover today!

 

Love the information man. Recently after a trip to the Moab my disco was sucking gas and burning oil and it has made me start looking into the LS swap before my 4.6 requires the inevitable overhaul, if I am lucky enough to catch it early.

You mentioned that you modded out the air box for a higher flow rate to overcome the restricted air flow to a full throttle.

Have you looked in to the Allisport Td5 Airbox with two inlets? I ask because potentially it may not have that internal baffle you described and it looks like a direct fit for the current D2 airbox.

While I was out there I met a guy with a Td5 Defender and it seems the airbox was mounted in the back of the bay rather than the front.

Maybe this could work instead of the rigged up D2 airbox.

 

I had cut my airbox in two ways actually: (1) to add a second inlet at the bottom and (2) remove the internal baffle. After working on a second LS rover, I realized that the internal baffle was the problem (along with the limiting paper air filter). So removing the internal baffle and adding a non-restrictive air filter (like a K&N or similar) does flow enough air in the factory airbox for the LS.

The Allisport airbox is nice to look at, but really expensive (literally nearing the amount I paid for my LS). Also, the tube part going to the engine is heading at the wrong angle for the LS swap. It would have to be cut off and welded at a different angle.

There's a bunch of different ways you could do the intake and still incorporate a snorkel -- for example, a cylinder air filter housing going to the fender. If you didn't want to incorporate a snorkel you could run a cone filter, etc. Could maybe even flip the entire LS intake around backwards and run the piping from back there (not sure if it would fit with the firewall though).