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After I recently replaced the water pump, power steering pump, pulleys and belt, my LR2 started "losing" power steering fluid. After filling it a few times, a new problem developed. It started smoking really bad from the engine compartment when making a hard turn. I found a pinhole in the exhaust manifold where it was squirting out when my wife would turn the wheel really hard. I can't find any leaks anywhere else, but what stumps me is how power steering fluid is making it into the exhaust in the first place. I read online about a pressure valve on/for the power steering pump that assists in hard turning, but that was for a different vehicle. It said something about possibly leaking into the vacuum lines. I can't find anything about the LR2. Any help would be greatly appreciated, as now it has gotten so bad that it blows nasty smoke into the cabin air system sometimes when hard turning.
Please be so kind as to state full info on your car, like year, mileage, etc.
This is the power steering system on a 2008-2012 LR2 with the petrol engine. If you look at where all the hoses and pipes travel, you will see it's not hard for fluid to get to the exhaust manifold. I am not saying this is where your problem is, but pipe 6 is the high pressure feed pipe for the system into the pump, and it passes right over the engine.
A clue, Sherlock...
If you changed the pump, you may need to check and see if you reinstalled that pipe correctly. Good luck.
It's a 2010 with the 3.2 gasoline engine. It has around 117,000 miles. There's only one thing I possibly did wrong. The O-ring on the high pressure line where it connects to the pump was deteriorated and broken in half. I replaced it with a random O-ring that came in an assorted pack. I couldn't find a source for an exact replacement. The one I put on was just slightly thicker than the one that came off, but to me that was possibly a good thing, since it might make a better seal. It doesn't leak from the connection there. The only leak I've found isn't even a leak. From what it looked like to me, it actually squirts out from the inside of the exhaust manifold through a tiny pinhole, and only when turning the wheel pretty hard. That just makes no sense to me. I put some high temp exhaust putty over the hole, but that obviously didn't work, since the problem got worse. I haven't been back under it since then to see what it looks like now. We've had some cold days and some wet days around here lately. Thank you for the diagram. As I said, any help is appreciated.
You said you replaced the power steering pump. Where did you get the replacement unit? Page 550 of the service manual shows how to do a power steering system pressure test. It requires special tools that are listed on that page.
I'm trying to think what would cause this, and I keep coming back to the high pressure hose, but the reason why I ask where you got the pump is that it may have a faulty pressure relief valve. It is supposed to relieve pressure when the steering is turned hard either way. How a failure of that valve would cause any fluid to enter the exhaust manifold is beyond me.
This is the functional diagram of the power steering system.
The pressure relief valve is item 6. This is the description of its operation from the service manual:
When the engine is started the power steering pump draws fluid from the reservoir into the low pressure suction line. The
fluid passes through the pump and emerges as pressurized fluid at the outlet port. The high pressure hose passes the
pressurized fluid to the steering gear valve unit.
If no steering effort is applied, there is minimal restriction within the system and the supply pressure from the pump is
low. Minimal pressure is applied, via the valve unit, to each side of the piston in the hydraulic cylinder and the full flow
from the power steering pump returns to the reservoir via the fluid cooler.
When steering effort is applied in either direction, the return flow of fluid to the reservoir is restricted by the valve unit,
causing the supply pressure from the pump to increase. The pressurized fluid is directed by the valve unit to the applicable
side of the piston in the hydraulic cylinder, providing the power assistance required to reduce the steering effort. Fluid
displaced from the low pressure side of the cylinder is returned via the valve unit and fluid cooler to the reservoir. The fluid
cooler reduces the fluid temperature improving fluid performance and also prolongs the life of hoses and seals in the
system.
The pump came from Ebay, and I've read somewhere about someone replacing a power steering pump with a new unit that was actually faulty. Perhaps that is the issue. Also, I believe that valve you mentioned is what I read about, saying that somehow it allowed the fluid to get sucked into the vacuum lines, which allowed it to enter the exhaust somehow. Makes no sense to me, but I'm not a professional mechanic. I appreciate you trying to help me figure this out. I'll take a look at it soon and update anything new that I've found.
Serpentine Belt Replacement Volvo S80 V70 XC70 XC60 3.2 and Land Rover LR2 __________________________________________________ _______________ OE PARTS LIST-----------------------Land Rover Part #---Volvo Part # Serpentine Belt-----------------------LR003570-----------31251046 Tensioner-----------------------------LR004667------------31401286 Idler Pulley---------------------------LR006076------------31401193 O-ring for Power steering pump-----LR009387----------- Overdrive pulley----------------------LR005993-----------31316803 __________________________________________________ ________________ OEM Substitute Parts Continental Belt-------------CON-6K1200 INA Tensioner--------------INA-5340324100 FEBI Idler Pulley-----------FEB-37515 INA Overdrive pulley---------INA-5350195100
The incorrect o-ring is indeed an item to address, but it doesn't explain how the PS fluid would get into the exhaust manifold. If the o-ring was so bad the fluid would be visible at the connection point.
Burning power steering fluid
