As an early Christmas present, my wife "allowed" me to work on Myrtle this weekend. Bless her...
I decided to totally flush the power steering system since I started to get a loud groaning noise from the steering pump and the power steering fluid looked like Aunt Jemima maple syrup.

The items I used are:
- 1 suction pump to suck out the old power steering fluid from the PAS reservoir.
- 2 feet of 1/4" inner diameter clear hose for the small bleed port on top of the steering valve.
- small zip ties to secure the 2 ft long clear hose onto the bleed port and to aim it towards the catch basin.
- a catch basin/oil waste pan for draining the used power steering fluid.
- an 11mm wrench for opening and tightening the bleed valve.
- 1 can of Seafoam's Hydra Trans Tune (HTT). People online have stated this has the same ingredients as the regular Seafoam but with a red dye. Since both were the same price at Advanced Auto, I went with HTT.
- 1 liter can of Pentosin CHF 11s green power steering fluid. I use this on my wife's X5 with great results.
- 1 each 16oz. bottle of Lucas' Power Steering Fluid with Conditioners. I use this also on my wife's X5 with great results.

First off, I used a suction pump to suck out the syrup looking power steering fluid from the PAS reservoir. I don't have an ACE system but the PAS reservoir has a plastic partition/baffle wall inside it with a hole the size of a dime that allows fluid between the two partitions. I had to remove the reservoir from the mount and flip it downward with the hoses still attached. This allowed me to get all the old power steering fluid from the rear partition to the front of the reservoir to suck it all out with the pump. The pump also sucked up a vast majority of the particles that collected at the top of the resevoirs' internal mesh filter screen.

Once that was completed, I filled the reservoir with Seafoam's Hydra Trans Tune (HTT) up to the reservoir's full line. I then drove my Disco for 15 minutes doing figure 8 turns around my house and street to work the HTT into the power steering system.


After that, I parked my Disco overnight to get the HTT to work in the system by removing deposits from the old power steering fluid.

The next morning, I removed the PAS reservoir from the mount and flip it downward again and sucked out all the fluid from the reservoir. I then totally refilled the PAS reservoir with Pentosin CHF 11s power steering fluid. After I refilled the reservoir, I got the 1/4" drain tube and cable tie to attached it the top of the steering bleed port. The other end of the drain tube I positioned and cable tied it to the frame so it could drain directly into the oil pan and keep It from pissing everywhere.
I had my wife start up the Disco and slowly turned the steering wheel from lock to lock to work the Pentosin back into the system. As my wife was turning the steering wheel slowly, I took the 11mm wrench and opened the steering bleed valve just a 1/4 turn to bleed out the old power steering fluid. I bled enough of the old power steering fluid until it came out Pentosin green and then tightened the bleed valve to shut it off. I then removed the bleed screw drain hose and wiped down the area of spilled power steering fluid. I again drove my Disco for 15 minutes doing figure 8 turns around my house and street to work the Pentosin CHF 11s into the power steering system and to remove air from the system.

After I returned from the drive, I topped up the PAS reservoir from the low mark with 3/4 of Lucas' Power Steering Fluid with Conditioners up to the full mark. I drove it around my house again working it into the steering system and now everything works great with no squeal or groaning.

 

Nice write up and great job

 

Nice write up!

 

Nice write up, and will be doing this someday.

Also, l'm really beginning to hate you guys and your rust free Discovery's...lol.

Brian.

 

Yeah I've seen what rust can do to vehicles and it's amazing. All the little brackets that hold say the radiator, radiator support rods (RRC/D1), coolant jug mount, battery hold downs, and everything else like it just crumble! That's not even counting the frame, steering, brakes, and suspension parts!

I had a friend that had a cool little Dodge Daytona Shelby (very rare little sports car). It was his dads from from up near OH. When he passed my friend got the car and was so so excited to get it. We went down to get it from the auto trailer and from first glance it was beautiful and 100% original. We popped the hood and we both about puked at the site of all the rust!!!!!!

He drove that car for a bit, but eventually anything he touched either broke or fell apart so he just parked it in his garage.

 

Very solid write up. It's now a sticky.

 

Thanks guys! And thank you ArmyRover for making this a sticky!

I don't have jack stands but it goes without saying that you can jack up the front end of the Disco to make it easier turning the steering wheel.

 

I did this on my 99 D2 today, but I had to do it a little bit different. My 99 D2 has ACE so I attacked it at the same time. I also couldn't for the life of me get the bleeder on top of the PS Box to break loose.

I bought some cheaper PS Fluid, and I used a suction pump to drain the reservoir then I'd add some new fluid and repeat the process until I had clear fluid flowing out of the suction pump. I then added the actual PS Fluid (I went with some Royal Purple PS Fluid that is 100% compatible with all PS Fluids. I then added 6oz of the Lucas Steering Stop additive.

After that I did the same procedure to the ACE system with the exception I removed the ACE filter, inspected it, and it was spotless so I re-installed it, and then flushed it all out until I had a nice purple color. I then topped that system off with the other 6oz of Lucas Steering Stop Additive (some people bash the stuff, but it has saved every single RRC/D1 power steering box so I split the dose in the D2). My ACE pump wasn't leaking like crazy, but she did have a tiny bit of seeping so hopefully that will fix that issue.

 

You did good.
I always had noise from something spinning with the belt.

maybe my power steering.
I replaced the pump and it was always a little noisy even after that.

I am glad your power steering issue turned out well due to your precise attention.
Well done!

 

My PAS pump whines like the 1 in this video clip. I would like to try and save it, never had any leaks but since it sat for 4-weeks the pump is louder than hell and I think I'm going to burn it out if I don't try something.

Will this flush do anything or is the pump on its way out? I don't want to throw money away on all of these fluids/chemicals if it's a lost cause but if there's hope I will take this exercise on STAT.