Bent Ove Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 I'm living in Norway, northern Europe. Due to covid I haven't seen Ms Landy since March 2020. She's currently at a friend's workshop in Durbanville, RSA. The other day he sent me this photo with a caption: "Came in this morning and found this" Landies isn't his kind of business and I asked another friend. He suggested: "I look at the picture and I would say it is power steering fluid, look at the angle of the front wheels. If the steering box is worn and you park it with wheels at that angle it will leak, straighten wheels and no more leak." Ok? I continued asking: "If the steering box is worn" . . . Apparently it is. How do I move forward?" Sadly I'm still awaiting his response . . . I need to ask friends in Cape Town for help. But What kind of help am I asking for? What would you recommend? Bent Ove Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L19MUD Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 By the red colour and the location of the leak I would be pretty confident it is a power steering leak. They don't just normally dump all the fluid like that though. That level of leak should be pretty easy to identify - the reservoir is a black pot with 'zf' on the cap, check this for splits/the pipe not being connected properly to it, trace that down to the steering box to see if you have a leak there (normally just a drip off the end of the arm), follow the pipes across the front crossmember on the inside to the pump on the right hand side checking for wet pipes as you go, although the leak does look on the left. Had it been dripping before? A visual inspect of what components are wet will help diagnose 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonpelly Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 Agree. Looks like steering fluid. When did this leak occur - on start up or when engine not running. Noticed that the wheels are on the angle where more stress is on the pump and pipes. Difficult to judge but looks like a significant proportion has dumped out. Take a good look at connections and the state of the steering pipes - reservoir to block, block to pump, pump to reservoir. Two of these run behind the front cross member of the chassis. https://www.lrworkshop.com/diagrams/land-rover-defender-steering/steering-column-lower/power-steering-pipes_53705 If nothing obvious, top up and then run engine, move steering wheel side to side (full lock) and observe. It should be obvious where it is leaking. That said, this would be a messy affair. Good luck, Simon... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eightpot Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 Unless a rat has chewed through a pipe, I'd suggest the power steering box lower seal is worn and has been steadily dripping fluid out over 18 months. The ideal fix is a reconditioned steering box. But you might be ok with fresh fluid, you can add a little brake fluid to swell the seal, and just top it up now and again. Meanwhile put a bucket under it. Mine has been stuck in Johannesburg since march also with similar problems... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bent Ove Posted October 20, 2021 Author Share Posted October 20, 2021 Thank you, all 🙏🙏🙏 I've forwarded your advices to my friend and he's going to look into it tomorrow 👍 ☃️ Bent Ove 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jocklandjohn Posted October 20, 2021 Share Posted October 20, 2021 11 hours ago, Bent Ove said: Thank you, all 🙏🙏🙏 I've forwarded your advices to my friend and he's going to look into it tomorrow 👍 ☃️ Bent Ove I parked my 110 up once (away from home), left it three days, and it did that, all the power steering fluid came out. Called breakdown, who took me to a garage, and the mechanic said |"Well before we dismantle anything lets just fill it and run it and see where the leak is...". So filled the reservoir, engine on, and turned steering left/right for ten minutes solid (on a lift so we could see underneath) and not a single drop came out. After 30 minutes I set off the 130 miles home, never lost a drop and it stayed like that for another 5 years without problem until I replaced it when it finally got too worn. Maybe try that first! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bent Ove Posted October 21, 2021 Author Share Posted October 21, 2021 @Jocklandjohn: Thank You for teaching me some of the mysteriousness of a Landy. I'll let the mechanic (a proper one and a friend as well) decide. 🤞 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 I'd go with the Jocklandjohn approach, fill it up and see what happens - no point panicking and doing a load of work at great expense. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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