Anglo-Frenchman Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 Hi. Took the Disco for its WOF today and it got pulled for a slight leak on the steering pump. I cleaned it up and it appears to be weeping fluid very slightly between the pump and the mount (see photo) Is this a sign that the pump is shot? Seems to be working fine apart from occasionally making a bit of a noise on full lock but it's done that for the last 75000km! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boydie Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 It looks from your photos as if you have a hair line fracture on the casting. In any case they do fail, as I said in a previous post on these pumps it's beyond my understanding why LR didn't specify that the the pump shaft bearings were to be lubricated by the hydraulic fluid with a ceramic seal external to the front bearing, (my guess is costs and accountants) but they didn't and the front bearing does fail as it is a "lubricated for life" type bearing and when it does the shaft chews out the flimsy internal oil seal and that's the end of the pump. So, sorry and all that but replace it before that tiny weep becomes a full blown fluid leak, when they go it can be spectacular. The gods of motoring normally time this failure to occur in the dark of night on a cold wet rainy day when all you want to do is get home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglo-Frenchman Posted September 14, 2015 Author Share Posted September 14, 2015 Thanks a lot for the feedback. I managed to tighted the small banjo connection to the pump and cleaned it up. It weeps a tiniy amount of fluid so not a real biggy. Ironically, after spending a couple of hours trying to sort it out I took it back to the WOF station for a re-check and he just passed it without even looking at it. Glad I did'nt do more. I've always had my suspicions about the thoroughness of VTNZ and now they're confirmed. I confess that when one of their 'technicians' takes 5 minutes to figure out how to open the bonnet - I think that's a cause for concern! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deep Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 A mate recently got his Defender through a VIN inspection. I asked if I could have a look at his battery mount because I'm putting together a 110 which also needs a VIN. He said not to bother, it's just sitting loose in the battery box and is on his to-do list! Getting any inspection in NZ is a bit of a raffle. I always wipe down all my leaks just before I go in... Ironically, the last job on my list is a leaky p/s pump but it's quite different to yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglo-Frenchman Posted September 14, 2015 Author Share Posted September 14, 2015 Yes, you're quite right. On the flip-side, I've got a mate who bought an imported Alfa Spider from Chistchurch which had been converted from LHD to RHD. It took him two years to get it passed in NZ and had to have a heap of mods done before it was accepted. It's a crazy world! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boydie Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Keep an eye on that fissure in the casting, it doesn't look good and could possibly fail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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