Land Rover Repair: Leaking Steering Box Replacement, steering box, two wheels

Question
Cheers John,

Bizarre but the leaking has slowed dramatically. The reservoir was empty and I filled her up, two days later with some slight spotting, the reservoir is still at the correct level. There are traces of fresh oil from the box but nothing that would indicate the seal had completely gone, infact the spotting is something that I have lived with for a while. It is messy in there and I have replaced the PS hoses before as they seem to leak from the reservoir bottom.  When the pool occured I had parked the car at an angle ..two wheels on the curb two wheels on the road....any ideas why this would have caused a loss of so much fluid? Also I have been reading about Lucas Stop Leak, it seems a possible temporary alternative to provide some life to a box where the seals are worn. Is this something that is worth considering?

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Followup To

Question -
99 Petrol Disco, Large pool of red transmission oil greeted me this morning. It seems to be coming from the steering box where the steering shaft enters. Will the box have to be changed? Is it advisable to get a reconditioned part or could I go to a scrap yard and get a replacement?  How big a job is this? Trust you can help.
Best Regards

Tony

Answer -
Hi Tony,

you'll have to clean up the area and determine if it's the steering box, the input or output seals on the steering box, the hydraulic hose or the PS pump.  It may be only the seals on the steering box that have worn.   You'll have to contact your local LR dealer for the cost of these seals to determine if its worth rebuilding or replacing. As in most parts, salvaged saves money.

I've replaced the power steering pump on my Disco and it's not as simple as you'd expect. The alignment with the hose and steering box is crucial.  As for the steering box, I would think it would be much easier to change on a '99 than my '95.  With common tools you could do all this in your own yard but it could take you a weekend to do.  

Send me an email and I'll try to find some info to help you out .. that's if you decide to tackle this job yourself.

Regards,

JohnMc
jmcinnis64@hotmail.com  

Answer
Hi Tony,

I've had no luck with any stop leak products, so I've stopped using them.  Since this is a hydraulic problem, the pressures ensure that stop leak will do very little, if anything, to prevent fluid loss.

It could be where the leak is and the angle of the vehicle combined that did the deed.

SO you know all about those dreaded hoses and how fickle they can be!  I had one problem where the hose was rubbing against the engine block.  It wore a tiny, tiny hole into the rubber and would leak a small amount only when I made extreme turns or parked on an angle.

It could also be your steering pump.  There is a seal (bearing behind) that will eventually fail and can do as you describe.

Clearly, you should find the culprit before it leaves you stranded somewhere.  Carry a replacement container of PS fluid should this happen.  I was 120km from the nearest service station when my PS pump burst its seal.  I was able to use my emergency fluid to get me to a garage where they did a temp fix.

Even though the leak seems small, don't let it worsen.

Best of luck,

JohnMc