Groaning steering damper on 96 Disco?

When I'm parking and turning from lock to lock there's a noticeable groan from what I presume is the long damper attached to the steering rack. Is this a correct diagnosis and what cures are there, short of changing the damper?

Cheers

Tony

P.S. The groaning is almost as bad as my children's appreciation of my best jokes.

Reply to
Tony
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I'd be checking power steering fluid level - from 12000 miles away it sounds like air in the pump to me.

Reply to
EMB

"They all do that, Sir!" .... several of mine have and its not (very unlikely to be) the damper. Just check for power steering system leaks (points for air entry, too), adequate fluid and bleed the steering box.

Don't panic!

Reply to
Dougal

Take the damper off and see if it still does it. TonyB

Reply to
TonyB

I'm with EMB and Dougal on this one .. it's unlikely to be the damper but TonyB's diagnostic will certainly work :-)

Many cars groan at full lock, especially if you're turning the wheel with the vehicle either stationary or hardly moving at all. The stresses on the steering system at full lock are quite considerable.

In addition to the checks already mentioned I'd look at the tyre pressures and whether, or not, they're getting close to the tread depth limit. Both of these factors put more rubber on the ground and increase the friction forced between the tyre and the ground stressing the steering even more. Even the increase in temperature that we've seen over the past few days can make a difference as the tarmac heats up and becomes "sticky".

HTH

Reply to
SteveG

On or around Sat, 10 May 2008 13:57:32 GMT, SteveG enlightened us thusly:

but nevertheless, "They all do that, sir".

seriously, every disco and the 110 (which is also PAS) I've had does it. It doesn't seem to matter.

If it makes noises and is accompanied by unduly heavy steering or something, then it could be air in the pump. But if it groans but works normally, then I reckon you can ignore it.

Reply to
Austin Shackles

Can't see any point in removing steering damper and making more work for yourself, you've already had two reliable diagnostic opinions. Air in the PS system.

Oily

Reply to
Oily

On or around Sat, 10 May 2008 21:27:03 +0100, "Oily" enlightened us thusly:

Also, IME, the steering damper actually does something on the

90/disco/RR/110, unlike the one on the 109 which seemed to me to serve simply to restrict the already-none-too-sharp turning circle even further.

Got some interesting shimmies on the 110 when then the damper on that was shot.

Reply to
Austin Shackles

Tony Hi,

As already suggested kindly please first have a look at the power steering fluid level.

If the fluid has never been changed while the car is in your hands I would suggest you try doing that also.

The simplest and easiest way is to empty the reservoir with a large syringe and then top it up. Use the car for a small drive and then repeat at least twice more.

This way you may not completely change the fluid but you reduce the quantity of old oil so much that it is as if you have changed it altogether. Save you and the PAS system the trouble of bleeding air out of it.

Take care Pantelis

Reply to
Pantelis Giamarellos

"Austin Shackles" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

Only vehicle we've had that does it is the 110, that though is not air in the system as I know this as I've bled it when I replaced the pump 18 months or so back.

It is infact a Starwars version of Landrover edition, it's your "Chewbacka" groaning. I've even been known to talk back to mine.. in Chewy language of course. :-)

Lee D

Reply to
Lee_D

"Lee_D" wrote.........

But how did you bleed it? Did you put it on full lock to bleed then change to the other lock and bleed some more?

I like that description.

I've even been known to talk back to mine.. in Chewy language of

Nowt wrong with that, if you don't talk to it, it'll get upset..:-)

Martin

Reply to
Oily

Yep,, several times because I do stuff like this to excess. It also made the noise before the pump packed in so I'm happy it's a feature :-)

Lee D

Reply to
Lee_D

Hi,

This is a documented fault on Disco's, and the following text is from a Land Rover Service bulletin. VIN number range sounds about right for your vehicle. Mine is a 97, and does the same thing.

MODEL/DERIVATIVE: Bulletin N o : 0007 Discovery - Right Hand Drive ( RHD) Only CDS. ref: L8453bu Issue: 1 Date: 16.12.98 AFFECTED RANGE: All RHD derivatives in 95MY to 98MY VIN ranges: MA 081991 to TA 200042 TA 700000 to WA 799999 WA 400000 to WA 400250 MA 500000 to WA 565685 PROBLEM: NOISE WHEN TURNING STEERING WHEEL - PAS. When manoeuvring, a hydraulic noise from the power assisted steering (PAS) system is heard. CAUSE: Pressure pulsations within the high pressure section of the steering system causing resonance in the hydraulic pipes. ACTION: Where a customer complaint of the above is confirmed, replace PAS pipes with the new pipes specified below and in PARTS INFORMATION. =B7 =B7=B7 =B7 =3D =3D=3D =3D On Tdi diesel applications, only the high pres= sure pipe (pump to steering box) requires replacement. =3D =3D=3D =3D =B7 =B7=B7 =B7 =3D =3D=3D =3D On V8 petrol applications it is necessary to r= eplace both the high and low pressure pipe, (pump to steering box and steering box to reservoir). Refer to Workshop Manual Steering Section, repair number 57.15.21 for replacement procedures and precautions. The new pipe installation is identical to the original.

Reply to
Graham Carter

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