How to change the power steering fluid

Since it is not needed there is no provision for doing it. Since you are particularly anal and wish to do so, either slacken a pipe and run the engine until oil stops running or just remove a joint from the reservoir feed and drain the greater part but not all of the oil. Personally I'd rather watch Emerdale, but whatever floats your boat ;-)

Huw

I mixed D2 in with D3 by mistake!

Hence my requirment...........

Nige

On or around Thu, 6 Jul 2006 14:19:50 +0100, "Nige" enlightened us thusly:

ooops.

find the lowest point, undo hose, run engine at idle till no more comes out. probably turn it from lock to lock a few times. You may also have to bleed it when you refill or it might bleed itself.

putting the front of the motor on stands so the wheels are off the deck will make it easier for the lock-to-lock bit.

If you mean Dexron II mixed with Dexron III, don't worry about it. They are completely compatible, miscible, interchangeable, mixable and altogether lovely. You don't have to miss Emmerdale after all.

Huw

Bugger, i was hoping that was causing the definate lack of castor on my steering. Round town it's fine, on the motorway etc it just feels dead & whilst it does return to the centre, it wont got all the way into the ctr meaning you have to constantly correct it.

Any ideas on that?

Nige

YES.

It's called a wheel alignment :o) Have you knocked / bent the track rod at all? Worth checking.

Plenty of toe in will make it dull to steer, toe out will make it initially turn in quicker but then lead to understeer. Best to have a little toe in to keep it stable at speed.

-- Andy

steering. Round town it's fine,

centre, it wont got all the way

You could try increasing front tyre pressures a bit. LR say 28 for my 300TDi Disco but it runs much better at 32-34 - I am currently keeping an eye out for excessive tyre wear in the centre though. TonyB

It's perfect, had it checked last week.

Nige

Quick word of warning, I had my landy tracking checked by 3 different places many years ago, I asked for it just to be checked and not altered. One place claimed it toed in, another claimed they couldn't get gauges on the wheels, and the third (ATS in Reading) claimed it toed out and did the tracking. The staff got aggressive and threatening when I told them that I'd asked for it just to be checked and the manager had to step in to calm it all down.

I do all my tracking myself now, including four-wheel tracking on the plastic rocket. When I did get all four wheels checked at Micheldever Tyres, they were spot on. They did tell me I'd done it wrong and told me to do it in the exact manner that the workshop manual specifically states that it should *not* be done. Best to avoid non-specialists.

On Thu, 6 Jul 2006 20:15:12 +0100, "TonyB" scribbled the following nonsense:

running that here, any less gives crap handling IMHO

steering. Round town it's fine,

it wont got all the way

Have you checked for free-play in the steering box? With ignition lock off, engine not running, is there more than about 1 to 1 1/2 inches of free movement of the steering wheel? Assuming no ball joints or steering shaft UJ's are worn (you have checked?) then you can adjust the freeplay in the steering box. Looking down on the top of it there's a hex socket screw with a locknut on it. Adjust this to remove the free play, but don't overdo it, you need some. After checking, turn steering from lock to lock without engine running to check for no tight spots before driving off and getting stuck going round in circles.

Also check that the alignment of the front wheels was done correctly and that the steering box was centralised first? There's 2 marks which have to line up in the straight ahead position, then the front wheels are aligned and checked against the rears.

Can't say my P38 is the best handling vehicle around though, it does require to be constantly driven, look away for a few seconds and you're heading for the centre/side of the road. No where near as bad as my old Series III though.

Alan C

And check the relative wear of the tyres front to back. My DII was "vague" in the steering department. New(ish) tyres on the front pretty worn on the rear, swapped 'em front to rear and I could tell that the handling was much improved in the first 50yds... Not 100% conclusive as the tyre makes were different but something worth bearing in mind.

On or around Thu, 6 Jul 2006 19:34:23 +0100, "Fuzzy" enlightened us thusly:

well worth. that and steering rod joints, very little play in one of them can make vague steering.

extra toe-out IME makes 'em twitchy when going straight - sounds a bit like what was described, needs constant little tweaks to keep it online.

I found the 110 and the early discos run nicely set parallel.

On or around Thu, 6 Jul 2006 20:15:12 +0100, "TonyB" enlightened us thusly:

you won't get any - discos at standard book pressure wear the edges. I find

36 works well.

steering. Round town it's fine,

centre, it wont got all the way

Does your vehicle have a steeing damper? I dinged mine on the Discovery once, and it stopped the self centering working.

Cheers! Graham

On or around 6 Jul 2006 14:52:40 -0700, snipped-for-privacy@bbc.co.uk enlightened us thusly:

steering. Round town it's fine,

it wont got all the way

too tight a steering box can give similar symptoms of inadequate self-centering.

There isnt a great deal of adjustment on this box either way, I'm starting to think it might be at fault.

I'll have a good look later.

It's only 3 months old, but it could be i spose!

I agree, I've just renewed both swivels and pin bearings on my knackered old Disco and set the tracking with my Gunsons 'Tracrite' [1]tool to parallel and it is luvlyjuvly.

I understand that the preload on the swivel pin bearings has a big influence on the steering - stands to reason really.

I also changed the power steering oil by slackening a pipe and running the engine til it had all pissed out. The stuff that came out was a mud coloured evil smelling fluid, obviously been in since 1990 - 16 years ago and clearly goosed!

[1] The best tool I've ever purchased, it's saved me hundreds over the years and more hundreds from premature worn tires after the muppets in fsuck fit make a balls of it...