I put in a rebuilt power steering pump in my 98 disco tonight. Finally, I can turn the wheel lock to lock with the truck standing still without breaking a sweat! It does seem to be doing something odd though--The power assist doesn't seem to work if I have my foot on the brake--stopped with the trans in drive, for example. park, with foot off the brake it turns easily.

Am I missing something here? Doesn't seem normal. The old PS pump had 140K miles on it and this one is definitely better, but this seems odd...Do I have to replace the box next?? The truck has a front truetrack and 35" MTs if that makes any difference...

What does it idle at when in drive?

Idles at 7-750, like it always has. why?

Just trying to help you rule out assist problems. Is the fluid dirty again. You might flush it out a couple times.

JP

What's confusing me is how standing on the brake could affect the power assist :confused:

BTW the fluid looks fresh, reservoir is full, and I thoroughly bled the system. I'm going to drive the rig to work tomorrow and bleed the steering box again. I just can't put two and two together here though...

I can't remember on my defender (because I haven't worked on it for so long) but I know on chevy's that the power steering and the power brakes are intertwined. The power brakes actually get their boost from the power steering pump so using the brakes could take away some of the fluid from the power steering if the system is the same. I don't know though just a random thought.

-ben

DS-Don't bother bleeding it again. The first bleeding and driving it have driven the air out. If the fluid looks like a strawberry slushy, you might want to do it again.

The Rover system is not part of the braking system.

I wonder if the brakes are keeping those big tires from moving slightly when you try to turn and this causing the difficulty. What size tires are you running-IIRC, they were so tall you needed scientific notation to describe the size :flipoff2:. If you think about it, given camber/caster, the tires do need to move slightly when they are turned.

If the gearbox isn't leaking, don't replace it. It's not that big a deal, but why?

Peace,
PT

Tires are 12.5" wide, and I certainly don't expect them to turn as easily as the stockers. the box is seeping, def. not leaking. its just weird. I like for my shit to be working instead of half assed.

its just weird. I like for my shit to be working instead of half assed.

It's a Rover, get over it :flipoff2:

If your wheels are out by offset or spacers, the scrub will be significant and the wheels will have to turn noticably when you go lock to lock. Standing on the brake then will make it very difficult to steer.

Normal, because of scrub radius. I bet it will be fine if you are idling in drive with the ebrake on, instead of your foot on the brake. the wheels need a little bit of movement in them to turn smoothly.

Yep, I actually just tried that, then walked in and read your post. No problem turning the wheels with the handbrake on, foot off the brake pedal. You mean I'm getting ready to tear my rover apart for no reason? :eek: again? :shaking:

Paul--I'll try to get over it, but i dunno. maybe hydro assist is in my future. I like being able to turn the wheels when stading on the brake. really helpful off road on many occasions.

Thanks.

Normal, because of scrub radius. I bet it will be fine if you are idling in drive with the ebrake on, instead of your foot on the brake. the wheels need a little bit of movement in them to turn smoothly.