Power steering fluid problem

[Terranoman]

Morning all.

Were got a freelander 2 on a 57 plate which has an issue with the power steering fluid.

We were told by landrover that the fluid is contaminated so i flushed it a week ago and just checked again and it gone a blackish colour again.

Can anyone give me a pointer at what would be causing this please.

Cheers
Mark

 

[stinka]

I'd just leave it. Maybe flush it again in a few months. As long as pump isn't noisey it will be fine

 

[solarman216]

dark red to very dark red/brown = overheated oil, does it have a cooler of any sort, if it the small radiator type then it could be blocked with dirt on the air side, Rick

 

[Terranoman]

Its dark red / brown red colour. No cooler fitted that i can see.

 

[solarman216]

then there could be a problem with your pump pressure relief valve, if this has jammed then it is forcing the pump to work too hard which will cause overheated oil, I have a couple of pumps from the petrol version but not sure if they are the same as the TD I have a TDi so will have a look tomorrow if they are the same then you are welcome to one, Rick

 

[Terranoman]

Cheers Rick.

Would this also contribute to the feel of light steering?


Mark

 

[Terranoman]

Just found a bit more info.

From another forum


My 09 Freelander 2 is 6 weeks out of warranty and about a week ago the power steering pump suddenly started whining quite badly. I feared an expensive repair. The car and I are in SW France for 6 months and so I phoned my original dealer in UK. They were very helpful and suggested that it was likely to be the valve in the reservoir which had failed and suggested I replace the reservoir first. They also said leaving it too long would damage the rack. The fluid in the reservoir was bubbling when the engine was running which had also concerned me. Managed to get a new reservoir from French dealer for 15 euros and replaced it in 20 mins. All well, and no more whine. UK dealer suggested this is not an uncommon failure so is well worth a try before going straight for a new pump. Hope this helps anyone else.


Funny that mine is just out of warranty as well. You would have thought that landrover would of known about this issue. And advised replacing.