Disco 1 power steering jerky

string · Mar 27, 2011

Over the past few months I've noticed the power steering become irratic, sometime easy sometimes heavy but definitely jerky. I read a recent thread advising a complete swap of fluid in the system which I have done. There is improvement but this is only after driving for more than 20 minutes. I thought this could be due to air so bled the system again but no change. I have checke the belt tension and that is okay. One thing I noticed was the fluid in the resovoir took a long time to stabilise when topping up also bubbles appearing in the resovoir. There are no obvious leaks so I'm at a loss as to which part of the system is a fault.

Thought there may have been issues with the swivel joints but they move freely and are well lubricated.

Where should I be looking to ID this fault, pump or steering box?

jamesmartin · Mar 27, 2011

they bleed themselves if you go lock to lock a few times,not like a brake system they have feed and return,the actual pas part is the input shaft which has inner and outer and the torsion on outer while steering in relation to inner ,depending on whichl ock your in level will alter ,you could test pump with pressure guage or somewhat by fitting pipe on bleed nipple to res run engine observe oil is it smooth fast flow or erratic latter been pump fault,i would go for pas box

thebiglad · Mar 27, 2011

string said:
Over the past few months I've noticed the power steering become irratic, sometime easy sometimes heavy but definitely jerky. I read a recent thread advising a complete swap of fluid in the system which I have done. There is improvement but this is only after driving for more than 20 minutes. I thought this could be due to air so bled the system again but no change. I have checke the belt tension and that is okay. One thing I noticed was the fluid in the resovoir took a long time to stabilise when topping up also bubbles appearing in the resovoir. There are no obvious leaks so I'm at a loss as to which part of the system is a fault.

Thought there may have been issues with the swivel joints but they move freely and are well lubricated.

Where should I be looking to ID this fault, pump or steering box?

When this was happening on my wife's TDi 300 I first replaced the fluid which helped a bit for a very short while, then ALL assistance disappeared. I replaced the pas pump with an item bought from Paddocks for about £45+vat and all was bliss - better than it's been for ages.

crazymac · Mar 27, 2011

Sounds to me like your pump is on the way out. I think there are vanes on the inside of it and these can detach causing intermittant symptoms.

Replace time i'm afraid.

string · May 6, 2011

I have replaced the pump and steering is now smooth but not sure if it's working correctly. As steering has been a problem for so long I'm not certain if it's too heavy. Parking is a two handed job and self centre needs a little help, I understand the centre might be due to air so have bled the system once more since installing the pump. Steering a bit heavy if turning the wheel and braking.

mburton2 · May 6, 2011

Have you checked the UJ where the steering-wheel shaft goes through the bulkhead??...often overlooked, but can become stiff if not lubed, causing erratic steering/loss of self-centering...

ratty · May 6, 2011

mburton2 said:
Have you checked the UJ where the steering-wheel shaft goes through the bulkhead??...often overlooked, but can become stiff if not lubed, causing erratic steering/loss of self-centering...

seconded.

Disco 1 power steering jerky

string

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jamesmartin

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thebiglad

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crazymac

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string

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mburton2

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ratty

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