Disco 1 Noisy power steering

Greetings

I've had my Disco for around 3 weeks now, and so far so good it's running like a dream.
One of the 'eccentricities' that I've noticed is that at standstill or low speeds the power steering makes a groaning noise. I've searched this forum for other people suffering the same issue and the general consensus seems to be that with larger tyres (BFG mud tyres in my case) the pump and/or power steering system in general struggles a bit, hence the groaning noise.

So, my question is.....

Is it possible to upgrade the PAS pump and/or the whole PAS system to something with a bit more 'grunt' that's a bit better suited to big mud tires?

Cheers

Hello, I would say your "groaning noise" is a sign that the power steering pump is at the end of its life or some kind of binding in the steering system, I have not heard or seen that larger tires cause the groan. If it were my disco I would replace pump with quality pump ( not the cheapest ) and check steering system. By the way I am assuming you checked the power steering fluid. I would not put those mud tires (oh sorry "tyres" ) to the test until you fix power steering pump. Enjoy the Disco

AdamL said:

Is it possible to upgrade the PAS pump and/or the whole PAS system to something with a bit more 'grunt' that's a bit better suited to big mud tires?

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The cost to do this upgrade, (if indeed at all possible), would be fairly steep I imagine, the noise, (groanings), you describe can be the result of low power steer pump fluid level or a worn out pump as the OP say's, a new pump may be all you need. The fitting of big tyres puts a bit more load on the P/S hydraulics but certainly not more than should be able to be coped with if all the standard components are in reasonable condition, i.e. no seized up tie rod ball joints or swivel bearings.

get some "lucas PS stop leak" its thicker and contains fancy stuff, did mine about 3 years ago and its been dandy ever since.

It is like the sort of sauce you put on your icecream that stuff. Did solve a problem in my rexton though that would otherwise have been an expensive job.

vilguy said:

It is like the sort of sauce you put on your icecream that stuff. Did solve a problem in my rexton though that would otherwise have been an expensive job.

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I swear by it, i still have the rebuild kit to do the once leaky pump if it ever stops working, otherwise its staying as it is.

i like magic in bottles if it means i dont have to do fiddly stuff with my gorilla hands

it is good stuff.

at first I was thinking "bollocks this is snake oil this is"




and then it went and worked....

Thanks All for the replies.
I've been itching to get into the engine and fiddle with stuff, so replacing the PAS pump could be the excuse I need to get started

I've also noticed that the Vacuum pump seems to have a liberal coating of fresh oil at all times, so I suspect that will be next on the list. One for another thread I think........

AdamL said:

I've also noticed that the Vacuum pump seems to have a liberal coating of fresh oil at all times, so I suspect that will be next on the list. One for another thread I think........

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The good old vacuum pump, yes, there are lots of threads on here already regarding that particular item,................ well covered indeed.