Paddocks steering box. ( fit one at your peril ! ).

Finally orederd a recon box from Paddocks, ( National Power Steering ? ), spent 3 hours today fitting it.

Bled it all through, wiped it down, wentr for a test drive, re-check for leaks and still quite a bit of fluid on to of the box.
So wiped it down and thought, " just nip the bleed screw up a bit more ", which I did. Went for another test, and when I checked, still lots of fluid on top of the box.

Its now starting to dawn on me that something is not right.

So, with the engine running, I look down onto the box to see fluid pi$$ing out of the top nut !.

Fookin great !.

I think for a second that I should undo the nut and put some sealer on it and re-tighten, but then realise that, if the anti-tamper paint on it is broken, then I,ll have no chance at a refund if my sealing attemp does,nt work.


I,d seen many warnings about Paddocks steering boxes on here and other sites, but thought I,d be ok.

How wrong was I.

I,m not having another one, no way !

My local indie has got a new genuine one for £ 275 + vat. ( which I,m havin ).

I was well hacked off !.

Del.

Paddocks are cheap for a reason.

I get calls every week from people asking for a quote on parts. Then, when I give them the bad news, all I get is grief for it being 'more than Paddocks'. :doh:

Fitted a paddocks one to mine, been fine to date........I suppose you can get good and bad where ever you go..........and yes I agree Paddocks are cheap, but for the prices on a lot of the stuff (even "extras" as opposed to parts) they simply cannot be beaten.

I suppose after enough years of Landrover ownership we,ll all know which suppliers to get which bits from.

I,m putting a new one in on Monday, and I,ll just have to hope that there wont be too much agro getting a full refund from Paddocks!.

The yellow paint seal is unbroken on the top nut. ( which I belive is for slack adjustment ).

Del.

Well i got one from paddocks that leaked but i fixed it but is still as abit of play in it no matter what i have done,, Would not buy from em again in a rush + they are britpart lovers too ...

Yeah, I have a 'no britpart' rule for mine, with exceptions for very non critical stuff, like clutch pedal rubbers etc. Anything suspension/braking/steering - no way. Not after I once ordered a Britpart replacement rear caliper and it turned up looking like someone had chiselled it out of a block of aluminium in a garage with a cold chisel and a lump hammer!

I also have a no 'national power steering' rule after reading threads on here. Not sure where the one I am about to get comes from - some place in the midlands.

I would have rather had an Adwest/Magal one, but they are £350 new only, no discount for returning the old one. Sadly I can't really justify that.

David

I,ll be paying £ 275 + vat for a new one tommorow.

I,ve learnt something this weekend. ( pedal rubbers only from Paddocks !!!!! ).

Funnily enough, I fitted a Britpart Fuel Pressur Regulator which lasted all of 40 miles !.

Del.

Britpart is a waste of time...

So who are the best quality online spare company fro steering boxes?

50 pence said:

I suppose after enough years of Landrover ownership we,ll all know which suppliers to get which bits from.

I,m putting a new one in on Monday, and I,ll just have to hope that there wont be too much agro getting a full refund from Paddocks!.

The yellow paint seal is unbroken on the top nut. ( which I belive is for slack adjustment ).

Del.

Click to expand...

Did you speak to Paddocks about the problem? If so, what did they say? Just sending it back for a refund does not resolve the quality issue. I can understand the frustration when this happens.
Did you make a video of the leak? Handy for making a claim.

terryds said:

Did you speak to Paddocks about the problem? If so, what did they say? Just sending it back for a refund does not resolve the quality issue. I can understand the frustration when this happens.
Did you make a video of the leak? Handy for making a claim.

Click to expand...

Its all good !.

I spoke to Paddocks, who passed my number onto the reconditioners, who then rang me within 20 mins.

The lady was very apologetic, and said I could " have ago " at sealing the nut without consequence, but I explained that I had already commited to a new box so I was looking for a refund.

Once they have had the box back and inspected it they will refund Paddocks, who in turn will refund me, including postage costs.

I dont think I,m in for trouble, but I did video it leaking just in case.

I was taken a back at how understanding of my frustation she was.

So watch this space and we,ll see what happens.



I fitted my new "OEM " Adwest box this eve with no broblems, and am confident of another 60 to 80 thousand miles before having to look at it again ! ( Famous last words ! ).

One thing my local Landrover specialist was horrified at was my intention/advise of putting ATF in the system.

He said that this will weaken the seals and shorten the life of the box and the pump. So with my new box I will only ever use the proppa stuff. ( even at £ 12.53 + vat a liter ).

Del.

50 pence said:

Its all good !.

I spoke to Paddocks, who passed my number onto the reconditioners, who then rang me within 20 mins.

The lady was very apologetic, and said I could " have ago " at sealing the nut without consequence, but I explained that I had already commited to a new box so I was looking for a refund.

Once they have had the box back and inspected it they will refund Paddocks, who in turn will refund me, including postage costs.

I dont think I,m in for trouble, but I did video it leaking just in case.

I was taken a back at how understanding of my frustation she was.

So watch this space and we,ll see what happens.



I fitted my new "OEM " Adwest box this eve with no broblems, and am confident of another 60 to 80 thousand miles before having to look at it again ! ( Famous last words ! ).

One thing my local Landrover specialist was horrified at was my intention/advise of putting ATF in the system.

He said that this will weaken the seals and shorten the life of the box and the pump. So with my new box I will only ever use the proppa stuff. ( even at £ 12.53 + vat a liter ).

Del.

Click to expand...

Sorry, but what a load of bollox....

Do you think Land Rover or say even adwest designed a new special "pump" and "box" for the D2 for use with the new fluid ??? .......not on your nelly did they......

What " proppa stuff " were you planning on using

It's interesting that Land Rover are still updating (the now obsolete) RAVE. I tend to check every now and again to see what is what now as opposed to then. The Power Steering fluid hasn't changed, but there was this addition (in the GTR/TOPIx) to the ACE which certainly wasn't on any of the RAVE CD's I have (although they are quite old now). I don't remember seeing that DexronII or DexronIII non-synthetic could be used under certain conditions.

Urban Panzer said:

Sorry, but what a load of bollox....

Do you think Land Rover or say even adwest designed a new special "pump" and "box" for the D2 for use with the new fluid ??? .......not on your nelly did they......

Click to expand...

I,m not sure what you mean there Nick ?.

I gather your saying that the Disco 2 pump and box came before the Cold Climate fluid that they now recommend ?.

Or is it more likely that my local Landrover indie has swallowed Landrovers fluids book ?.

I,m not an expert by a long shot, and will quite happily put my hands up for " blindly adhearing " to what Landrover recommends, ( their more expensive products ! ), but all I know is, Ive just spent 5 odd hours pulling a steering box out, putting one back in, pulling that out, and putting another one in, and I,m in no hurry to get under there again. Now if all that me putting the recommended fluid in does is give me peice of mind, then the extra £ 9.00 is worth it.

The stuff thats in it now is Exteme Climate PAS fluid.
Its a green colour and a lot " thinner " than the red ATF that I put in the other box.

I dont wish to " put the cat amongst the pidgeons " with this thread, however, after all my searches regarding re-con box,s from this supplier I found that, of the folk that had fitted them, half reported good things and half reported bad things. I gave them a try, and it did,nt work out !

Del.

Just to update the refund.

The faulty box was collected within 4 hours of me speaking to them on Monday. ( the reconditioners ).

A lady from Paddocks rang me today to say that the reconditioners had refunded them for the faulty box, and she would sort my refund out first thind Wednesday.
She, like the other lady, was very apologetic and understood why I might be annoyed.

Now as customer service goes, I think that this is excellent, and I cant fault them on this.

Del.

sorry to seen dim but what made you think you had to change your steering box?

bjtd5 said:

sorry to seen dim but what made you think you had to change your steering box?

Click to expand...

The fluid p1ssing out of the output, ( sector ), shaft all over the drag link end, front diff and gear box !. ( common failure point )

Del.

ok-I had a leak on mine (td5, 51 plate) just had a recon box fitted last week and it wanders all over the road - not the hight wander which is ok - but its like a delay between the front wheels and steering wheel so you end up over steering to catch up-is it me or is yours like this? just been out in an N reg disco and the steering is spot on. Have not gone down the tyre root yet.
Also I live just outside cambridge where are you?

Huntingdon.

Doesnt sound like your steering damper.

There is a treaded section coming out of the top plate of the steering box with a nut on it. This is used to adjust free play in the steering box.

If your box has just been re-conned, then this should,nt really need touching.

Was the steering like this before the box change ?.

Del.