Power steering fluid leak

tom1979 said:

i haven’t used my Defender for nearly a week, but noticed today a little leak patch on the floor

View attachment 173034

I had to go out so could only have a quick look, but I can’t tell if it’s coolant or power steering fluid. I thought at first power steering fluid but there is some residue on a bolt that looks more like coolant. This leak has just appeared in the last week whilst not in use.

View attachment 173035 View attachment 173036 View attachment 173037

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Turboman said:

At a guess, that is OAT antifreeze. But if you run it around a bit, it should become obvious which goes down.

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tom1979 said:

I was hoping it wasn't but it does look like coolant to me too. Where is the most likely place for it to be coming from ?

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Turboman said:

I find leaks can run all over the place, especially if they come from high up on the engine. And they tend to wash oil and dirt off as they run down, making it even more difficult to identify the fluid.

Personally, I would drive the vehicle around, and make sure the coolant is actually going down over time. Then, I would pull off the plastic cover on the top of the engine, and inspect all hoses and joins that I could see, and look for any crusting around pipe unions on the engine.
Water pump seal would also be worth inspecting.

One place I have seen leak on those is from the plastic header tank at the top of the system, they can split at the welded seam around the tank. And that will run down the hose, and all over the engine, before dripping off at the bottom of the engine, as in your pic.

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Turboman said:

I find leaks can run all over the place, especially if they come from high up on the engine. And they tend to wash oil and dirt off as they run down, making it even more difficult to identify the fluid.

Personally, I would drive the vehicle around, and make sure the coolant is actually going down over time. Then, I would pull off the plastic cover on the top of the engine, and inspect all hoses and joins that I could see, and look for any crusting around pipe unions on the engine.
Water pump seal would also be worth inspecting.

One place I have seen leak on those is from the plastic header tank at the top of the system, they can split at the welded seam around the tank. And that will run down the hose, and all over the engine, before dripping off at the bottom of the engine, as in your pic.

Click to expand...