Power steering problem

Hi All

I'm new here, I have a FL2 Automatic year 58, which has started whining and the power steering has gone a bit stiff, but still drive able. Had AA out to it, it is covered by their breakdown repair cover.

Chap says the power steering pump? He said aprox £300. Would be covered by AA up to £500

Took it in to LR this morning, they say its the wheel rack? £900 and that is if they don't find any other issues? And I know they will find more...... they always do!

I'm concerned that they always manage to find more wrong than is initially the problem.

I know FL2 seems to have issues with power steering, reservoir, pump etc...

Any advice on what to do next?! what it should be costing, and generally what should i be expecting to hear if i take to another garage.

Thanks

yes get in touch with LR them self's as there is known issues and they should have been put right if the say no ,then tell them you are seeking more advise else where

OK, so the car did go into LR, our main dealer this morning..so you think I should take this higher?

Thanks

LR garage are just not interested, when we mentioned known manufacturer's problem they brushed it off saying its 57 plate with over 100,000 miles on it...

I've only had her since February so I have no idea about any work previously done to her.

They want in excess of £900 to replace the steering rack and flush it out, and without fully knowing if the pump needs replacing also which I can bet my life they would replace

Have taken her to another garage.... watch this space

Hi if the steering is stiff at times then it needs a new rack.

To be fair the pump might be ok after a flush and new pas fluid and new rack and reservoir which has the filter in it.

However, I always think do it right once as it works out cheaper in the long run.

Where did you buy the car from?

Hi

I bought the car from a dealer in Feb, he'd had the car traded in......he mainly sells Porsche and Ferrari so LR aren't his thing.

The car has a panoramic sunroof.....as we drove away from dealer we tried to open the roof......crunch, grind

He promised to put it right, and 6 months later he resigned to paying £1800, the full unit had to be replaced.

Car came with 3 month warranty so can't go back to seller.

I know what you're saying, pay now and get it sorted, but I'm covered with AA for up to £500, up to 3 times a year...so £1300 means I'm looking at a lot of money I just don't have in one go.

Where as if I can get the rack done now, and the pump on another call out.....it wont cost me so much and i'm getting something back for my monthly payment.

Obviously I don't want to cause more damage by not getting necessary work done.

Always feel like I'm getting ripped off

there was an issue with this, and there are technical bulletins on the issue.

long story short, there were a batch of racks which had badly cleaned welds/swarf inside the rack. in time, this breaks off and then circulates around the system, causing some damage as it goes round, but not as much as when:

it blocks the filter then starves the rack of power steering fluid, and then it all goes horribly wrong.

Although the fix was just to change the rack, it soon became apparent that this was not the be all and end all of the problem with some vehicles going back a number of times for replacement racks each time.

Thus the full and complete solution to the problem is to flush, change the rack and reservoir then flush again.

good luck, more info on Freel2.com - Index

also, have a look at this thread:

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f16/buying-crock-****-if-you-already-have-76002.html

which gives invaluable advice on your rights and possible ways to proceed with the dealer

Thanks Optimus Prime

I have had a look at the links, thanks for posting

I love my car though and refuse to accept she is a crock of ****!! .....so will probably just have to bite the bullet as they say.

Sometimes I wonder why I love LR so much, I have nothing but trouble :doh:....this is my third!!

Thanks :blabla:

I'm hoping the problem is now resolved.

Have had her in at main dealer and they said new steering rack, reservoir and system flush and then retest to ensure no further pump issues. They quoted £900 for rack..+ labor, + vat and possibly new pump + £400

Charged me £57 to tell me this.

Took it to another LR garage, but not a main dealer.......but very good reputation with LR vehicles.

He said rack is fine, needs new pump.... she is driving like a dream.....so my AA cover has picked up majority of the bill, it cost me £140, if LR main dealer had dealt with problem the bill would have been around £2000 !!!:screaming_bug_eye_f AA picking up max of £500

Do all main dealers rip off? I had to pay £57 to park my car in their forecourt for half a day!!

some dealers just leave you speechless the way they try it on.......................

Yeah Freelance, I am considering, if I can try and get my £57 back if i can prove the dealer is crank!!

Is there anything I can do?? Hate rip off merchants!!

Isn't the more important question ; Since there is no actual mechanical fault with the powersteering rack, the reason its changed is due to poor flushing at manufacture. Then is the issue merely masked by the flush and the powersteering pump was changed for no reason?

The reason I ask this is, the symptom of the fault, is a noise from the powersteering pump. This is the same noise you get when you have air in your pas system. The reason for the noise is the lack of oil flow going into the point. This in turn is caused by the blocked gause at the bottom of the pas reservoir.


A lot of people have 'rectified' the issue merely with a £20 reservoir and a flush. The main dealer is merely following a LR issued TSB, which is what the manufacturer of the pas system recommends to rectify this issue.



The spurious accusations going around in this thread is why main dealers get a bad reputation and rarely with any actual evidence. The difference you look at is, main dealers have more product experience normally, but their labour and parts rates are very (very, very) high. The service is dealer dependent, the quality of work is dealer dependent, but I guess this is the wrong place to argue such points.

I agree Vissie - main dealers get a bad reputation and sometimes justified. Majority of the time it's not.

As for parts prices genuine vs aftermarket then I'm likely to end up paying the price for not buying genuine on my td4 clutch I had replaced in May as I've got problems now and as part of the parts warranty on genuine labour and consequential damage is covered but not with non genuine parts.

So if my slave cylinder fails and cause clutch to wear then with genuine all will be replaced at no cost to me where I'm now facing a potentially big bill

Hi All,

I am having the same problem with my Freelander 2 2008 - however mine is still in its 3 month warranty with the dealer I bought it from.

As the dealer is a little further away than I would like - he has asked me to see if I can get it diagnosed first then he can prepare his mechanics to get the job done.

With this thread - I am a little confused. Are we saying that I need to change the Pump, Rack or just the fluid and flush it through? If it is still under Warranty is it worth me telling them that it all needs doing, however I am sure when I take it down there they will pick up if one or the other is still in good condition.

Just to throw this our there as well - would any of these issues cause the car to stall? (It is an automatic)

Thanks