Power steering

Hi all, took my 110 200 tdi project for its mot Tuesday it failed sadly the one failure was the power steering. It was none exsistant it's already had a new steering box and I replaced the pump this morning thinking it might be that, it is better , should it be as light as a td5's ? As it was brought as a project drove home and put in the shed so never really drove it. And I'm at a loss we're next to look , both swivels are new and we're set up on the bench with a spring balance, only other place is the steering column the bit that bolts to the footwell and goes through the bulkhead . Can that cause heavy steering ? Do the bearings in there fail as it was one thing I didn't check. Any help would be much appreciated.
Cheers Ian

try jacking both front wheels of ground then try steering to see how heavy it is I have had uj on stering shaft seaze up but that usualy gives lumpy stering never had trubel with steering shaft bearings but always first time if you put steering on full lock with engine ticking over does it make engine slow at all are all track rod ends ok not rusted up you could disconnect steering shaft from power steering box and rotate steering steering wheel to see what it feels like do you have any one who could test pump pressure it could be faulty even if new are all houses ok not collapsing internaly is relief valve in pump stuck

Cheers 8ha all ball joints and uj's are new will check what you've said off to work now and report back . Would a garage be able to check the pump pressure ? Hoses seem ok fluid seems to be going round the system , fluid in pump and plenty coming out the bleed screw on steering box.
Cheers Ian

You could disconnect the ujs and try the steering wheel, it should rotate with one finger.
If that's ok, try backing off the box adjuster, maybe it's too tightly adjusted.
Damper seized?

Oops, too slow again.

some garages should be abel to check it if you live near an agricultural engineering place they should have pressure gauges to check hydraulicks if willing to do it

when you ckeck swivel preload witha spring balance etc make sure you know whether it has pin and rialko bus or a bearing at the top as both have different preloads

Have you bled the system from on top of the steering box?

The steering should be light. If the pump and box are meeting resistance you will often hear the pump groan a bit. It is possible to get the connections wrong at the box end - but not easy.

Our 1991 110 Defender has a 300Tdi fitted and the steering is super light, it is a dream.....my 1988 110 also has a 300Tdi, but the steering is super heavy i.e. there is no assistance, parking is a b!tch....I am suspecting the box is at fault on this one.

As for yours, the steering should be nice and light if working correctly.

Cheers all will try all over the next couple of days could the steering damper cause heavy steering ? It's supposed to be new but think I may have been stitched up when I brought it 12 months ago with one the one off display as they didn't have one in stock so they posted it to me later with some other stuff.
Cheers Ian

PAS should be man enough to overcome a stiff damper...although a duff damper will either kick the steering or hamper its return to centre.

I can turn my 200tdi pas, while not moving, from lock to lock with one hand. Not recommended to do it when still but tried it just now as a test

Hi all, tried a few things this morning. Put her on full lock while idling no change in revs , jacked her up both wheels off ground with out engine running steering is free and easy to turn. Bled her again from the bleed nut on top of steering box and still the same. So I'm guessing that with the steering turning freely with the wheels off the ground that means it's the pump or hoses ? One thing I did notice when I replaced the old pump yesterday was that lots of fluid came out of the hose that pushes on the rear of the pump but hardly any came out of the hose that screws into the top of the pump is this normal? Think I'll drain the system strip the hoses off and blow them out see if that works. Unless you think I'm looking in the wrong place ?
Cheers Ian

Full lock idle should nearly stall the engine.
It's not right in the box/pump/hoses department somewhere.

Cheers Flossie think the hose that goes from the steering pump to the box might be the problem as hardly any fluid came out when I put the new pump on I'm presuming that the fluid should run out of there as with the other pipe. Could you blow it clear with an air line or is it best to just buy a new one.
Cheers Ian

please let us know what you found when working right very interesting befor you buy new pipe you could if you can find some more pipe take supply pipe from pump to box undo pipe at box end join up other pipe let aim free end at power steering box resovior gey mole grips slowly squese pipe and see what flow you get I hace done this on hgv don't now if you can do this on landrovers you will have to put stop end in box where you took out pipe

Will do mate ,can't try that it's got screw in fittings both ends, picking a new pipe up from craddocks in morning . Working on the assumption that as everything moved freely when wheels off ground steering box and all joints ok, fluid moving freely from reservoir to pump, so you would have to be really unlucky to have a dud old and new steering pump but we'll see in morning .
Cheers Ian

I guess you've looked but just in case....The steel pipe running along the cross member isn't crushed is it?

Was ok when I put it back on and it hasn't been out the shed but that's the one I think may be blocked so I'm going to get a new one in the morning and fingers crossed all will be okay till the next thing haha
Cheers Ian