Leaking steering gearbox

[jycsalas]

A friend has a 95 RRC and started having a steering gearbox leak. Not knowing any better he bought "power steering fluid" and not ATF.... he's been running it for who knows how long and after my brief inspection, i think he has to replace some seals...

http://www.roverparts.com/Parts/STC2848.cfm

http://www.roverparts.com/Parts/STC2847.cfm

Any thoughts???

 

[Gordo]

Personally I wouldnt bother replacing the seals. I dont think the fluid matters as Ive used both. Lucas Steering fluid/stop leak might help. Others have tried a few drops of brake fluid to swell the seals. Its pretty normal for them to leak! I replaced my box with a reman from the LR dealer. Its been a long time ago (8yrs plus probably) but back then they were the cheapest at 350bucks. Worth noting it still doesnt leak a drop! gordo
Heres a link to a rebuilt one with a warranty. I have No idea if this is competitive but it does have a warranty and Ive had good luck with Motorcars in the past.

http://www.motorcarsltd.com/reman/steeringbox-reman.asp

 

[post]

you can run p/s fluid instead of atf if you want.

if you buy a rebuild kit buy it from British Pacific, it's $40.

 

[stevo]

I did the shaft seals at least a year ago with the kit from BP, no leaks so far - it had about 120k on it at the time - not sure if it was the original box.

 

[57loboy]

I loaded mine up with Lucas, no more leaks. The 2 new lines help too....

 

[95.D1.Rick]

Personally I wouldnt bother replacing the seals. I dont think the fluid matters as Ive used both. Lucas Steering fluid/stop leak might help. Others have tried a few drops of brake fluid to swell the seals. Its pretty normal for them to leak! I replaced my box with a reman from the LR dealer. Its been a long time ago (8yrs plus probably) but back then they were the cheapest at 350bucks. Worth noting it still doesnt leak a drop! gordo
Heres a link to a rebuilt one with a warranty. I have No idea if this is competitive but it does have a warranty and Ive had good luck with Motorcars in the past.

http://www.motorcarsltd.com/reman/steeringbox-reman.asp

X2. The extra money for a rebuild, and new hoses, cost me around 300 4 years ago, was worth it. Changing seals is not that much less of a job, and it may not solve the leak issue. If its all about saving money you can try the seal kit. Magic oils only prolong the inevitable, some people buy alot of time. Didnt do anything for my leaks though.

 

[grussell]

I did the shaft seals at least a year ago with the kit from BP, no leaks so far - it had about 120k on it at the time - not sure if it was the original box.

Were you able to replace the seals without removing the shaft and/or gearbox. Mine starting leaking bad a few days ago.

97 Disco I
110k

 

[Ron]

Buy a meridian reman. Google for the contact info.

 

[jycsalas]

Thanks guys for all the advice, I will be washing the gearbox to pinpoint the leak and I'll get back to you

 

[rover4x4]

make sure that the last shop that worked on it didnt loosen any hydraulic lines.

 

[jycsalas]

make sure that the last shop that worked on it didnt loosen any hydraulic lines.

I know he had a shop recently replace a clamp or two on those hoses so hopefully its just that!

 

[ray96disco]

Buy a meridian reman. Google for the contact info.

Does Meridian sell direct to the public?

 

[stevo]

Were you able to replace the seals without removing the shaft and/or gearbox. Mine starting leaking bad a few days ago.

97 Disco I
110k

This was on a 92 RRC, but I was able to do both the input and output shaft seals with the box in the truck. The input shaft was a pain just do to the location, but the output shaft seal was pretty straightforward. Mine was leaking at the output shaft, but I did both anyway.

 

[ray96disco]

When I did the box on my Disco 1, I removed it from the truck. I think that was easier than an in-truck install would've been. I never did see how long the seals lasted. The truck was totalled within 20k miles but wasn't leak at that point.

Does Meridian sell to the public? I've heard they have decent prices on steering boxes.

 

[ca_surveyor]

Meridian does sell direct to the public, and they have been very good over the years. I just redid one this past weekend. I ordered it, had it the next day.

Prior to this box leaking, I tried Lucas which slowed the process for a couple of months.