disco 1 dodgy steering

ive got a 200 tdi which when i first bought it used to lose power steering pressure overnight and steering was stiff for first hundred yards but now its started to alternate between being normal to heavy as i drive down the road. does this sound like the pump is packing up?

it sounds exactly ythe same as my 3.5 v8 mate, i know that.

mine is more like:

it's generally ok, although never as good as it should be, yet sometimes the steering just goes very heavy.

it goes very heavy on full lock, and takes a few moments to come back on. it also makes the alternator light come on on full lock

mine is at its best when its been used for a while, once its warmed up it seems fine, but tbh it is always quite heavy.

i think my pump is half cooked, yours is probably same...

just bin readin busters guide and the symptems he gave sound very familiar

Could try changing the fluid and bleeding it. Wont do it any harm and when I did mine it was full of rusty gunge.

on full lock the hydraulic pressure builds up which makes the pump harder to drive and the drive belt slips, if itslips on the crank pulley the alternator isnt driven properly either which is why that light comes on, tighten the belt , fit a new one if the sides are worn smooth.

Hi mate thanks for the tip,

It had new belts on fairly recently, over a year ago but it does a thousand miles a year on average.

I wasnt sure if it was the knackered pump that was tightening up hence the belt slip, didn't wana tighten the belt more than necessary for the bearings sake etc, belt feels pretty firm already tbh.

I'll give it a whirl anyway, could do with removing the belts anyway soon cos i think I've got a few noisy bearings; alternator, pumps and pulleys etc.

Cheers