Hi all, first post here.
I have recently bought a 1996 defender 90 2.5 TDI.

It's almost impossible to steer at high speeds and my mechanic has told me it's the 'kingpin' which is a cheap repair so it is going in for that soon but I have a problem with the battery.

The car drains overnight almost every night, replaced battery and it still happens, ive been listening to the car recently whilst turned off and I can hear what sounds like a fan going in the heating matrix/heating box, this will continue going even 6 hours after the car has been turned off, if I disconnect the battery this fan stops so I assume this is the cause.

Is this normal? If anyone has any suggestions it would be greatly appreciated.

I think I'm looking at the right area but I'll upload a picture with the exact area this fan sound and air is coming from.

Thank you.

Heater should not be live when ignition is off.
Possible switch fault. Remove heater speed control feed to see if this stops the fan(or remove fuse if easier)

There may be wear in the king pin [ known in Landy's as the swivel housing pin] and it may need replacement. Or if only a bit worn it can be adjusted by the removal of shims and the resetting of what is known as the steering/swivel housing preload. A simple job but needs to be done right.
As above with heater fan. Will it go off if you move the fan switch [ on the left dash] to the top position [off ] with ignition on ? It should stop the fan as would turning ignition off when working correctly.

Whilst the steering swivel bearings might be causing difficulties with steering, there are other possibilities too. I've had problems with the universal joints on the steering column causing tight spots, as do the bearings in that part of the steering column that goes through the bulkhead. I've also had a faulty power steering pump that gave me very stiff steering, but that was most noticeable at low speeds rather than high ones.

In my 130,000 miles of Land Rover motoring I've replaces the steering swivel bearings a couple of times. It certainly does improve the handling, especially at motorway speeds. As they wear they tend to give you a rather vague, floaty sort of feeling at 70 mph, but new ones feel more positive. They're only tiny little roller bearings that have to hold up the entire front of the car, and over time the rollers tend to indent the races.

Do these have the final stage resistor? The fan stays on when they fail

Thank you for all the replies.

I should of been more specific about the steering, the problem is at any speed over approx 30 mph it becomes almost impossible to stay in a straight line, don't dare try it again.

I will try the suggestions regarding the heating box, but this fan is staying on 6+ hours after turning the car off then will eventually turn off(presumably once the battery dies).

Thanks again, I will reply once I've played with the buttons on the dash.

PeterT1960 said:

Thank you for all the replies.

I should of been more specific about the steering, the problem is at any speed over approx 30 mph it becomes almost impossible to stay in a straight line, don't dare try it again.

I will try the suggestions regarding the heating box, but this fan is staying on 6+ hours after turning the car off then will eventually turn off(presumably once the battery dies).

Thanks again, I will reply once I've played with the buttons on the dash.

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Ooo that’s like a death wobble….
Can be anything from loose swivel pins,bearings, track rods, panard arm bushes, steering joint….
Get someone to wobble the steering while you look for parts that should not be moving (incorrectly).
Then check pins & bearings

I think the Trailer fitters toolbox videos on youtube have one showing how to check the steering. It may be worth having a look at that. Also what tyres have you got on? Mine came with very aggressive insa turbo special tracks on and the steering was better with a more road biased all terrain fitted - and they were much quieter.

Also, regarding your battery, I think I would be inclined to disconnect a wire when not in use until you sort the draining. You don't want to knacker your battery.