Dear all, I just thought I would write for those who are considering changing their steering boxes... I changed mine twice last week and have some helpful hints from doing it wrong!!!

My initial box was leaking out the bottom seal, so ordered a recon unit. I fitted it with some difficulty to my TD5 Disco 2. It turned out the recon box was defective and I had to order another!!!! Grrrrr. It took 10 hours to change the first time never having done it before and 4 hours the second time... Most guides and manuals suggest taking the battery box out of the way for easier access to the box, but I actually found that this was not necessary. I did it quite easily without removing the battery box and ECU. You get more than enough access through the offside wheel arch once you remove the splash guard.

Also, make sure you remove the drop arm nut before disconnecting the steering column! It is on tight and needs a breaker bar. I used a 41mm Impact Socket with a 3/4 adapter to 1/2 inch.. The guides say that you need to disconnect the Panhard Rod. I manged to do it the second time around with leaving the thing on. The adapter to the socket gives you more than enough room.. Then the steering column. I would advise to remove the intermediate column and grease it up with copper grease, makes refitting a whole lot easier!! I did not remove the coolant pipes, but loosened the bolts to allow them to move. With a little manipulation, the box was able to drop straight out once the other PAS pipes were removed from the box...

Now... The drop arm... Gosh.. this took the most time. You might save time by buying a box with one attached, but you can get them off with a little loving... essentially, I bent my gear puller trying to pull it off. I had a 2 tonne gear puller! Then I tried a heavy hammer and cold chisel. Not a budge.

But, then I decided to take some advice.. I loaded the drop arm up on the gear puller as much as possible without breaking or bending it, then I used a blow torch to heat the drop arm for a couple of minutes, then I took a pound hammer and just gave it a tap on the side of the drop arm and then, "PING" the thing flew off! It was all about heat. So, I personally would never try and over load a gear puller again. Just a mixture of heat and pressure releases the bind from the tapered shaft...

When I attached the drop arm to the new box, I screwed in a 8mm bolt into the steering box though the slot by the drop arm, this enabled me to align the steering column correctly without any emotional issues.. It also makes re tightening the nut on the drop arm easier as you don't overload the steering column and you don't turn the wheels.

Now once everything is attached and ready for bleeding.. I took another fantastic bit of advice which prevents air locks in the box.. I initially turned it on and made sure the reservoir was full at all times. It drops very quickly, so fluid needs to be at hand.. once the fluid settled. I left the engine to come up to normal operating temperature. This warms up the PAS fluid and thins it which enables it to move air through quicker apparently! I did say apparently! Once the engine was warm, I got a friend to turn the steering to the left initially while I released the bleed nipple. The steering gets turned from lock to lock holding for a couple of seconds on each lock. eventually the fluid runs clear of bubbles. I then left it for half an hour and re bled the system, amazingly, lots more air came out! After a couple more bleeds, it was completely clear. It took about 1.5ltr from completely empty to refill and bleed the system.

Anyway, I hope someone needing this or changing their box might find this useful! I made so many mistakes the first time around and found this was probably the best way of doing it without too much grief!

Good luck,

A very chuffed, leak free TD5 disco 2 owner!

MudRatop2:

Ps... Feel free to hijack this thread and add any other points or corrections to my bad habit mechanics!

well done not nice on disco 2 ,they dont need bleeding will do it themselves once worked lock to lock ,they have a return pipe unlike brake system you dont need to heat drop arm ,pullers help then hit arm till it stretches enough to release taper as any ball joint

Well done MudRat, its always satisfying to complete a tricky job yourself.

Interesting you say your first recon box was defective. Same happened to me, it leaked as soon as I put fluid in it !. ( bought it cheap from a WELL know parts supplier ).

Put a Genuine one is second time round as I didnt want to be doing it again any time soon.

Del.

Thanks.. Well, If you don't need to bleed the system, why does it have a bleed nipple and why does it say in the Haynes Manual to bleed the system?? Just a thought!? I am ignorant on this point, I have to admit! Also.. With the drop arm, I actually tried that. I have a 2 tone puller, I loaded it up to the point the screw part was bending under pressure and then hit it with a pound hammer and cold chisel.. It did not budge one mm!!! It was only then, that someone suggested heating it up and that finally worked. Once I removed it.. It seemed really corroded along the drop arm splines... I good wire brushing sorted it out, but either way, it was a pain to do! Not surprisingly once I loaded it with copper grease, the second time of removing it was a lot easier!

cold chisel wouldnt be heavy enough would need a drift as large and heavy as shortened half shaft ,

That's a good point.. I will remember that for next time! Thanks for the tip!

M.R

Thanks for the help. I may have to do this soon. Was your disco steering very unresponsive? And wandering around? Is that the result of a leaking steering box?