Outer Limits 4x4 Board

G,day everyone, im new to this discussion board and have just recently purchased a 1985 Range Rover 4 Door with brand new 4.6l HSE engine and a few other bits and pieces. Generally a very tidy vehicle. The previous owner was in the process of doing the whole thing up. This vehicle was a bit of a step up from my old FJ40.

My question is however, is that the spline at the bottom of the power steering unit seems to be leaking a bit of fluid and was wondering if i could get away with putting some form of stop leak product or something in there or is it just better to remove the unit and replace the seal.

Your help would be much appreciated.

Some people swear by the old power steering stop leak others think it is a scam.

The thing with power steering fluid is that by default it should make rubbers swell - thus they should seal well to start with and the additative
shouldn't do too much.

However I have spoken to people who have had leaking units and the stop leak seems to have worked.

I would try the stop leak to start with and failing that (which is the most likey outcome) pull it out and get the seal replaced

Welcome to rover ownership ! Leaking seal - this is more a "feature" of rovers rather than a problem Some people refer to it built in rust prevention !!

Good luck

Tom

When I was buying my first RR I was told "If your rover doesnt leak, it hasn't got any oil in it."

So far that has held true on the majority of rovers I have seen.

Have fun, and enjoy!

Graeme Coopers in Sydney sell the seal kit for $83.90 I have tried ps stop leak, that worked for quite a while, but now it's probably costing $5 a month to keep the fluid up to it. Will be pulling the box out in a week, I hope it's a pretty strait forward job. Any advise on the seal replacement welcome

Thanks everyone, i'll try a few of those ideas and see what happens. Cheers

If your pitman shaft bushes are worn the genuine Rover seal kit probably wont work. I did have the part number of a hydraulic seal that worked real well but I have lost it since I moved house.
Bill.

Rangie Spares sell an oversize seal that should fix your problem and it is possible to replace without removing the steering box. If its been leaking for a while then i would check the condition of your panhard rod bushes as the fluid usually stuffs them.

Bought some powersteering stop leak this morning, went for a bit of a drive and the leak seems to have slowed if not stopped. Hopefully that will have solved the problem for now. Thanks everyone for the help. In the future i'll certainly be posting more questions up here.

I did not buy the standard seal kit after reading the alternatives in this post, I found the better replacement seals, so for reference the input shaft seal is a NAK TC 22 32 6 it is a double lip seal compared to the standard single, $3.30 which I got from a bearing place.
The Pitman seal I got from a Hydraulic place, Hallite in Seven Hills, it is a Hydraulic seal it is Blue (Hythane) and I believe the rangie spares seal is blue so it is probably the same one they use $10.65. Code 4502701 Description SI 1250 1750 0250 Type 601 1.1/4"x1.3/4" Hythane U-Ring

Mudrat wrote:Bought some powersteering stop leak this morning, went for a bit of a drive and the leak seems to have slowed if not stopped.

I remember my old 84 Rangie had a really bad leak, threw the stop leak into the old banger and it stopped completely. Had it for 2 years and topped it up every 12 months or so. For $15 it was a good investment.

But doing it properly eventually is still the best option

Trav