I don't believe it!!

[Norretal]

After seeing Andy's misfortune with his D3 I thanked my lucky stars because I'd considered buying it but he beat me to it. Sorry to hear of your woes Andy, hope you get sorted with something soon

So, I go out tonight in mine, shortish journey of a few miles to collect something from a mate and lo and behold, it drops the steering fluid all over the road. Luckily I was easing off for a roundabout and realised the steering had suddenly gone very heavy (I'd gone round a roundabout a mile before and felt nothing wrong) so was able to negotiate the turn with a bit of effort.

I've had a look under and can see the fluid escaping the under tray at various points but it mostly seems to originate from the front near side area behind the lower grille. I got it home and will have a look in daylight. I take it the steering fluid reservoir is under a cover somewhere as I could only see the brake fluid cap and washer fluid cap tonight by torchlight?

I'll update when I know more but it's been a bad day for D3's and particularly their steering

[brasiliangringo]

If you are lucky hopefully just a hose to / from the header tank has popped off / leaking, but cars never seem to throw the easy fixes !! Obviously don't drive it without fluid as this helps to lubricate and cool the hydraulic pump impeller.

[Norretal]

I drove it the few miles home as there's no way I'm leaving it on a dual carriageway overnight. I'll take the consequences of that decision, if there are any.

Hopefully an easy fix, but as you say, it's rarely that simple

[briang9]

sorry to hear Ron, and hope its an easy repair... on a slightly lighter note, you and Andy need to do a bit more due diligence on the seller next time you buy a car

[gninnam]

Originally Posted by briang9

sorry to hear Ron, and hope its an easy repair... on a slightly lighter note, you and Andy need to do a bit more due diligence on the seller next time you buy a car

On the V8, the reservoir is on the nearside, but mine appears to be leaking from the offside so yours (hopefully) is a pipe coming loose.
Greenflag topped mine up and within 750 yards, the steering had become very heavy and the fluid had gone so I don't think mine is a pipe but you never know.....

Hoping both of our problems are easy to fix

[sarg]

Originally Posted by gninnam

On the V8, the reservoir is on the nearside, but mine appears to be leaking from the offside so yours (hopefully) is a pipe coming loose.
Greenflag topped mine up and within 750 yards, the steering had become very heavy and the fluid had gone so I don't think mine is a pipe but you never know.....

Hoping both of our problems are easy to fix

On the D2 (I wouldn't think the D3 is massively different), if the rack seals have gone, it'll come out from both sides, depending on which way you're applying steering lock, you'll see it gushing out the rubber sleeve thingies.

If a pipe has come loose, filling it up with fluid won't reattach the pipe!

[Norretal]

Originally Posted by briang9

sorry to hear Ron, and hope its an easy repair... on a slightly lighter note, you and Andy need to do a bit more due diligence on the seller next time you buy a car

You're right there Brian, he deserves surveillance does "Not So Slim Shady" though he's probably just Slim Shady now due to his man-flu episode

[Dezzy]

Originally Posted by briang9

sorry to hear Ron, and hope its an easy repair... on a slightly lighter note, you and Andy need to do a bit more due diligence on the seller next time you buy a car

Ha ha ha

[Norretal]

Well I had the car collected from the drive on Saturday lunchtime and had it taken to the guy that repaired my inlet manifold for me. I'd made several phone calls during the course of the morning mind, I didn't just turn up unannounced

He started having a look at it immediately so I hung around for a couple of hours to see what he discovered. The loss of power steering fluid was due to a split hose on the return to the cooler. If you look in through the near side fog light grille on the left side you can see two hoses, it's the smaller diameter of the two. The hose was in poor condition for about the first foot of its length, which also has two 90 degree bends in it due to its route back towards the steering rack. He suggested the poor condition could be due to the exposure to weather and cycles of temperature because further back into the engine bay the rubber was fine, still soft and flexible with no cracks when flexed. The hose disappears behind the manifold heat shield and he suggested he splice in a new section, which I agreed to before I left.

When we were under the car removing the under tray we noticed the sump gasket was leaking slightly so I agreed that it'd be wise to drop the oil and renew the gasket while he had the car, it's done 4,000 miles in the year (almost) I've had it so I'd have been changing it soon anyway.

So, collected the car after work, all sorted, battery coded to the car (I fitted a new one a couple of weeks ago) and a bill for £240 (£100 for parts) so I'm somewhat relieved as I feared something more significant on Friday night.

She's back on the drive, washed and dried, and all is well again in my world

I hope yours is as easy a fix as mine Andy, fingers crossed for you mate

[brasiliangringo]

Originally Posted by Norretal

I drove it the few miles home

Wouldn't worry then, the pump will be fine.