I think I mentioned before that the type of work I do seems to come in random, unpredictable waves. I can go a year or more without changing a single starter motor, then have three or four faulty starters back to back. There is no reason why that should happen, just chance. This month’s theme has been power steering boxes, with three vehicles in a row needing attention in this safety-critical area.
First up was a Ninety which had dumped all its power steering fluid on the ground. A power steering system should not be run without fluid for any length of time. Most pre-1994 Defenders have the pump driven off its own belt: if you remove (or just cut through) the belt the vehicle will be safe to drive to a nearby workshop (albeit with very heavy steering). This particular Ninety had been retrofitted with a Discovery 200Tdi engine, on which the power steering pump
