Big steering problem!

Hi everyone, here's the story...

With the MOT coming up I thought I'd try and fix a leak from the steering box of my S3 lightweight which has been annoying me for a while. The leak was coming from the bottom end plate which seemed accessible from the wheel arch without taking anything out.

Firat off I removed the adjuster screw on the side and drained out the oil. Then I unscrewed the four bolts and removed the end plate, with the metal shims and seals. While it was off I had a look up into the box and poked about with a finger, at which point all the bearings fell out on the grass. I managed to find 9 of the 10 and was waiting until today to get a replacement, which I finally did.

So this evening I put it all back as carefully as possible, refilled with oil, tightened the adjuster screw like the Haynes manual said, then went to take it for a test drive.

As I turned towards the road the steering seemed smooth and fine, then as I turned out onto the road, almost full lock, there was a nasty creaking crunching sound which I could feel it badly through the wheel, and suddenly there was loads of play in the steering. The steering was still working just about so I managed to get the landy back off the road into the garden, but had to force it with more horrible crunching snapping noises, so probably did more damage in the process.

Now when standing still the steering wheel does still turn the wheels, but it just hangs loose for nearly half a turn before engaging anything. It feels like the problem might something higher up the column but it seems like too much of a coincidence when I've been messing with the box at the other end. Whatever it is it doesn't look good!

Sorry for the long post but I wanted to cover all the details. As always thanks in advance for any suggestions. Cheers.

Sounds like only 9 balls fell out, so when you re-filled it, it had 11 ..

youll need to remove side plate and check steering nut

You're missing a ball bearing. Either from the recirculating nut or an end bearing. You will need to remove the whole lot and do it on the bench to be safe. Look at parts catalogue to find out how many bearings you should have.

Ps: you don't use the adjuster to drain it. There's another plug for that.... I made the exact same mistake years ago on my mate's dumper. Took decking ages missing around ans getting it wrong until.I wised up and removed steering box and did it properly on the bench

you would be better removing it ,both ends have loose ball bearings if you disturb 1 the other will be

Thanks for all the replies, much quicker than expected!

I'm sure there wasn't another bearing still inside because I ran my finger round with a bit of grease before putting them back. Plus 10 bearings filled the race pretty snuggly so surely it wouldn't have slotted back into place prefectly?

Dominicb where's the drain plug? I haven't seen any mention of one anywhere so i just assumed the adjuster was kind of dual-purpose. (Plus it just looks like a plug haha)

So seems like I'd better get the whole thing out. Exactly how much of a nightmare is it??? Are there any tips or words of warning anyone has before I try it?
(the manual says something about a compressed spring which needs a special tool etc?)

Thanks for the pics Samc88, much clearer than the Haynes manual!

Harrris303 said:

Thanks for all the replies, much quicker than expected!

I'm sure there wasn't another bearing still inside because I ran my finger round with a bit of grease before putting them back. Plus 10 bearings filled the race pretty snuggly so surely it wouldn't have slotted back into place prefectly?

Dominicb where's the drain plug? I haven't seen any mention of one anywhere so i just assumed the adjuster was kind of dual-purpose. (Plus it just looks like a plug haha)

So seems like I'd better get the whole thing out. Exactly how much of a nightmare is it??? Are there any tips or words of warning anyone has before I try it?
(the manual says something about a compressed spring which needs a special tool etc?)

Thanks for the pics Samc88, much clearer than the Haynes manual!

Click to expand...

spring is in steering relay not box , if top bearings disturbed you need to remove outer column,and use grease etc to hold both sets of balls in place whilst races are secured

Oh right ok. Do the column and box come out both as fairly sealed units? Or am I liable to lose many bits in the process? (Looks like the bearings from the top of the box might be loose but I hope the rest is fairly secure...)
The haynes manual also says something about a special Leyland tool (No. 600000) for pulling the drop arm away from the box or something?

It's a fairly long job to get the box out - it has to come out with the steering column attached. Have a look at the manual, it's got the procedure in there. I think the only way to sort the box out properly is to do it on a bench but if the screw or nut is damaged you might struggle to find parts. Yes, it's 10 balls in each race and they can be a bugger to fit!

drop arm can be tight ,box and column come out and go back in as one as outer column tube secures top bearing

That sounds good, think I prefer the idea of doing it all on the bench. So you just slide the column out forwards through the bulkhead towards the engine? (Minus the steering wheel!)

Sounds like a fairly tough job but I'm quite up for seeing how it all actually works up close. I've got a feeling it'll be a steep learning curve!

Once you get I it on the bench it's pretty obvious...just use some sticky grease to hold the balls in place. Download the service manual .pdf it's pretty good description.

Brilliant thanks, found the workshop manual which looks pretty comprehensive. And better diagrams than the Haynes manual. I'll try and get going tonight after work so I imagine there'll be more from me soon! Cheers.

Well I've just spent a couple of hours fiddling and made a bit of progress. Got all the wiring etc stripped off the column easily enough, but the first hurdle was the massive nut which holds the steering wheel on. Couldn't quite fit my adjustable spanner in there and haven't got a socket big enough so I'll be scrounging for one tomorrow.
As it was getting a bit dark I just spent a while loosening various nuts and bolts ready for removing the steering box tomorrow.
Also I loosened the large nut which holds the drop arm in place and I'm starting to see why they recommend that Leyland tool. There's a picture of it in the Haynes manual and as far as I can tell it's kind of like a big thumb screw which slots onto the arm and just wrenches it away from the box. Anyway if anyone's got any good suggestions for getting the arm off I'm all ears.
Actually I was just thinking would it be possible to detach the steering box from the fixings and pull it away from the arm instead of pulling the arm away from it?? I guess there's not a lot of room for that...

I think you can take the ball joint off in situ and remove the drop arm on the bench

Good thinking, that should be much easier. Now if I can just get the bloody steering wheel off I should be away!

Back again! Very slow going because I've only got an hour or two every night to get on with it.
So far the biggest problem seems to be getting hold of a 1" socket for getting the bloody steering wheel off, other than that I've managed to free most of the nuts and bolts.

One other hurdle is getting the rusty little split pin out of the castle nut on the ball joint to release the drop arm. Has anyone got any good tips for getting them out?

drill or just turn nut and snap it off and either fit new joint or drill out

Sounds like my kind of plan haha. I've just learned through experience not to always grab the drill or grinder before trying more subtle options. I was a bit worried about damaging the thread etc but I guess it can stand up to a rusty old pin.