L322 3.0 td6 2004 viberation steering

Hi everyone, noticed recently that now and again my l322 seems to vibrate when turning, only when from standstill not when on the move, no noises or anything, power steering fluid is full.

I noticed it more today and didn’t take note of it was both turning left or right or just one, both tyres are same and same pressure, I did notice slight grease leak from drivers side driveshaft into front diff but was only enough to cover 3 fingers so not pouring grease out. I did notice drivers side wheel was warmer than passenger side, I had come down a few hills, had a feel of the hub from the back and it was cool so don’t think it’s bearing but possibly sticky brake? Any other ideas are welcome thanks.

Sticking calipers are quite common and could cause a judder have a check that the sliders are free and greased up.

Will do. Front brakes don’t look too bad but not great either, can see areas of corrosion on discs where pads haven’t touched etc. just been pricing up half decent pads and discs and also looking at driveshafts. Does anyone know if there’s a grease seal after the rubber boot and before the diff, where the what looks like steel cone shape tapers in towards the diff? Mine seems to be leaking slightly from there. It is definitely grease as it’s thick and black.

If there is grease on the cv boot it'll need to be changed before it spils its contents completely and the cv dries out. They crack in the inner creases and then open completely...

Forgot to post an update, had a good look underneath and cleaned what I thought was grease turned out to be diff oil that was filthy from road grime, cleaned up and hasn’t returned since, least if it does should just be driveshaft oil seal.
Also took drivers wheel off and found guide pins were just Ok, seen worse but not great. Anyway cleaned all that up and found outer pad stuck to disc so cleaned and grease that, seems ok now but new pads and discs on order.
Then finally this morning got in and had heavy steering, after about half a mile to destination restarted and all ok so don’t know what’s caused that.

If the seal has leaked it needs replacing, the diff could be really low on oil now.. That's an expensive "wait and see if it does it again" move..
As for the steering, maybe an oil change for the power steering system would help. Smell the oil in the pas réservoir and do a dip sample check for its colour also. The pas fluid very rarely gets changed.
Corroded caliper/pad carriers can be descaled from rust which allows the pads to move in and out.

Diff is ok with oil as I did check that, only a smidge below level so tiny top up, that’s something I’ll keep monitoring as past few days it’s been dry.
Oil in pas reservoir look very pale, hard to tell if it’s very light brown or green but not
dark, looks clean on finger, and level is between min and max. what’s easiest way to change oil on steering? As to my knowledge there’s no actual drain plug so to speak it is something I’d like to change. I think the issue is more electric as a quick restart sorted the issue. Hopefully just a glitch.

Also regarding brake, worst bit seemed to be the rust on caliper bracket preventing the outer pad moving away from the disc. Going to do brakes at farther in laws as he’s got decent compressor and needle gun so will give them a good clean up then.

With the power steering fluid, siphon the fluid tank and refill. Run the system and repeat until the fluid is as clear as you can get it. It might not typical atf fluid and my be a more modern clear or green fluid. I'm not sure on your model. Check for leaks around the steering wrack boots. This is a common thing on some l322's. Normally a new wrack is needed if excessive.

Cheers, will have a look see what fluid is needed and try a swap, can’t say I saw any leaks around the rack or pipes etc, all looked dry.

rich28uk said:

Cheers, will have a look see what fluid is needed and try a swap, can’t say I saw any leaks around the rack or pipes etc, all looked dry.

Click to expand...

One less thing to worry about.
Good luck