defender leaning wheel

tom1979 · Nov 14, 2013

not sure if anyone can advise but I noticed a while ago that my passenger side front wheel leans into the vehicle at the top. it drives and steers fine and the only alteration in that department is that both the swivels have been recently replaced. could it be something as simple as getting the wheels aligned/balanced ??? there is no play in the wheels

mlucas110 · Nov 14, 2013

tighten lower wheel nuts

fouling that i dont think there is adjustment is there? im sure i may be wrong but i dont know of any. take it along to your local tyre place they will soon tell you.if its a good one that is

Kwakerman · Nov 14, 2013

Upper swivel bearing u/s?

Brown · Nov 15, 2013

The position of the wheel is defined by where the holes for the bearings are bored in the swivels so there's not much you can adjust. On our old Triumph Spitfire you could shim the wishbone brackets out from the chassis to adjust the camber, but it doesn't work on Land Rovers sadly. Maybe you've got an odd (Britpart) ball where the tolerances are a bit lax. A millimetre or so at the swivel would make a noticeable difference at the edge of the tyre. Or maybe the axle casing has got bent. Or maybe it's not the wheel but the rest of the Land Rover that's at a funny angle.

Another issue is how level it sits on its springs. With some (but not all) spring kits, the driver's side is slightly longer to accommodate the weight of the driver, so when the car's empty you might find the driver's side slightly higher.

zeaphod · Nov 15, 2013

If it wasn't like that before the swivels were changed, I'd suspect something around the swivels.
I cant remember if they are "handed", wondering if the upper and lower bearing mounts are spaced differently. I'm thinking that if one was fitted upside down, would it cause your problem?

Turboman · Nov 15, 2013

tom1979 said:
not sure if anyone can advise but I noticed a while ago that my passenger side front wheel leans into the vehicle at the top. it drives and steers fine and the only alteration in that department is that both the swivels have been recently replaced. could it be something as simple as getting the wheels aligned/balanced ??? there is no play in the wheels

Just how are you measuring this lean?? If its just visual, could be your wing is bent and throwing your eye out.

If it drives fine and your tyres aren't wearing unevenly I would leave it. Might be worth getting the tracking checked.

zeaphod · Nov 15, 2013

From the look of the parts manual, they are not handed, and it would be pretty difficult to mount them upside down.
An easy way to check is to remove the front wheels - i.e. both sides on axle stands and measure the angle of the hub (mabye just use the disc) against the vertical. If there any difference between left and right, have a very close look at where the swivels are bolted onto the axle.
In fact have a look at that first - just in casey

tom1979 · Nov 26, 2013

Kwakerman said:
Upper swivel bearing u/s?

Yep - that was it!! Many thanks.

defender leaning wheel

tom1979

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mlucas110

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Kwakerman

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Brown

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zeaphod

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Turboman

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tom1979

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