Defender steering wobble when hitting pot holes

My 90 TDI has a strange problem in that when I hit a pot hole at 40-50 mph it has terrible steering wobble and can veer off course
She has recently been through an mot and I've hacked the front up and can find no obvious play
Any suggestions ?

Thanks

New steering damper? Pan hard rod bushes? If it’s the same setup is the disco.

What state si the steering damper in?

Knackered? New?

Cheers

I vote.....Pan hard rod bushes

EeEk said:

I vote.....Pan hard rod bushes

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Me too. When they first start to wear a pot hole is handy to start the wobble off. As the wear progresses it starts once you get a bit of speed up.

I've not had the damper off to check it so il add that to the list ,poly bushes for pan hard rod ?

I had my D1 polybushed, I’d choose OEM if I have to do anything in the future. Stopped the wobble though.

Sounds like the damper

Could just as easily be the pre-load on the swivels.

frog hopper said:

Could just as easily be the pre-load on the swivels.

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My first thought to, new damper may hide it so worth a try.

Swivel pre-load; ball joints; steering & suspension bushes are all likely contenders.
Steering shaft UJs are another quick check.

There is no play on the swivels but it there is not enough preload on the bearing would this cause my problem?

frog hopper said:

Could just as easily be the pre-load on the swivels.

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That's what it was on our 110

chrisstdt said:

There is no play on the swivels but it there is not enough preload on the bearing would this cause my problem?

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It is a fine line between to loose/to tight, and correct.
But as said above do not concentrate on just one thing, check it all it could be a combination of wear on everything.

Also... don't forget the rear of the motor. Might seem counter-intuitive for a wobble on the front but hear me out...

Dick (my Dad) had the death wobble on Trigger (his Disco 200tdi) where - quite literally - he changed everything on the front, from swivels, to bushes and shockers etc. (even changed the steering box)- but still didn't cure it. This went on for months and months, and he ended up driving at 50mph everywhere (saved loads on juice but was always late ).

He read something online somewhere that mentioned the rear bushes... so he changed one side panhard rod bushes and cured it instantly. Didn't even need to do the other side or the a-frame (although he did anyway).

After he sorted it, he said to me "you might think you've experienced death wobble but until you get it, outside lane of the M25 in Surrey, rush hour, at 75mph, you *really* haven't". Definitely a 'check your pants' moment

EDIT: Might sound weird, but something as trivial as uneven tyre pressures also provokes the death wobble - as we found out, also on Trigger.

I had wobble after hitting a pot hole but not any other time, after the usual checks it was found to be a dead axle shock/damper.

Thanks for all the suggestions ,I've ordered Casey of panhard rod bushes / bolts but il get her up o the ramp tomorrow and check every th g front and back for play

chrisstdt said:

There is no play on the swivels but it there is not enough preload on the bearing would this cause my problem?

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Yes it could, you need to feel some resistance when you try to turn the hub, a look for the right tension and a cheapo fishing scale will see you right.
But as others have said, it could be a load of different things, but all of those things are worth checking out anyway, wobble or not.

Only thing I found was the nut that holds the drop arm you the steering box wasnt right!
Tightened up now but haven't driven far since so not sure if shes sorted
Damper works well and my panhard rod bushes arrived so it get those fitted in the near future

A good chance you found the problem if the joint was loose. Not the sort of thing you want to come apart when driving.