Erratic steering on P38

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sorted the tire pressures today... no wonder it was feeling a little daft, 34 in the front and around 29 in the back!

Put them to the 28 front and 38 rear I read on here and it feels a whole lot better.

Got a half shaft oil seal to change so going to check the ball joints when shes up in the air and I can then get a bar on the drag links to see how much movement there is.

Thanks to everyone for all the help so far, really impressed at the responce on here. :)
 
wammers said:
On one of my copies there is a splash screen where you can select from Rangie, Disco, Defender, Freelander. When you select Range Rover you get another splash screen with the aforementioned choices plus Tech bulletins, tech info, test book, general info and a Rave tutorial. When you select tech bulls you get a choice of vehicles, choose Range rover you then get a choice of year for tech bulls. Somewhere in there is the info you need. Describes how to centralise both types of steering boxes and locking pins required. Don't think this info is in Rave it's self. It also has lots of other very good info that is not included in the RAVE pages. How to seal leaking boot and how to get rid of unexplained book symbol on Hevac for instance. Good reading and very informative.
Click to expand...
I cant find any of this on my Rave, what Number do you have there Wammers ?
 
I note you have wrangler tyres. I have been a bit unhappy with my 2001 p38's tendency to "whiteline" then recently somebody told me that this was common with Wrangler Tyres (previously on scorpion AT's) and to try increasing front pressure to 32lb (which may explain your 34) . I also bought a really good pressure guage. I have to say that with 32 in front and 38 in rear its a different car.
 
Been working through some problems on my 1999 4.6hse since I've had it, engine was the 1st and took a while to sort with lots of help and advice from here, then I sorted the MAF problem with a new gen one. Since I've had the car it has been really bad with tramlining, to the point lately that I have been using my ****ty old astra dielsel for any long runs as the wobbling all over the road was a pain when pushing the speed a bit, tomorrow I have a 450 mile round trip with the car trailer and was going to take the transit as I could not face the dreaded wobling again, so tonight I thought I would just try swapping the front and rear tyres over, the fronts were one pirrelli and one wrangler neither have much life in them which is why I have not bothered doing the swap before, I put the half worn General Grabber uhp (I think uhp or something like that!! ) on the front set the pressures at 28 front 38 rear and went for a run up the road, night and day difference!! steady as anything all the way up to 95 no problem, pushed it through the corners and lots of heavy braking fron high speed, all of which would have sent it all over the place before and no problem at all, only down side now is that the nice cheap to run diesel astra will be standing while I pour petrol through the RR again as I like driving it again!! As has been said p38 on 16" seem to handle the best but mine on 18's is happy now!!

Hard to believe but the tyres really do make that much difference to these!!

Steve
 
Ok, update time

Adjusted the pressures a few time to see what effect it has and 32 front and 38 rear has helped to calm things down.

The steering is almost certainly not centralised as it clicks off the indicators when you turn left after you only slightly move the steering wheel and doesn't cancel on the other side.

I've checked RAVE (thanks Datatek, been using your CD) and it describes the process but I can't see on the picture what marks have to be aligned. Can anyone shed a bit more light on this.

Also noticed when I was following the missus that the back end of the rangie has a fair wobble over the bumps, is this normal or should I be checking the condition of the bushes on the back? Shocks as well maybe? Would this be affecting the steering at the front as well?
 
Frostycab said:
The steering is almost certainly not centralised as it clicks off the indicators when you turn left after you only slightly move the steering wheel and doesn't cancel on the other side.
Click to expand...

Ooh! Mine does this. I assumed that someone had just had the steering wheel off and apart and reassembled it incorrectly. Are you sure that's a sign that the steering box isn't centralised? Wouldn't your steering wheel be in an odd position?

Guy
 
Mine is, its been changed at some point and I can't be sure if its been put in the correct place, as its sits to one side.

I'm not sure if its the box thats not central or just the wheel been put in the wrong place. As I said previously, I can't tell on the diagram in RAVE what the marks are... I'm maybe just thick! :doh:
 
Quick update,

Haven't tried centralising the steering yet, as soon as the weather is a little more forgiving I might get a chance!

Have adjusted the tire pressure a few time and have found the following if its useful to anyone...

Car came with a mix between 31 and 34 all round, car felt terrible!

28 front 38 rear
Great improvement. marked improvement in wandering but tramlining increased

32 front 38 rear
Wandering unchanged but tramlining a lot better

34 front 34 rear
Horrible! Tramlining still improved but wandering all over the place

34 front 38 rear
Revelation! Very marked improvement in wandering and tramlining on the motorway is all but gone... still horrible on country road though!

What hasn't helped is the shocking "accuracy" of the air pump at my local Asda... last time I check there!

Now, obvious questions. how is the rear pressures affecting the handling? Would this maybe indicate a problem somewhere? Maybe panhard bushes? or am I just getting paranoid?

Planning on changing the shocks and front airbags in the next few weeks and I'll also fit the new drag link I have which came with the car. I'll report back and let everyone know if this changes anything. If not, whats the next step? Radius arm bushes?
 
Update time again,

Had a dry enough day today to get under and check everything and get some work done. Replaced the drag link and finally found the marks for centalising the steering. Well the old drag link was fecked! Despite only having a tiny amount of play when attached and harrassed with the pry bar its loose as a goose lying on the drive. One of the ball joints was so solid it bent my ball joint slpitter taking it off!

Test drove it and what a result, its almost perfect! still ever so slightly wayward but for a 2.5ton truck I'm a happy man! Away to collect two new front bags and 4 shocks today so will see if that helps as well.

Only thing I did notice was the radius arms look a little odd, the end doesn't sit central in its mount. At the front they are offset towards the wheels on both sides. The arm itself looks to be resting against the mount on the wheel side with a few cm clearance on the other side. Had a good wiggle with the pry bar but couldn't find any play despite one of the bushes looking slightly worn... guessing my pry bar might be a little too small to be honest!
Would someone be so good as to look under theirs and see if its the same?

I may just replace the bushes in the radius arms anyway to be on the safe side but I'm sure I read I need a special tool to change them. Has anyone managed these without one? I have access to a hydraulic press at work so didn't think they would be much hassle but wanted to double check before ripping the front of the car to bits.
 
Frostycab said:
Update time again,

Had a dry enough day today to get under and check everything and get some work done. Replaced the drag link and finally found the marks for centalising the steering. Well the old drag link was fecked! Despite only having a tiny amount of play when attached and harrassed with the pry bar its loose as a goose lying on the drive. One of the ball joints was so solid it bent my ball joint slpitter taking it off!

Test drove it and what a result, its almost perfect! still ever so slightly wayward but for a 2.5ton truck I'm a happy man! Away to collect two new front bags and 4 shocks today so will see if that helps as well.

Only thing I did notice was the radius arms look a little odd, the end doesn't sit central in its mount. At the front they are offset towards the wheels on both sides. The arm itself looks to be resting against the mount on the wheel side with a few cm clearance on the other side. Had a good wiggle with the pry bar but couldn't find any play despite one of the bushes looking slightly worn... guessing my pry bar might be a little too small to be honest!
Would someone be so good as to look under theirs and see if its the same?

I may just replace the bushes in the radius arms anyway to be on the safe side but I'm sure I read I need a special tool to change them. Has anyone managed these without one? I have access to a hydraulic press at work so didn't think they would be much hassle but wanted to double check before ripping the front of the car to bits.
Click to expand...

Two pound hammer is best ball joint splitter. You never bend them.:D:D:D
 
The problem with the radius arm bushes is that if you use standard bushes they are a larger diameter than the hole they fit in. There is a LR tool that squashes the diameter as you push them in, but I have yet to find one cheaper than £90 so I am going to have a go at making my own once things quieten down at work. These are the only things I haven't done to try and cure the wandering. Every time I do do something it feels a whole lot better, but after a week spent navigating the bumpy welsh country roads it is obvious she is still not right and I think dangerous at times. Motorways are fine though
 
Frosty, if you happen to have your camera next time can you take a pic of the centralising marks or tell me how to find them? Need to do that myself in the next couple of days. Cheers!
 
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