Hair raising Swaying

my D2 (52 plate TD5) is swaying when driving mainly at higher speeds. In lower speeds it is not noticeable at all but at higher speeds of around 60-70mph it is a hairy drive. It sways from left to right almost uncontrollably with a floating feeling. At the moment I don't fancy going above 65mph after a couple of hair raising sways and almost ending up in the verge! It goes one way, and then when you compensate for it on the steering it goes the other. - horrible feeling.

The steering wheel is also just off Centre position when going straight- maybe this has something to do with it.

It has just passed its MOT, only advisories were deteriorated rear trailing arm bushes and front suspension arm bushes which were all replaced with genuine parts.

The tires are all in good condition and holding air at correct levels.

If anyone has any idea what else the problem could be I would be most grateful for your advice.

Many thanks in advance.

have you had the steering knuckle ball joints changed

Hi James,

Many thanks for your reply, only owned the vehicle about 3 weeks. I have no idea if the steering knuckle ball joints have been changed. I have loads of receipts and paperwork and nothing in there about them so I'm presuming not.

its a common failing, does putting power on or off effect the steering

Just priced them up and the parts seem quite cheap- maybe worth doing them anyway if they are a common failing. Is this something that can be achieved by a novice to mechanics or is it a total strip down to get to it and replace/ loads of things that can go wrong.

Putting power on/ off does not effect the steering at all/ nor does breaking either softly or heavy.

As soon as it starts to sway I take my foot off the gas and let it naturally drop in speed to stabilise. Horrible feeling.

Jgwoodley said:

Just priced them up and the parts seem quite cheap- maybe worth doing them anyway if they are a common failing. Is this something that can be achieved by a novice to mechanics or is it a total strip down to get to it and replace/ loads of things that can go wrong.

Putting power on/ off does not effect the steering at all/ nor does breaking either softly or heavy.

As soon as it starts to sway I take my foot off the gas and let it naturally drop in speed to stabilise. Horrible feeling.

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joints can take 20 tons to shift,i use a special hydraulic jack to remove them and specific made pullers to refit them,

if putting power on/of has no effect id be less inlcinled to think about bushes etc, more pas box or joints or tracking

Definitely won't be tackling that job then....

Many thanks for your advice, most appreciated.

Jgwoodley said:

Definitely won't be tackling that job then....

Many thanks for your advice, most appreciated.

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you can prove the point by removing wheel, slackening both joint nuts, whacking the knuckle hard with a large hammer were joint goes through releasing joint ,lower joint will then show play if its worn

Many thanks- I'll have a check.

c

Jgwoodley said:

my D2 (52 plate TD5) is swaying when driving mainly at higher speeds. In lower speeds it is not noticeable at all but at higher speeds of around 60-70mph it is a hairy drive. It sways from left to right almost uncontrollably with a floating feeling. At the moment I don't fancy going above 65mph after a couple of hair raising sways and almost ending up in the verge! It goes one way, and then when you compensate for it on the steering it goes the other. - horrible feeling.

The steering wheel is also just off Centre position when going straight- maybe this has something to do with it.

It has just passed its MOT, only advisories were deteriorated rear trailing arm bushes and front suspension arm bushes which were all replaced with genuine parts.

The tires are all in good condition and holding air at correct levels.

If anyone has any idea what else the problem could be I would be most grateful for your advice.

Many thanks in advance.

Click to expand...

You could have one or more dud shock absorbers, even with a stuffed shockie on one corner only, you will notice a lot of "transfer", movement across the vehicle.
Easy to check by bouncing each corner of your vehicle or unfastening one end of each shock and compress and extend to see if they have any hydraulic resistance.

Does the vehicle have ACE?

Hi all,

Many thanks for all your responses.

Yes Pawl it does have ACE.....

Have you got any ACE warning lights & do you have access to a Nanocom or similar?
The symptoms could be linked to a ACE failure where the anti-roll bars go "loose" - either due to hydraulic leakage or various other internal failure modes.
I know an ex-LR guy who used to have to investigate when the D2 was a new vehicle & a few new owners had scary moments like that (& worse!).

Jgwoodley said:

my D2 (52 plate TD5) is swaying when driving mainly at higher speeds. In lower speeds it is not noticeable at all but at higher speeds of around 60-70mph it is a hairy drive. It sways from left to right almost uncontrollably with a floating feeling. At the moment I don't fancy going above 65mph after a couple of hair raising sways and almost ending up in the verge! It goes one way, and then when you compensate for it on the steering it goes the other. - horrible feeling.

The steering wheel is also just off Centre position when going straight- maybe this has something to do with it.

It has just passed its MOT, only advisories were deteriorated rear trailing arm bushes and front suspension arm bushes which were all replaced with genuine parts.

The tires are all in good condition and holding air at correct levels.

If anyone has any idea what else the problem could be I would be most grateful for your advice.

Many thanks in advance.

Click to expand...

watts linkage is another thing to check ,if you get someone to rock the truck at the same time as you hold either arm any play youll feel

Maybe an absolutely rubbish query. Are the axle mounting points all tight.?
Being an old guy, I remember loose axle bolts causing a similar problem on old tipper trucks 50 years ago.

I may be talking rubbish though

Many thanks for the advice once again. Really appreciate the support.

No ACE warning lights are showing; don't know anyone with a nanocom- would that identify any faults with the ACE? To be honest with you I'm thinking of taking it into the garage because it is unsafe on the road in its current condition. Just wondering if there were any obvious checks I could do before doing so.

Just checked the axle mounting points and they are all fine. Also just checked the watts linkage which again is all fine.

Tyre pressures?

Not sure if it's the same on a D2 but my steering box link bar worked it's nuts loose and it was exactly like the description even with the move of the steering wheel from dead ahead.