Question about very light steering

A friend has just bought his first defender (well it's his missises' car) anyway I took it for a drive as he was reporting a steering wobble and having driven it:

The steering a very light.
There is no play, the slightest movement makes the car change direction.
At 50mph the car feels skittish and scary!
Going down a road with variable surface the car pulls different ways as it hits different surfaces.
It is a totally standard 1999 TD5 other than...
If has 185/70 16 Wrangler AT tyres on disco1 alloys.

It's got 2 days short of 3 months warranty left so it'll be the garage's responsibility but it's always good to have an idea before you get there....

Could the damper be dodgy?

you could try with damper removed especially if its one of those self centering types ,but usually its the input shaft in box

A lot of things can be dodgey, including the steering damper.

jamesmartin said:

you could try with damper removed especially if its one of those self centering types ,but usually its the input shaft in box

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Is the input shaft a new box issue?

cowasaki said:

Is the input shaft a new box issue?

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yes ,but try damper first , the input shaft consists of an inner and an outer you twist the outer and it moves in relation to inner(under torsion) which aligns oil ways making oil pressure help to steer box , if the 2 shafts wear and they become loose relevant to each other steering becomes twitchy

Front tyre pressures too high?

timc1967 said:

Front tyre pressures too high?

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They didn't look any different to the rear ones but I'll have a check.

cowasaki said:

They didn't look any different to the rear ones but I'll have a check.

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I only mentioned the front because that relates to steering. They could all be over pressurised, giving less grip especially in the wet.

Check steering geometry.........too much toe in can make it twitchy.

Have the tracking checked!!

Tracking, damper, drop arm ball joint

I can't wait to find out what it is! op2:

timc1967 said:

I can't wait to find out what it is! op2:

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If I was a betting man my money would be on Damper and the Tracking!!

So really you can rule both of these out because I'm never right!!!