snaking landrover

Hi all,

I have recently purchased my first landrover which is a G reg 110 and has a replacement engine, gear box and running gear - apparently. Body work not great and needs some TLC.

The problem i have noticed when driving on the road is the back of the land rover seems to swerve side to side but not all the time. And when it does this it scares the cra*p out of me and others that have given it a test drive especially at 50 mph or above. The land rover has the 2" lift kit and is running on large tyres but Im no mechanic and was after some ideas. It doesnt seem related to the steering as that seems ok and there is no shrudder through the steering wheel. Just ordered a high lift jack so i can take a proper look,

Any ideas ?

I'd guess yer trailing arm bushes / rubber mounts are knackered.
Lifts tend to shred em quick time.
Invest in some cranked trailing arms if yer wanna stop it happenin again.

thanks for your help. I will have a go next weekend and report back on the result

DO NOT use the high lift to get under the landy - thats the fasted way to have a LR on yourself!

dnt tell him!!
ha no really do

I had a snaking problem, but a little different, it was play in the steering box so changed it (1.5 hour job) it had a good 2 inchs of play in the steering wheel and when on the motorway it seemed to snake when I was in the grooves in the road the lorries make.

I'm no expert on coilers, but the 2" lift will have affected the steering geometry - specifically it will have reduced the caster angles which will reduce the self centering of the steering. There are special front radius arms on the market which correct the steering geometry after a lift.

Just a quick update.

checked the rear lower link arm following advice and the mounting bushes had completely warn away. Purchased some new cranked trailing arms and all new poly bushes and a load of tools. Was all going well until I got to the bottom bolt and I could not remove the pivot bolt securing the lower link to the axle, what a nightmare. Been hitting it for most of today in the snow, gonna give it one more go and another can of lub before I declare defeat and head to my local garage.

If youve tried the lube, get some heat on it.

Also, get a mate... Get them to put a breaker bar over the bolt head and turn back and forth as far as they can, while you hit it.

Worked a treat for my front ones.

cut through the bolt with a cutting disc in an angle grinder. it doesn't matter if you damage the trailing arm, cos you're replacing it anyway. just don't damage the mounting bracket on the axle.

dazzza said:

Just a quick update.

checked the rear lower link arm following advice and the mounting bushes had completely warn away. Purchased some new cranked trailing arms and all new poly bushes and a load of tools. Was all going well until I got to the bottom bolt and I could not remove the pivot bolt securing the lower link to the axle, what a nightmare. Been hitting it for most of today in the snow, gonna give it one more go and another can of lub before I declare defeat and head to my local garage.

Click to expand...

get a breaking bar on it the stick ya bottle jack under it and jack it up, thats how i cracked mine

use a blow torch melt the nylock nut insert

an get the fooker glowing did the trick for me an when it gets tight again get it glowing again till the fooker finally comes off



new bolt set might be a good idea too

Dazzza where are you? Near truro by any chance?

Sounds like you've already found the solution to yours but just for your info, (and worth checking anyway.)
I had a similar problem with one of my previous 90's and again just the other day with a Disco 1 I've just bought, in both cases it was the bolt holding the panhard rod at the steering box end that was loose and worn to an oval shape, new bolt & nylok nut, buzzed up nice & tight - no more problems.
An easy one to diagnose, just move the steering wheel from side to side while stationary and see if the body moves side to side relative to the axle.

buy an electric hacksaw there fantastic for fitting inbetween the bracket and trailing arm.....good luck

get some heat on it & a breaker bar it will move it worked for me