Steering box longitudinal rod replacement without REMOVING the steering drop arm.

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bultacobob

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I went to fit a new steering box to relay rod with new ball joints. The problem is that I can't fully remove the ball joint as it is so close the steering box support. So do I have to remove the dreaded steering drop arm to gain the 5 mm I need? As this is a serviceable part it seem crazy to have to do this. I would be very grateful if anyone can tell me if there is a work around this and if not what is the most practical puller needed to get the steering box drop arm off.

I have posted further down how I managed to do this without the need for a steering box drop arm puller.
 
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You don’t have to go,this far , but it’s probably easier to remove big nut and lock washer on drop arm and ease it off with lever and reassemble ball joint on the rod off the vehicle

there may be room by removing bottom 3 bolts off bottom bulkhead support bracket and wedging it away you may need to slacken top retaining bolts on box
 
Thank you for the advice, I was thinking along similar lines, removing the lower 3 bolts would be easier than trying to pull the drop arm. Also putting the steering on full lock towards the bulkhead pushes the tie-rod end half way past the bracket. Just seems wrong that a serviceable part would be so difficult and I thought I might be missing the obvious. Also its about £40 for a puller and they are no way way as industrial as the Land Rover service tool which I have seem people struggle with and that was off the vehicle.
 
I have cut off the top three threads to get the new ball joint fitted without touching arm, tbh removing the bolt and lifting the arm a few mm is the best idea.
Mark the arm and splined shaft before removal.
 
Puller and loosen arm, its the best way. If the rod end has a grease nipple take it out and put a blank screw in, there's no way to get a grease gun on with it assembled.
 
Hi, thanks for confirming that this is the way to do it. I didn't want to find that there was a work around having paid out for special tools etc. I have a new bar and quality track-rod ends to refit, hopefully they will last for a good few years. This part of the steering system is often overlooked as it is a bit of a pig of a job and is probably the cause of may Land Rovers vague steering.
 
The thing that made a big differnce to my vague steering was spending time getting the steering box adjustment right. Obviouly it wears more in the centre so its important to be carefull about getting it right over the whole range, but i found that friction or dirt on the adjuster thread made it hard to get a good feel. Cleaning it all up then making small adjustments and checking the whole range removed about 2" at the steering wheel rim for the same resistance on the adjuster.
 
I do agree that the steering box needs a bit of time and finesse to set up. I adjusted mine and made things worse adding about 3" of extra steering wheel travel, so conversely getting it right can really help which I later did. There is a bit of controversy about the tightness of the adjuster bolt, but it seems that finger tight and a 1/4 turn is a good starting point. You do need to do this with wheels cantered and off the ground, i.e. no resistances. Check and adjust the nut if things seem to tight. The resistance is supposed to decrease towards either end of the lock which is why being centred is important, the trouble is as you pointed out it wears towards the middle, so checking as you suggested is a good idea.
 
So it turns out you can remove the longitudinal rod without removing the steering box drop arm! Simple, here is how I did it.
Step 1) Steering on full lock, drop arm facing forward. You may be lucky and it clears the inner wing, if so pull it out, Job done. if not...

Step 2) Beat the inner wing with a big hammer IT will bend back out the way enough to remove the rod and track rod end.

Step 3) Pull on the Rod from the front having removed it from the steering box arm, it will need a few tugs to manipulate the ball-joint into the best position and should come out easily. If not check for clearance and get the hammer back out.

Step 4) notice the angle of the track rod end put the new on in this positing an replace with minimal persuasion. Note the new Delfi ends are smaller and so are easy to replace (ignore the fact it has a finer thread it is still the right size). They don't look as big and chunky as the originals but replacing is now simple.

Step 5) Optional, but now is the perfect time to adjust that nut on the steering box as you can really feel the results via the steering wheel.

Hope this saves someone else splashing out on a steering box drop arm puller.
 

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If you don't have a working Landi and are precious about hitting/bending the inner wing slightly. Get a buddy to tug on the rod at the front end to align the track rod end up nicely whilst you check progress against the inner wing. A thin sheet of ally will protect the paint work.
 
The Delphi are about 10mm lower in profile. They don't look as chunky as the original that came out. But the big hammer facilitated the removal of the original one so a Lemforder OE replacement would now squeeze back in. I don't do that much mileage with the Land Rover so will stick with the Delphi for now, they are a good brand but not so robust as OE now that I am comparing them. On thing to watch out for, you will now get 4 turns lock to lock on the steering as it at its limit as no wheel stops. So don't yank to hard on the longitudinal rod, just a gentle steady pull as the tie rod end and it slides free.
 
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