Steering Damper

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T

TonyB

Guest
Thought it's about time I changed mine. HBOL says jack the vehicle up but is
this actually necessary or can I do it with the vehicle on the ground?
Thanks
TonyB


 
TonyB wrote:

> Thought it's about time I changed mine. HBOL says jack the vehicle up but
> is this actually necessary or can I do it with the vehicle on the ground?
> Thanks
> TonyB


Probably help if we knew which model vehicle (Series, Defender, Rangerover,
Discovery, Freelander) you were talking about, but in general it is not
"necessary" but depending on the vehicle may be easier. In particular, it
may be easier to turn the steering to engage or disengage the ends rather
than extending or compressing the damper by hand.
JD
 
> Thought it's about time I changed mine. HBOL says jack the vehicle up but is
> this actually necessary or can I do it with the vehicle on the ground?
> Thanks
> TonyB


Another lie - unless you are exceptionally corpulent! You can easily do
it with the wheels on the ground (comment excludes Freelander about
which I know nothing).

 
On or around Wed, 6 Apr 2005 20:28:20 +0000 (UTC), "TonyB"
<[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:

>Thought it's about time I changed mine. HBOL says jack the vehicle up but is
>this actually necessary or can I do it with the vehicle on the ground?


haven't jacked any of mine. crawl underneath job, takes about 15 minutes.


--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.fsnet.co.uk my opinions are just that
Confidence: Before important work meetings, boost your confidence by
reading a few pages from "The Tibetan Book of the Dead"
from the Little Book of Complete B***ocks by Alistair Beaton.
 
On or around Wed, 6 Apr 2005 22:33:39 +0100, "Lee_D"
<[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:

>"Austin Shackles" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>
>> haven't jacked any of mine. crawl underneath job, takes about 15 minutes.

>
>Is that 10 Minutes to wheel out the Oxy then ;-)
>


heh. no, 10 minutes to find the right spanner.

actually, I did notice that it's in a different place on the disco. 110's
was on the drag link, disco on the track rod.

--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.fsnet.co.uk my opinions are just that
"Quos deus vult perdere, prius dementat" Euripedes, quoted in
Boswell's "Johnson".
 
Supposedly one of the modifications you can do on a Disco in order to
increase its off roading capabilities is to fit the steering dumper where
Defenders have it.

A special chassic mount is required along with another one for the steering
bar but it is said to work 100% OK.

Take care
Pantelis

"Austin Shackles" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On or around Wed, 6 Apr 2005 22:33:39 +0100, "Lee_D"
> <[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:
>
> >"Austin Shackles" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> >news:[email protected]...
> >
> >> haven't jacked any of mine. crawl underneath job, takes about 15

minutes.
> >
> >Is that 10 Minutes to wheel out the Oxy then ;-)
> >

>
> heh. no, 10 minutes to find the right spanner.
>
> actually, I did notice that it's in a different place on the disco. 110's
> was on the drag link, disco on the track rod.
>
> --
> Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.fsnet.co.uk my opinions are just that
> "Quos deus vult perdere, prius dementat" Euripedes, quoted in
> Boswell's "Johnson".



 
On or around Thu, 7 Apr 2005 11:40:09 +0300, "Pantelis Giamarellos"
<[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:

>Supposedly one of the modifications you can do on a Disco in order to
>increase its off roading capabilities is to fit the steering dumper where
>Defenders have it.
>
>A special chassic mount is required along with another one for the steering
>bar but it is said to work 100% OK.


well, it would. can't see what it gains you unless it makes it less prone
to damage.
--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.fsnet.co.uk my opinions are just that
In Touch: Get in touch with yourself by touching yourself.
If somebody is watching, stop touching yourself.
from the Little Book of Complete B***ocks by Alistair Beaton.
 
>In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] (Pantelis
>Giamarellos) wrote:
>
>> A special chassic mount is required along with another one for the
>> steering
>> bar but it is said to work 100% OK.


Personally, if I did a bit more serious off roading I'd seriously
consider the relocation of the steering damper to in front of the
axle, this would then be tucked away nicely so it's protected by a
steering guard and would allow me to fit dan bars or heavy duty track
rod...

IF I did do a bit more serious off roading I'd probably need to
replace the standard track rod and steering damper a bit more often
than once in three years - so far!!

Chris
Take the rubbish out to email me!
 
Excuse my ignorance, but what are the symptoms of a worn steering damper?

I have a sensation with the 300Tdi as if I was driving on a highly cambered
road, i.e. it slopes steeply from the centre towards the two sides. If I
turn the wheel slightly, the vehicle tends to over steer a bit. Is that is?

Steering damper or swivels? I know the preload is a bit low, but I was
wondering.

Derry
 
Derry Argue wrote:
> Excuse my ignorance, but what are the symptoms of a worn steering damper?
>
> I have a sensation with the 300Tdi as if I was driving on a highly cambered
> road, i.e. it slopes steeply from the centre towards the two sides. If I
> turn the wheel slightly, the vehicle tends to over steer a bit. Is that is?
>
> Steering damper or swivels? I know the preload is a bit low, but I was
> wondering.


Sounds more like a lack of caster angle to me - have you done a
suspension lift?


--
EMB
 
In article <[email protected]>, Derry Argue
<[email protected]> wrote:

> Excuse my ignorance, but what are the symptoms of a worn steering damper?
>
> I have a sensation with the 300Tdi as if I was driving on a highly cambered
> road, i.e. it slopes steeply from the centre towards the two sides. If I
> turn the wheel slightly, the vehicle tends to over steer a bit. Is that is?
>
> Steering damper or swivels? I know the preload is a bit low, but I was
> wondering.
>
> Derry


G'day Derry....

Are the front tyres worn evenly ??

Around my way the road camber is more than in drier areas and driving
'against' this over a long period finally wears the 'port' edge of the
front tyres if they're not 'turned over'. This , in turn, leads to
symptoms similar to what you describe, especially noticeable when driving
on a 'flat' hard road when the steering should be 'straight ahead' ( it
veers to port!) ..

.... frodo.
 
Derry Argue wrote:

> Excuse my ignorance, but what are the symptoms of a worn steering damper?
>
> I have a sensation with the 300Tdi as if I was driving on a highly
> cambered road, i.e. it slopes steeply from the centre towards the two
> sides. If I turn the wheel slightly, the vehicle tends to over steer a
> bit. Is that is?
>
> Steering damper or swivels? I know the preload is a bit low, but I was
> wondering.
>
> Derry


Most likely cause is tyre pressure, followed by any free play anywhere in
the steering or suspension system, possibly swivel preload, but certainly
not the steering damper.
JD
 
On or around 7 Apr 2005 22:42:10 GMT, Derry Argue <[email protected]>
enlightened us thusly:

>Excuse my ignorance, but what are the symptoms of a worn steering damper?
>
>I have a sensation with the 300Tdi as if I was driving on a highly cambered
>road, i.e. it slopes steeply from the centre towards the two sides. If I
>turn the wheel slightly, the vehicle tends to over steer a bit. Is that is?


are all the balljoints OK? you can get that sort of answer from worn drag
link ball joints. Also from tracking errors, notably from being toed out,
and probably from worn track rod joints as well.

--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.fsnet.co.uk my opinions are just that
"Pereant qui ante nos nostra dixerunt"
(confound the men who have made our remarks before us.)
Aelius Donatus (4th Cent.) [St. Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes]
 
JD <[email protected]> wrote in news:[email protected]:


>
> Most likely cause is tyre pressure, followed by any free play anywhere
> in the steering or suspension system, possibly swivel preload, but
> certainly not the steering damper.
> JD
>


Swivels, then. This is an ex-gamekeeper's vehicle, i.e. everything worn is
indicative of lots of driving over rough surfaces at low speed. The tyres
are reasonably good, no signs of irregular wear, and kept properly
inflated.

I always go under the vehicle with the mechanic when he does an MOT so he
can point out any weak points, so I think all other components should be
OK.

I replaced the very badly scored swivel housings soon after I got this
vehicle and know I got the swivel loading wrong through thinking I could
remember what it should be from the manual! The steering is also rather
light which would tend to confirm this. Moral: Don't rely on the brain
after 65! :(

Thanks to everyone who responded.

Derry
 
Thanks to all, sorry I should have said it's an early Disco but it sounds
like it doesn't make a lot of difference. I'll have a go with it on the deck
then.
TonyB


 
> >Excuse my ignorance, but what are the symptoms of a worn steering damper?

Ah, I dunno but I've had the springs, shocks and tyres changed, the pre-load
checked, the tracking done and all other components checked. I still have a
wobble on the steering on bumps and thought that at 205k miles and for £15
quid I ought to change the damper too.

TonyB


 
All done. From walking out the door to walking back in took 55 mins and that
included changing the air filter, setting up and putting away the wandering
lamp and all the tools.

I was slightly delayed by an embarassing moment when I must have rolled onto
my keys in my pocket. The doors all locked themselves and I was laying
underneath thinking "what was that noise?" as it sounded exactly like the
door on the conservatory opening and I thought a cup of tea might be on its
way out. Next thing the blasted alarm went off about a foot away from me
left lughole seeing as I'd left the bonnet up for a bit of extra light.

Ears are still ringing 30 minutes later.

Took a good 30 seconds to get out from under and find the keys to stop the
alarm. The neighbours will never forgive me I bet!!

TonyB


 
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