steering shake

hi i,m new to the forum and would like to ask some advice when driving my landrover discovery (k reg) the steering some times starts to shake realy bad, it does not happen all the time just now and again,but is pretty scary when it does,and it is not just at a certain speed either it can happen at any speed,,i have lowerd the tyre pressure and this seems to help a bit,it still shakes now and then but not a bad,,just wondering if you could give me any ideas of what it could be any help would be greatly appreciated many thanks.

Have you had your wheels balanced lately? I had a similar probelm and found when balancing the tyres i had a knackered tyre.

I hope Steve3 doesn't feel I am hijacking the thread but I too have a similar problem.

The steering is fine until I go above 65-70 mph when it shakes/judders violently. I have to slow down to less than 30mph to regain control.

I have had the tracking checked and all four wheel balanced but it doesn't seem to make a difference.

Two ideas I have heard is the possiblity of a problem with the steering bush or the steering damper. I am an absolute amateur at mechanics but judging from the workshop manual even I could replace either so any advice would be very welcome.

Assuming your ballencing is ok and the tyre presures are ok, then check the wheel barings, track rod ends and as you say bushes (on the radious arm and panard rod etc)

Thanks for that James but I am even more confused now.

My Haines manual gives the impression that the radious arm and panard rod are part of the suspension.

I can see the steering damper and that looks reasonable easy to change.

The other work I would have to hand over to a mechanic as it looks to be well beyond my very limited ability.

The strange thing is that the steering is fine until I hit the point that the juddering starts. Even then there is no pulling to one side. In fact at slower speed I can take my hands off the wheel and there is hardly any drifting and the steering wheel doesn't "twitch" at all. It just seems that if the juddering starts it gets worse and worse until I have slowed right down and it really does shake and vibrate through the whole vechicle.

Basicaly just lie under the front of the car and grab everything in turn and give it a good shake. If it moves and it should not then you have got the problem.

Thanks again James.

I'll try that and will report back if the fault is found and hopefully cured.

well i changed the tyres today (they needed changing anyway) and still the same,it shakes at any speed not just at high speed, so nothing has changed,so gonna get underneath tomoz and start grabbing and shaking things,and i,ll let yer know how i get on.

well it is sorted ,,it turned out to be the bushes,,so thank,s every one for all yer help and advice

Can I ask which bushes ?

My Haynes manual doesn't mention bushes so where do I look?

The bushes would be on the radius arms and panhard rod, mine is the same, on a V8 petrol "K" discovery, I have replaced the steering damper which sorted the problem out by 80% but it is still doing the same as the other posts, so need to buy some bushes and get the local guy to fit as it need to be torqued to quite an amount.
Hoping that this will increase the mpg a bit as well once done.

The preload of the front swivel hubs , I have discovered on a few occasions , can make a huge difference to the steering . I think it tends to be ignored/ overlooked as it involves loosening the swivel hubs (and if you are using oil in the swivels it will usually manage to escape) and (usually) removing shims until the preload is correct - checked with a spring balance.
But the time taken is well worth it when you see the difference it makes to the steering . On my first disco I had replaced 4 shocks /steering damper/bushes etc but there was little improvement until I set the preload .

Went to get the bushes today and will get the preload checked to see if there is play on the swivel. so will be interesting to find out.

steve3 said:

hi i,m new to the forum and would like to ask some advice when driving my landrover discovery (k reg) the steering some times starts to shake realy bad, it does not happen all the time just now and again,but is pretty scary when it does,and it is not just at a certain speed either it can happen at any speed,,i have lowerd the tyre pressure and this seems to help a bit,it still shakes now and then but not a bad,,just wondering if you could give me any ideas of what it could be any help would be greatly appreciated many thanks.

Click to expand...

Hello there, Im a new memeber too and had exactly the same problem with my L reg Discovery. I tried everything to sort the problem but it only went when i eventually in desperation put two new front tyres on and had it tracked. Worth a go.

Has anyone done a DIY change of the panhard and radius arm bushes with out taking it to local lady guy that has a hydraulic press to get the old ones out and put the new ones in.
Also the hynes manual says to disconect the track ball rod, is there an easy way of doing it with out the landrover tool?
Failing that it might be worth just taking the parts and getting it done properly.
any thoughts would be greatly appreciated as the job needs to be done to stop the shaking!

if you are using new polly bush's then you don't ned to press them back in, I basicaly cut mine out.

The reack rod end, if you are carefull you can simply wack it with a hammer once you have undone the nut. The only problem with this is you cn damage the thread or pop to the shops and buy a ball joint seperator.

I did all the bushings using a vice and had no problem.
As regards the track rod end what I do is loosen the nut but don't remove it completely and it will protect the threads . Use a hammer to give a good sharp blow and this will usually break the taper joint - but you may have to hit it more than once. If space allows you could hold a lump hammer against the part you are hitting on the opposite side and this can be more effective.

Got cold feet at doing it myself, just as well, the mechanics had to use a pnumatic chisel to get the radius bushes out, so glad I took to the local garage, all in all as people say it is like having a new car, steering is tighter, no bouncing at high speed, so in doubt, get them done.
It makes you smile again )

Did you get the preload checked?

FYI and for future reference - if tires and steering check out A-OK - never forget to check front propellar shaft (drive shaft) - certain Disco years were hard on drive shafts. Shaft shake is nearly always traced through RPM (i.e., at 60mph - 2000rpm approx. - (V8) - and you start to get shimmy - this can be the drive shaft (having eliminated the possibility of tires out of balance etc.)