steering "wobble" on defender 110

I have an old Defender 110 Hard top Landie and there is a heavy vibration the steering when doing 50MPH - can "drive through it" but at 50 it is bad. Tyres OK, wheels have just been balanced and just checked back and front prop shaft U-Js and all seem OK.

Any bright ideas what it might be?

Have you checked steering damper ?

Steering box needs tightening or if it has been its shagged. Or it could be the steering damper

...or panhard rod bushes

drag links, track rod ends?

mine disco wobbles, gets better with everything i do..

next is a adjustable panhard rod as i have a lift....

Hi Elsie and Sirus,

just getting used to this Landyzone - only started yesterday. Had Landies for 15 years! Have 3 myself and 6 in our family!!

I think I will try the steering damper. It is the next easiest thing to try. Wondered about the U-Js in the ball joints but I am not sure that that will give the "wobble"

Regards and Thanks Stuartmartin2004

ball joints (swivels) should have cv joints (constant velocity) in them. unlikely to give wobble.
my guess would be swivel pins (or king pins), the bit that it all swivels on.
jack up as if changing a wheel, and push/pull the wheel at 6 oclock/12 oclock.
your looking for any movement.
useful to have someone looking at the back of the swivel while you doing it.
if there is movement, you need to identify it as either wheel bearing play or swivel play, depending on where its all loose.
(swivel play look at swivel housing to chrome swivel. wheel bearing look at brake disk to swivel housing)

Panhard rod bushes as joe said I had the same prob thought the axle was trying to jump off, all cos of two bushes!

Wheel_wobble

Try here, all you need to know.

can we sticky this please?

Hi I have the same problem with mine but it only wobbles at 40mph+ but it only does it under load so I can sit at 40, hardly anything but when I accelerate it goes nuts, just wondering if people can point me in the right direction

It helps if you introduce yourself first, and then read from the beginning of this thread.

Welcome anyway!

Yep, bushes, I had the same

Mchelmet said:

Hi I have the same problem with mine but it only wobbles at 40mph+ but it only does it under load so I can sit at 40, hardly anything but when I accelerate it goes nuts, just wondering if people can point me in the right direction

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If it's worse under acceleration then you'd tend to think it must be something in the power train. So universal joints, propshaft out of phase, CV faults, that sort of thing. If it was wheel bearings or wheel balance you'd tend to expect the vibration to be similar no matter where the accelerator was.

This got so bad in the end, I took it to my local "friendly" Landy fix-it garage who do all my major jobs. They identified loads of faults in all steering parts. Ball joints, swivel hubs, track rod ends, drop arem - you name it! When dismantling the brake disc broke off it was so thin and ended up as a ring!! This is not a rip-off garage, they have done my major work for over 10 years and can be trusted. Ended up as a £1300 job but it has no wobble at all now!!! I had already replaced the steering damper - no effect, and the steering box was fine.

Thanks for your earlier advice everyone.

Mind how you use red diesel, police are looking out for illegal use - we have been stopped and checked!

mine does not wobble is it broken?

THEengineer said:

mine does not wobble is it broken?

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Does it leak oil?

If not, then it must be!

Oldseadog said:

Does it leak oil?

If not, then it must be!

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yes but i thought this was a upgrade LOL

stuartmartin2004 said:

I have an old Defender 110 Hard top Landie and there is a heavy vibration the steering when doing 50MPH - can "drive through it" but at 50 it is bad. Tyres OK, wheels have just been balanced and just checked back and front prop shaft U-Js and all seem OK.

Any bright ideas what it might be?

Click to expand...

I just had a similar problem, changed tyres, ball joints and drop link balanced the wheelsnd done the tracking only to discover a broken stabiliser and a crack in the chassis near the shock mounts and on the radius arm bracket!