steering woe's!

wonder if anyone has any advice.
took my almost ready siii for a quick run up and down the road, steering doesnt self centre and has about a quarter turn of play. once you think you are going straight ahead, you suddenly end up going left, so you correct and end up going right etc.

steering box is a replacement, all track rod ends are replacements - but alignment etc is not set and Ive no idea how to get a basic setup. how can I adjust the steering to give me an approximation of a straight line? - is it better to set it toe'd in, or am I aiming to have the wheels both straight ahead?



next Q - my fuel and temp guage where fine, and have suddenly stopped working. (new loom) on one occasion the guages started working all on their own. is this likely to be the voltage regulator thingy or just a bad earth?

other than that Im hoping to get along for mot by the end of the month\early next.

J

dunt "they all do that"?

yer drag link should be 31" long ish and yer track rod 45.5" long ish.. if you have them set like that it shouldn't be too far from the correct toe in. which is 1.2 - 2.4 mm

cheers slob, will give that a try.

alternatively, I could just drive around roundabouts as it seems pretty well set up for that at the moment....

J

wanna buy a pair of diffs?

What is your steering relay condition like?? If you get someone to rock the steering wheel left and right, look thru the grille or from under the bumper and see if the relay is not moving backwards, forwards or sideways.

thanks for the advice guys. have set the drag link and track rod. it now seems much better (far from perfect but I think im on the right track).
the steering relay doesnt seem to have any play (nor does the steering box).
I think the quarter turn from the steering wheel is just the movement in the various rod ends when moving from one direction to the other. Is it normal for there to be about a quarter turn of the steering wheel before the wheels move?

cheers, J

johnboymac said:

Is it normal for there to be about a quarter turn of the steering wheel before the wheels move?

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No
There is about 1 inch movement in the steering wheel before the my Landy starts to turn.
I would look at ajusting the steering box and look at the Trackrod ends.

aye you've gotta adjust the box when its in the middle position cos of the type of box it is.

wheels straight ahead
slacken lock nut
tighten screw finger tight
tighten lock nut

if that dint fix it and you're sure all bj's are good, the relay is good, check the column bush.
if thats ok yer box is probelly shagged

just a quick update.

I finally got my wife to take an interest in the landrover - so got her to turn the steering wheel while I kept an eye on what was happening along the components.

when she turned the wheel, there was instant reaction all the way along to the top of the steering relay, but at the bottom of the relay, it seemed to go a bit awry. taking a closer look I can see that instead of the relay turning left\right, it takes a bit of an eliptical path (- as bodgit0 suggested - so Im guessing its stuffed!).

have ordered a new one from paddocks - so hopefully this will cure my prob

While I was on paddocks, she made me order a couple of sidesteps, apparently having to climb into the LR is not very ladylike??

J

p.s. the issue with the fuel guage was the voltage regulator.

don't fergit to check the oil in it.(EP90) fill it either through one of the top bolt holes or through the side plug if it has one. which not many have.

Well that proves it. Side steps really are only for girlies. Ever thought about only fitting one, if er indoors is like mine she'll drive it once and swear never again, suits me though!!!

Well, this saga is nearly at an end.

I ordered a new steering relay last thursday on next day delivery. it didn't arrive on the friday though so i phoned anc - their reason this time was that the lorry had overturned on the motorway and all the parcels had gotten covered in paint, so they where having to check them all to see if they where damaged - (of the last 4 deliveries via anc, there have been 1 crash, 2 customer not in - even though Ive waited at home all day and 1 driver bitten by a dog so had to go for a tetanus..... poor anc they are so unlucky!! - or perhaps they bend the truth?).

anyhoo, the relay arrived yesterday and I fitted it last night. the steering wheel now has no play and the wheels move as soon as you turn the steering wheel.

next issue is the brakes (all new) they have no stopping power - should I carry a brick to throw under the rear wheel to help me slow down........

cheers J

ANC are f**king usless they are never on time!

You go a servo?

Lazy Landy said:

You go a servo?

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Nope no servo, which is a bit of a worry as Ive never had a vehicle without one. the brakes just appear to be very soft - despite bleeding. Im putting it down to it being all new drums and shoes and them not having bedded in yet.

I think amongst my next upgrades, a brake servo and a steering damper may well figure.

J

I have no servo but i find the brakes fine, have you got your springs on properly, as this seems to be a point where most people go wrong, also stupid question but are they adjusted properly?

Lazy Landy said:

I have no servo but i find the brakes fine, have you got your springs on properly, as this seems to be a point where most people go wrong, also stupid question but are they adjusted properly?

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will get the hubs off at the weekend and check the springs.

J

it makes it easier wiff the hubs off but you really just need to remove the wheels and drums to get to them

slob said:

it makes it easier wiff the hubs off but you really just need to remove the wheels and drums to get to them

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heh, yes I meant the drums, I guess the hubs would be a bit of overkill...

J