That time of year again......

Yes, it was MOT time again today, and no little blue piece of paper for me
today, only a BIG blue piece for my SIII.

Most of it is minor stuff, but the tester (old school boy, been around for
donkeys years) has written the following:

Steering mechanism: Steering arm loose on steering box. Seal blown,
steering oil leaking
Front Suspension: Offside lower swivel bearing worn badly

The minor things which will cost pence to sort, but whats the verdict on the
2 mentioned above? Are we talking big bucks/a bugger to fix, or is this
something that sounds bigger than it actually is? Someone has mentioned the
possibility of a new steering box, which sounds a little extreme (and quite
expensive) so I ask the group, what do you think?

Thanks,
Paul

On or around Wed, 23 Feb 2005 14:31:03 -0000, "Pacman"
<[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:

>Yes, it was MOT time again today, and no little blue piece of paper for me
>today, only a BIG blue piece for my SIII.
>
>Most of it is minor stuff, but the tester (old school boy, been around for
>donkeys years) has written the following:
>
>Steering mechanism: Steering arm loose on steering box. Seal blown,
>steering oil leaking
>Front Suspension: Offside lower swivel bearing worn badly
>
>The minor things which will cost pence to sort, but whats the verdict on the
>2 mentioned above? Are we talking big bucks/a bugger to fix, or is this
>something that sounds bigger than it actually is? Someone has mentioned the
>possibility of a new steering box, which sounds a little extreme (and quite
>expensive) so I ask the group, what do you think?

recon, maybe. the arm being loose on the box can be tightened unless it's
damaged - liekwise the seal, but often the seals groove the shafts, and by
the time it's like that, it's possible that the internals are worn.

Swivel bearing will need replacing but in theory at least isn't a major job.

--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.fsnet.co.uk my opinions are just that
"Where they make a desert they call it peace" Tacitus (c.55 - c.117)
Agricola, 30

Pacman wrote:

> Steering mechanism: Steering arm loose on steering box. Seal blown,
> steering oil leaking


Tighten the arm, and clean the box up with degreaser just before going
back for a retest. If it's only a slight weep (and thus doesn't leak on
the way for retest) it should pass. I do this regularly with HGV's here
that fail their test because some officious tester can spot an oil weep
that loses a teaspoon a year but looks bad becasue of all the crap that
sticks to it.


--
EMB

"Pacman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Yes, it was MOT time again today, and no little blue piece of paper for me
> today, only a BIG blue piece for my SIII.
>
> Most of it is minor stuff, but the tester (old school boy, been around for
> donkeys years) has written the following:
>
> Steering mechanism: Steering arm loose on steering box. Seal blown,
> steering oil leaking
> Front Suspension: Offside lower swivel bearing worn badly
>
> The minor things which will cost pence to sort, but whats the verdict on
the
> 2 mentioned above? Are we talking big bucks/a bugger to fix, or is this
> something that sounds bigger than it actually is? Someone has mentioned
the
> possibility of a new steering box, which sounds a little extreme (and
quite
> expensive) so I ask the group, what do you think?
>
> Thanks,
> Paul
>
>

Sounds completely normal to me. I remember hearing a Land Rover quote: "If
its not leaking, its empty."

In message <[email protected]>
"Pacman" <[email protected]> wrote:

> Yes, it was MOT time again today, and no little blue piece of paper for me
> today, only a BIG blue piece for my SIII.
>
> Most of it is minor stuff, but the tester (old school boy, been around for
> donkeys years) has written the following:
>
> Steering mechanism: Steering arm loose on steering box. Seal blown,
> steering oil leaking
> Front Suspension: Offside lower swivel bearing worn badly
>
> The minor things which will cost pence to sort, but whats the verdict on the
> 2 mentioned above? Are we talking big bucks/a bugger to fix, or is this
> something that sounds bigger than it actually is? Someone has mentioned the
> possibility of a new steering box, which sounds a little extreme (and quite
> expensive) so I ask the group, what do you think?
>
> Thanks,
> Paul
>
>

The steering box leak has been covered in another reply,
although its worth mentioning that a re-con steering box is
a lot cheaper than a new one, if required.....

The lower swivel bearing.... well, it's not unknown for
the lower one to fail, usualy in the complete absence of
oil/grease in teh swivel, but I'd have a good look at the
top one first.
You dont say what the vehicle is, but it is possible that
all that may be required is to remove a shim or two from the
top swivel pin, as if this is slack the bottom pin becomes
loose too. Either way, it definately worth sorting out -
bottom swivel pins can shear.........

Richard


--
www.beamends-lrspares.co.uk [email protected]
Running a business in a Microsoft free environment - it can be done
Powered by Risc-OS - you won't get a virus from us!!
Helping keep Land Rovers on and off the road to annoy the Lib Dems

>
> The steering box leak has been covered in another reply,
> although its worth mentioning that a re-con steering box is
> a lot cheaper than a new one, if required.....

Just so I've got my options open, how much is a new recon box?

>
> The lower swivel bearing.... well, it's not unknown for
> the lower one to fail, usualy in the complete absence of
> oil/grease in teh swivel, but I'd have a good look at the
> top one first.
> You dont say what the vehicle is,

its a 1976 SIII SWB

> but it is possible that all that may be required is to remove a shim or
> two from the
> top swivel pin, as if this is slack the bottom pin becomes
> loose too. Either way, it definately worth sorting out -
> bottom swivel pins can shear.........
>


paul

"beamendsltd" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:1f325424d%[email protected]...
> In message <[email protected]>
> "Pacman" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > Yes, it was MOT time again today, and no little blue piece of paper for
me
> > today, only a BIG blue piece for my SIII.
> >
> > Most of it is minor stuff, but the tester (old school boy, been around
for
> > donkeys years) has written the following:
> >
> > Steering mechanism: Steering arm loose on steering box. Seal blown,
> > steering oil leaking
> > Front Suspension: Offside lower swivel bearing worn badly
> >
> > The minor things which will cost pence to sort, but whats the verdict on
the
> > 2 mentioned above? Are we talking big bucks/a bugger to fix, or is this
> > something that sounds bigger than it actually is? Someone has mentioned
the
> > possibility of a new steering box, which sounds a little extreme (and
quite
> > expensive) so I ask the group, what do you think?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Paul

Somebody said try one-shot swivel grease in the steering system.
TonyB