Vague/loose feeling steering wheel.

As mentioned in a previous thread the steering feedback on my discovery 2 is very vague and the car wanders about the road when hitting bumps. Tbh I don't like driving it as it feels dangerous.

Due to the help on here I heavily suspect the steering box because that is leaking a little.

Yesterday I tested the steering box. I had the engine off and wiggled the steering wheel until I seen the wheels moving. There was a good 6 -7 inches of play in the steering wheel before the wheels started to move!!!!

So I gather from this test that is surely the steering box that is my problem. Am I right?

I would say possibly.

Basically there are a number of things that would cause vague steering and wandering. Mine was a combination of all things. My steering dampener was knackered. My tyre pressures were out and my tracking was badly out. Once I corrected these, the wander was less but still wobbled. I then checked my steering box and it was leaking down the drop arm.

You can tighten the steering box to relieve play, but personally and this is a mater of choice, I would look to replace it if your one is leaking. It is a common problem for the disco and the boxes are relatively straight forward to fit. The seal replacement kits are not great and don't work that well. Some only last weeks others months, but the reviews on them are not great.

I replaced my steering box and WOW, the change was remarkable. no wander at all and the steering is sharp and direct. But like I said, I also checked everything else first to rule out all other influences!

Good luck.

MudRat

MudRat said:

I would say possibly.

Basically there are a number of things that would cause vague steering and wandering. Mine was a combination of all things. My steering dampener was knackered. My tyre pressures were out and my tracking was badly out. Once I corrected these, the wander was less but still wobbled. I then checked my steering box and it was leaking down the drop arm.

You can tighten the steering box to relieve play, but personally and this is a mater of choice, I would look to replace it if your one is leaking. It is a common problem for the disco and the boxes are relatively straight forward to fit. The seal replacement kits are not great and don't work that well. Some only last weeks others months, but the reviews on them are not great.

I replaced my steering box and WOW, the change was remarkable. no wander at all and the steering is sharp and direct. But like I said, I also checked everything else first to rule out all other influences!

Good luck.

MudRat

Click to expand...

Thanks for the help!

The tyre pressures are fine and the tracking has been corrected which improved it a little. The first thing we did when we bought it was have the ACE system replaced as it was faulty and we thought it was the problem. This improved things, but it didn't fix it.

I have sourced a recon unit for £260 on an exchange basis.. I will be replacing it in the coming week, I shall buy about 2 lites of extreme PAS fluid too.

I have found one guide on replacing it, but I am sure that I will be ok once I get access to it and see whats what.

I would like access from the top but I think it'll mean removing the battery and battery tray. Will have to find the radio code first...

Mine was the same and all it needed was a drag link end, straght as a die now
Devlin

Same here, 7" or rotational play in the steering wheel before the wheels do anything, especialy when the engine is off, turned out a drag link end was knackered. Steering boxes always seem to leak a little!

If it is the DRE then check the thread rotation before you order, I got the wrong one for mine, and you might need a bit of heat on it tight as a ------------------
Devlin

Agreed, check drag link etc first... When I changed my steering box. It took me 2 days to get the drop arm off. It is achievable. I put a gear puller on it. Put it to maximum tension without bending the puller. Got a plummers freeze spray. Sprayed the bottom of the steering box shaft, Then used a blow torch to heat the drop arm till it was really really hot, then one tap of my pound hammer and it pinged off like a good un'!

Re changing the box, I placed a long thread on it.. have a search. I went in from the top as the guide says, but did not remove the battery box. You just need to remove the intercooler hose to get access and then use cable ties to tie the leads and hoses back. You should have move than enough room to access it. I then took the RHS wheel off and took off the plastic side panel and then you can get easy access to the input pipes in the box.

Took me 8 hours to do all in all. Just make sure you re bleed the system properly! I didn't and it recked my first box!

good luck

MudRat

MudRat said:

Agreed, check drag link etc first... When I changed my steering box. It took me 2 days to get the drop arm off. It is achievable. I put a gear puller on it. Put it to maximum tension without bending the puller. Got a plummers freeze spray. Sprayed the bottom of the steering box shaft, Then used a blow torch to heat the drop arm till it was really really hot, then one tap of my pound hammer and it pinged off like a good un'!

Re changing the box, I placed a long thread on it.. have a search. I went in from the top as the guide says, but did not remove the battery box. You just need to remove the intercooler hose to get access and then use cable ties to tie the leads and hoses back. You should have move than enough room to access it. I then took the RHS wheel off and took off the plastic side panel and then you can get easy access to the input pipes in the box.

Took me 8 hours to do all in all. Just make sure you re bleed the system properly! I didn't and it recked my first box!

good luck

MudRat

Click to expand...

Excellent, thanks for the help. How do I check the drag linke end?

Also, how do I poperly bleed it then? What went wrong with your first box?

doublem1 said:

Excellent, thanks for the help. How do I check the drag linke end?

Also, how do I poperly bleed it then? What went wrong with your first box?

Click to expand...

Well, I rushed the bleeding process. I started the car first, ran the system dry and then poured in the fluid. While working the steering, I had an air block. With the wheels on the ground, I tried to force the steering as it seemed stuck on full lock. I kept doing this and eventually the steering started grinding. It turned out I knackered the bearings in the box. Fortunately the company replaced the box for me. So the second time round I did it properly....

The proper way to do it is.. check everything is attached and secure. Then pour in the fluid in the reservoir. Turn the engine on and then quickly top the fluid up, keeping it on maximum level in the bottle. The fluid level will drop quickly, so keep the fluid hand to top it up. Once the fluid stabilises, leave the engine running till warm. This warms up the fluid and makes it more viscous and less likely to get an airlock. Then, connect the bleed hose (preferably non return) to the steering box. Get someone to start turning the steering wheel slowly turning it from lock to lock. Holding it on each lock for no more than a few seconds. As soon as he starts turning the wheel, unscrew the bleed valve, but only a little until the fluid starts flowing. Keep turning the wheel from lock to lock until all the bubbles have gone from the fluid. Make sure to keep the fluid level topped up. Once the fluid is clear, tighten the screw and that should be it. I left mine to settle for half an hour and came back and re bled it. It did clear out more bubbles.

Re the drag link, basically, there should be no play in the drag link and drop arm to road wheels. If you ask someone to gently move the steering wheel from side to side while your underneath the car, you can see the drop arm turn and you should be able to feel with your hands where there is play in the system. If there is play in the box, then it can be tightened, but still may need changing depending on the leak and play.
If the drop arm moves exactly as the wheel is turned, you should be able to see clearly if there is lay in the drag link. The ball joint is designed to move, but should not have too much movement in the ball joint. If you are saying that the steering wheel is moving up to 7 inches without the road wheels moving, it should be obvious to see where the issues are. But you need someone else to turn the wheel while your having a look underneath.

I hope this makes sense...

MudRat:crazy_driver:

MudRat said:

Well, I rushed the bleeding process. I started the car first, ran the system dry and then poured in the fluid. While working the steering, I had an air block. With the wheels on the ground, I tried to force the steering as it seemed stuck on full lock. I kept doing this and eventually the steering started grinding. It turned out I knackered the bearings in the box. Fortunately the company replaced the box for me. So the second time round I did it properly....

The proper way to do it is.. check everything is attached and secure. Then pour in the fluid in the reservoir. Turn the engine on and then quickly top the fluid up, keeping it on maximum level in the bottle. The fluid level will drop quickly, so keep the fluid hand to top it up. Once the fluid stabilises, leave the engine running till warm. This warms up the fluid and makes it more viscous and less likely to get an airlock. Then, connect the bleed hose (preferably non return) to the steering box. Get someone to start turning the steering wheel slowly turning it from lock to lock. Holding it on each lock for no more than a few seconds. As soon as he starts turning the wheel, unscrew the bleed valve, but only a little until the fluid starts flowing. Keep turning the wheel from lock to lock until all the bubbles have gone from the fluid. Make sure to keep the fluid level topped up. Once the fluid is clear, tighten the screw and that should be it. I left mine to settle for half an hour and came back and re bled it. It did clear out more bubbles.

Re the drag link, basically, there should be no play in the drag link and drop arm to road wheels. If you ask someone to gently move the steering wheel from side to side while your underneath the car, you can see the drop arm turn and you should be able to feel with your hands where there is play in the system. If there is play in the box, then it can be tightened, but still may need changing depending on the leak and play.
If the drop arm moves exactly as the wheel is turned, you should be able to see clearly if there is lay in the drag link. The ball joint is designed to move, but should not have too much movement in the ball joint. If you are saying that the steering wheel is moving up to 7 inches without the road wheels moving, it should be obvious to see where the issues are. But you need someone else to turn the wheel while your having a look underneath.

I hope this makes sense...

MudRat:crazy_driver:

Click to expand...

That's absolutley brilliant!! Btw, did you jack the car up when turning the wheels to bleed the system?

Ok run into a little problem.

There is a large plastic under tray that needs removing and it won't seem to budge. All the screws are off and it is loose. I just can't get it out over the front axle. ANy ideas?

Mine just popped off no issues. I used a size 8mm rachet to undo the screw/bolts. then the thing just came off. I did have to manipulate the plastic a bit to get it off, but it was not an issue. You sure that all the screws are out? I think with a little persuasion, it should come off..

MudRat

Would the watts linkage cause any problems with steering?

I started a similar thread a week or so back. The advice I got was to firstly check every part of the steering system for play. I did this with the help of my girlfriend who turned the wheel back and forth through the loose area.

It was immediately obvious that the problem was with the link between the power steering unit and the wheel, I don't know the correct name for this but it is a steel rod with track rod fittings at each end and the ball joint at the wheel end was completely shot. This was a nightmare to remove though!

Firstly i've seen tips before not to remove the nut fully before tapping the joint out of it's taper, worked great on the steering unit end but on the wheel end which was shot after i hit the rod out the taper the whole thing turned so I had to hacksaw through the thread!

With the whole bar out it took a fair bit of time with a big vice, blow torch, big hammer and a long bar over the ball joint thread to get them off.

Fitting the new ones took 10 minutes, easy!

After so much sweat and swearing I decided not to do the track rod ends at the same time, steering is fine now so i'll save the bits until they need doing!

My 53 plate disco 2 auto also feels "unsafe" on some roads, to the extent where (on fast roads) move wheel left or right to correct, and takes seconds to respond. Could this be drag link arm problem. I've just laid under car and held both ends of bar and ball joint lifts up/down slightly and sideways. Not sure what, if any movement there should be. Im not a mechanic so will need to get garage to check and replace but gives me a starting point. Hoped to attach some pics to make sure i was wiggling right bits but they are on mobile. Thanks