Power Steering for 1972 Series 3 109?

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kourosh3105

New Member
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2
Hi guys,

I want to put power steering on my series 3, I've been informed about the Heystee HST/TDZ Hydraulic Retro Bolt On Kit. Does anyone have any other suggestions for adding power steering?

Regards.
 
There are a few posts on YouTube but as yet I can't find any specific details. I too am interested in doing the same
 
Disabilities/injuries aside ....there isnt anything wrong with a well sorted series steering system .

Worn box/idler/swivels/drive shafts/Daft wide tyres AND knackered TRE's will all contribute to making the steering heavy ....
Adding power steering is just covering the problems up .

Make sure whats already there is fully sorted before anything else IMHO
 
Wow. Food for thought!
Might add refurbish the steering to my list of works.

when did you last check the oil level in your steering box or relay ??

i drive an 88" as a daily for everything and until 6 or so months ago it was my 109, parking generally isn't much of a problem even in the middle of Birmingham
 
when did you last check the oil level in your steering box or relay ??

i drive an 88" as a daily for everything and until 6 or so months ago it was my 109, parking generally isn't much of a problem even in the middle of Birmingham


Only had 'Buddy' for a few weeks and I'm currently replacing the head gasket.

Il add the oil level inspection to the list… after LZ11 of course [emoji482]
 
I agree, good condition steering on a Series is actually quite acceptable. For normal road use. Ok it's not as light as PAS for parking. But no where near as bad as you think it could be. Trouble is, it doesn't take all that much to make it heavier and refreshing all of the steering parts can get pricey. Bigger tyres will also have a very noticeable affect on the steering. But the real difference is off road. If you've ever driven a Series off road on hard rutted ground or over tree roots/stumps, then you know how harsh and unforgiving non-PAS can be. And you really do need to keep your thumbs out of the steering wheel spokes. And whacking the window or door top with your elbow.

There are two proven ways to get power steering.

1. Use of hydrolic assister rams. This retains the stock steering setup. But is generally a bolt on solution. Your steering needs to be in good condition for this to work well. And you might still get a lot of wonder. I probably wouldn't go for this. It looks good at first but is a heavily compromised setup.

2. Fit a hydrolic PAS from another Land Rover. In the past people used to adapt Defender PAS but this is quite involved. Today it's so much better to just use the steering box from a p38a Range Rover. It does need welding, but no cutting and is quite a simple mod. You'll want a new steering column from a PAS vehicle as well as the box.

More info here:
Converting a series Land Rover to power steering
 
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Hello all, new poster here.
Looking to get power steering fitted to my Series 3 88”
Have researched this forum and others as to best way to do this.

The bolt on TDZ kit from Heystee is tempting and some of the reviews are good, but I gather it wont eliminate the steering weave and might even accentuate it.

Not being a mechanic, I’m trying to find a decent specialist who will fit a P38 Range Rover power steering box and associated parts for me (bolted to the outside of the chassis to avoid alterations to front cross member). If I acquired all the relevant parts, roughly how many hours would it take to fit?

I’m in the South East so ideally in this region, but would be prepared to venture up to the Birmingham area. The only folks who mention this modification specifically on their website seem to be landroverrestoration.com (Hanbury garage in Bromsgrove, part of Churchill).
I’ve also considered Astwood 4x4 in Redditch and LRS Engineering in Essex.

Can anyone recommend any of these outfits or suggest another than would carry out the modification?
Thanks.
 
In my humble opinion the introduction of PAS on older vehicles is an unnecessary complication, it's the manufacturer's set-up of the steering system that matters. Admittedly I was a younger man when owning 2A/3 series but never found them heavy, even off road. London's RT buses never gave me a problem & a couple of WW2 American trucks were perfectly manageable, even when parking.
As has been said, well maintained steering components & standard spec. tyres make all the difference.
 
In my humble opinion the introduction of PAS on older vehicles is an unnecessary complication, it's the manufacturer's set-up of the steering system that matters. Admittedly I was a younger man when owning 2A/3 series but never found them heavy, even off road. London's RT buses never gave me a problem & a couple of WW2 American trucks were perfectly manageable, even when parking.
As has been said, well maintained steering components & standard spec. tyres make all the difference.

I'm aware there are mixed views on retrospectively adding power steering. It's not really a debate I'm looking to get in to. People have various reasons why they might want to modify their vehicles and it's obviously a matter of personal preference.

I'm just trying to ascertain somewhere reputable that might carry out the modification for me :)
 
I wouldn't bother. I'm doing 5000 miles a year in a LWB and the steering is not an issue. Perhaps people are soft now? I simply would not parallel park, the forces on the steering are high, the rear visilibity is terrible even though we have a reversing camera, I reverse slowly to be sure and that seems to encourage people to step into my blind spot.
A Series is a 60 year old design and it comes as a complete whole that by and large makes sense. If you try to modernise it where do you start and stop? The area that most deserves attention on a loaded LWB is the brakes, 99% of steering is done driving along and there is simply no need to have that power assisted. What you do not want is to be able to turn a 50 year old high narrow vehicle quickly, its not a good plan.
If you look at the power steering conversions they are primarily done for one of two reasons:
1 The owner is getting old and cannot put suffcient force on the sterring wheel
2 The owner wants their wife/girlfreind to drive it
"1" makes sense and its a sad fact we get old, but I serisously question that any wife or girlfreind who refuses to drive a series could be swayed by lighter steering. My own partner flatly refuses to get in our Series let alone drive it (a plus I hear some of you say...) and her list of reasons doens't even include steering. (For those who ask, smell is top, followed by door hight, gearlevers in the way, metal everywhere, noise, body roll, door handles....and so on.)
 
I think if I was going to do it I’d go down the bolt on ram system. It’s easy to return it to standard if the need arises.
Just a bit pricy.
Then again having the Range Rover conversion done would probably cost as much by a garage.
 
I'm aware there are mixed views on retrospectively adding power steering. It's not really a debate I'm looking to get in to. People have various reasons why they might want to modify their vehicles and it's obviously a matter of personal preference.
Fair comment.
For what it's worth an acquaintance of mine, who is an LR independent, favours converting series to PAS utilising the defender system rather than universal electric versions that simply 'assist' the standard factory manual set-up.
 

Interesting, I would love to see some pictures of the universal electric version installed in a Series, do you know how many he has done and which EPAS he uses.
 
Interesting, I would love to see some pictures of the universal electric version installed in a Series, do you know how many he has done and which EPAS he uses.

Don't know if he's done any electric PAS conversions, he only talked through the 'Defender' version with me a few years ago, but I recall he wasn't impressed by electric style systems.
 
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