Early Land Rover 110 Wobble Issue- Any Ideas??.

Sometimes I wonder why we love our beloved Land Rovers so much when they cause us so many problems!
I have a very early Land Rover 110 and the current problem is that between 40-50mph it feels like I have no control and the whole vehicle starts to wobble! The only way to regain control is slow down. On a motorway when a lorry passes it is very difficult to keep in and straight line! Around town and below 40mph then the is no issue.
I think this problem has got progressively worse and now it is dangerous! Initially I considered there was too much play in the steering box, so adjusted and at the same time replaced some of the leaky seals. The rear wheel bearings needed tightening and my last attempt to fix the problem was replacing the radius arm bushes (I went with the original elastometalas not off-roading) and chassis rubbers. Unfortunately despite my efforts I still have the same problem and now I’m running out of ideas! The steering damper is less than 12 months old and the drop arm and track rod ends are less than 6 months old. I have some leaking swivels but cannot feel play in the joints. One additional thing I was thinking about was the replacing the bushes in the panhard rod but there’s does not feel to be any obvious play. Any suggestions much appreciated. James

age of parts is no judge, check for play in all parts, has tracking been done are tyres ok

Panhard rod bushes would be my starting point.

I had to replace virtually every possible culprit to get rid of the wobble on my ‘87 110. Thing is, sometimes lots of worn parts can reduce the wobble as they may cancel each other out. As I replaced parts, sometimes the wobble would get worse as it would concentrate on less components. I finally cured it by getting new front tires and having the rears rebalanced.
I’d start by jacking up the front wheels and checking for any swivel play, then take a pry bar to all the joints and bushes up front. If everything seems ok, get the wheels rebalanced before you start replacing parts.
Getting the wobble at about 50 can be terrifying, I actually used to speed up a bit to break the frequency, a bit counter-intuitive but it worked for me!

Al2O3 said:

Panhard rod bushes would be my starting point.

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I agree with this one, I have a terrifying experience of the death wobble coming down a sheer drop mountain track in Morrocco which was caused by one of these collapsing. But as mentioned above it would be well worth getting under with a bar a checking all of the suspension bushes, joints and bearings. But my money is on the panhard rod.

Engine off, wheels on the ground, get someone to move the steering wheel left to right continuosly whilst you check for movement where there shouldn't be and no movement where there should.
Look and feel and you should find it.
As said, panhard rod bush wear is a major cause of death wobble.
Bolt holes in the axle casings also wear oval and the bolts then also suffer wear so replacing bushes alone won't cure it.
I've had the lot over the last 16 yrs on my 110 including rear axle steer from worn axle casing bolt holes but panhard rod bush failure was the only one where I thought I was going to die and I was only going 30mph. I thought I was about to lose a wheel

Are the swivel-pins adjusted correctly? Does it have a steering damper and what condition is it in?

Rougharse Racing said:

Are the swivel-pins adjusted correctly? Does it have a steering damper and what condition is it in?

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Al2O3 said:

Panhard rod bushes would be my starting point.

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I have now replaced the bushes in the Panhard rod but unfortunately I still have the same problem! I hoped this would have helped as the rubbers were slightly perished.

Something else worth noting during the process of trying to find the problem is that I removed the extremely heavy PTO winch to reduce the weight over the front, but this actually it made it feel even more out of control!

Rougharse Racing said:

Are the swivel-pins adjusted correctly? Does it have a steering damper and what condition is it in?

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I have never touched the swivel pins if I’m honest. Is this something that needs adjusting as the bearings wear and the pre-load changes? I’ve had the steering damper off and checked the resistance and feels ok to me.

Likely swivel housing pre load is your problem, classic death wobble cause. Wheel off and each housing has to be checked with steering and track rod disconnected. About 12 lb/ft pulling on the steering arm but not critical, allow a little more if seals [ ball housing ] still in place. How to videos on you tube.

jwglandy110 said:

I have never touched the swivel pins if I’m honest. Is this something that needs adjusting as the bearings wear and the pre-load changes? I’ve had the steering damper off and checked the resistance and feels ok to me.

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Jack the wheels up and grab the wheel in the 12o/c & 6o/c position and feel for any slight play, you might feel it as a slight clunk if it’s bad. To actually check preload you’ll need to take off the track rod and wheel and use a spring balance/digital luggage scale etc to test the preload. Land Rover’s preload figures are assuming the swivel seal had been removed, but you probably don’t want to do that. I found between 5 - 5.5kg worked well for me with the swivel seal in place, you have (should have!) a top railko bush and bottom bearing. Adjust by removing and/or adding shims.

Don’t forget about the tyres, both balance and wear, as I said in an earlier reply. I thought I found the ‘definite’ cause of my wobble when I found the offside swivel to have slight play. After adjusting the preload the wobble got worse, 50+mph was taking your life into your own hands! New front tyres and some balancing on the rears and she handles like a dream.

Given the age of your truck it may be a good Idea to replace the railko bush any way, kits available with new bush, base washer and shims.

jwglandy110 said:

I have now replaced the bushes in the Panhard rod but unfortunately I still have the same problem! I hoped this would have helped as the rubbers were slightly perished.

Something else worth noting during the process of trying to find the problem is that I removed the extremely heavy PTO winch to reduce the weight over the front, but this actually it made it feel even more out of control!

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Ahhh, so you've just got standard scary wheel wobble!
When the panhard rod bushes go it feels like you're on a bucking bronco and your steering wheel is not connected to your road wheels, or is it? You just can't tell! It feels like you've got no idea where it's going to go!
I'd be investigating swivel pin bearings and their preload next. But, as has already been said, standard steering wobble could be wheel balancing, track rod/drag link joint wear etc. As your tyres wear they go out of balance, especially if you're tracking is out.