By Jeremy Bergeron (Highmile) on Thursday, December 06, 2001 - 12:52 pm: Edit

I have a Discovery I that likes to jump around/wander when it hit bumps, grooves, and the sort on the road. The feeling is very unsettling while cruising at highways speeds. There is no wheel wobble as I have read in other posts. The truck actually runs very smooth on the highway. The steering wheel does have some play that I want to get rid of.

It has been suggested to tighten the steering at the steering box. After looking at the steering box, I want to make sure that I am attempting to adjust the right thing. There is a large slotted dial that is locked in place by a small allen bolt. Is this the right dial to tighten?

Hopefully this will fix the wandering. I'll post again if this fixes the problem.

Thanks
Jeremy

By Steve (Steve2) on Thursday, December 06, 2001 - 12:55 pm: Edit

jeremy

don't adjust your steering box - this will cause problems later - the first thing i'd do is replace that 90lb weakling of a steering damper with a stout ome one. then see how your steering is.

also what tire pressure are you running up front?
too high of a pressure will also cause this

steve

By Jeremy Bergeron (Highmile) on Thursday, December 06, 2001 - 01:02 pm: Edit

Steve

Thanks for the advice. I am currently running the recommended tire pressure found on the door. 27psi up front and 37psi in the rear.

Would a steering damper really have that much effect on wandering about the road? Do you have a suggestion for a damper to replace mine and how difficult would the process be to replace?

Thanks
Jeremy

By Robert Mann (Oldscout) on Thursday, December 06, 2001 - 01:16 pm: Edit

Sounds like a Castor problem. What kind of shape are your raduis arm bushings? Are you lifted?

By Steve (Steve2) on Thursday, December 06, 2001 - 01:30 pm: Edit

jeremy

yeah - the stock damper craps out about every 12 months. it's purpose is to provide better road feel and help in the steering bump dept, so it's the first thing to do. in an issue of LRO they walk you thru it step by step - should be relatively easy with just hand tools (the true beauty of the land rover).

note the disco 1 steering is a little wonky to begin with - so don't expect bmw feel when you are done!

call john at EE - has then in stock, saw then there yesterday.

steve
ps i am assuming you are not lifted then, also what type and size tire are your running?

By Tom P. on Thursday, December 06, 2001 - 01:31 pm: Edit

Steve,

I disagree. Replacing the steering damper could just mask the true problem, not fix it. You need to find the cause and that could be many things:

Steering box adjustment,
Steering shaft bolt tightness,
Steering damper,
Pitman arm bushings,
Tie rod ends, drop arm end,
Swivel pin preload,
Radius arm bushings,
and possibly the steering damper

Also factor in the condition of the Rover in question (mileage, stock suspension, lift, sway bars on/off...). This all can contribute.

If you want an easy fix, go with the damper. If you really want to fix it, you'll have to go at it with some kind of plan to eliminate possibilities.

I'm OME lifted. I went through the above list (with the exception of adjusting the steering box) and wound up putting in new suspension bushings and adjusting the swivel preload. Both helped with this problem but I still need to adjust the steering box.

BTW, my stock steering damper on my 96 Disco is still good at 75k miles. When I removed it, it was not at tight as a new stock damper, but it was more than adequate.

Tom P.

By jim on Thursday, December 06, 2001 - 01:42 pm: Edit

I just had the tie rod ends replaced and mine wanders now to. But the dealer says nothing is wrong. It didn't wander before they were replaced. It is especially scary hitting a bump on a curved offramp. I almost lose control.

By Steve (Steve2) on Thursday, December 06, 2001 - 01:45 pm: Edit

tom-

you are absolutely right - but i was going after the quickest easiest 1st. i am assuming he is a stocker.

i've had the steering damper replaced before on my 99sd7 d1 at 20k mi and it was great for about 5kmi - i am currently in the process of replacing it with a d90 kit and ome damper.

steve

By Robert Mann (Oldscout) on Thursday, December 06, 2001 - 01:51 pm: Edit

TOM-
Pitman arm bushings??? Were?

By Jeremy Bergeron (Highmile) on Thursday, December 06, 2001 - 01:57 pm: Edit

Your right guys! My '96 Discovery SE7 w/ 75k is about as stock as they come. We've only had the vehicle for about a month. The tires are simple Michelin LTX M/S 235/70R16. No lift or anything. YET!

I was looking at the Tech Tips on the Atlantic British website under steering wander and they have other troubleshooting involving rear trailing arm bushings,pan hard rod bushing, tie rod ends...none of which my vehicle produces. That is why I have thought it might be the steering box adjustment. Of course, it couldn't hurt to add a new damper.

By p m on Thursday, December 06, 2001 - 02:34 pm: Edit

Tom,

i'm glad you voiced it again.
steering damper masks the problem, to a worse degree if relocation kit is used.

my 96 had loose steering shaft (at the steering box) and slop in the box. the shaft's bolt was tightened, that reduced the play considerably.
now, there's still about 30mm play (on the steering wheel circumference) with a corresponding clunk in the steering box. My attempts to adjust the box didn't fix anything.

i wonder if my steering box is hosed.

peter

By pjkbrit on Thursday, December 06, 2001 - 03:53 pm: Edit

My 94 has the same problems...I renewed the damper with a stock unit...made no difference, found a loose pinch bolt on the sterring column!!!!!!!!!real dangerous...tightened and adjusted the sterring box...much better but still not right. Done the left swivel pin....be careful here, you can dump a lot of crap into the joint if your aren't careful. Have the remaining swivel to do...my car has 127K so the swivels really needed doing...there was no preload left on the one I did and I expect the other side is the same.
Pete

By Robert Mayes on Thursday, December 06, 2001 - 04:03 pm: Edit

I had the same problem last month. I replaced my springs and shocks and steering dampner. Problem solved.

By pjkbrit on Thursday, December 06, 2001 - 04:21 pm: Edit

What kind of shocks Robert??

By Kent on Thursday, December 06, 2001 - 05:20 pm: Edit

Jeremy,
You can tighten the steering box if it has some play. It is the allen screw that makes the adjustment. You will need to mark it's location the loosen the lock nut. Turn the allen screw 1/8th turn and tighten lock nut. Recheck for play. You could go another 1/8th turn if needed. But do not over adjust or steering effort will increase and it could be hard on steering gear.
I would also replace pan hard rod bushings. I slightly modified a set of poly bushings from Four Wheel Parts that worked great.

By E Snyder on Thursday, December 06, 2001 - 11:11 pm: Edit

Can worn out shocks be causing the car to feel like it wanders? Particularly in turns where the car has some lean to it?
PS, for a steering damper, John at RTE turned me on to using one from an F-250. Seems to work great. Can't find the Napa part number.

By Mike J. (Mudd) on Friday, December 07, 2001 - 09:31 am: Edit

Part Number?....Please! Thanks, Mike J
would it be better than OME?

By Tate (Tate) on Friday, December 07, 2001 - 09:58 am: Edit

E Snyder,
Before I replaced the shocks on my 98, I was having pretty bad feedback through the steering wheel when going over bumps, especially at speed. DC potholes and seams in the pavement like at bridges were the worst. Replacing the steering damper didn't help much. Replacing the shocks with Bilsteins helped this tremendously. There were some dead spots in the shocks I pulled off, and my guess is that the badly damped axle was causing the wheels to pull the steering wheel all around. I did notice one thing about the Bilsteins on my last trip. While on most surfaces--paved road and trails--they're great, I did find that they made the back end "walk" a little on washboard roads at about 25 mph. On regular trails, though, they've been great.

By p m on Friday, December 07, 2001 - 02:03 pm: Edit

hehe Tate, some guys here run Fox shocks on the washboard. more than one shock nut was lost in the dirt

peter

By Scott (Scott_Bowden) on Friday, December 07, 2001 - 06:51 pm: Edit

napa sc2932 (I think)
stud on one end, eye loop on the other, like the d-90 but the bolt hole in the eye is larger
Works very well in tandem with RTE conversion kit.
Their kit is very important for reducing bump steer and bump induced wheel ocillations. It puts the damper more inline to counteract/reduce unwanted steering movements.
Make sure you order the rubber boot with it

By robert mayes on Sunday, December 09, 2001 - 12:35 am: Edit

I replaced the orginal shocks (my disco has 60k miles) with ome hd springs and shocks.

By Tom P. on Sunday, December 09, 2001 - 10:37 pm: Edit

Oldscout,

Yeah, what *did* I mean? you get the idea though - make sure there is now plat at the pitman arm under the box...

Tom P.
96 Disco