Steering wheel wobble

[UNDEROVER]

Hey everyone, I have an '04 Defender Extreme, and I have a problem at the moment that every time I'm driving on the highway at 100kmh or more and hit a bump in the road, the steering wheel gets a wobble up and it can only be stopped by applying the brakes.
Has anyone had this drama? Any help/advice is appreciated.
Cheers.

[BigJon]

Do a search for swivel preload.

[forget]

g'day mate igot me own problems but if i were you i would look at the steering dampner to see if its operating correctly.i have rangey that sort of had the same prob:(

but i would'nt even know if your vehicle 04 Defender Extreme has a damper or not,but if it does check there.:eek:

very easy if ya have a hoist,if ya not a fatty,just climb under.:wasntme:

[JDNSW]

1. Swivel preload
2. Free play anywhere in the steering linkage, including loose steering box or wheel bearings.
3. Wear or softness on any suspension bushes - radius arms (either end), panhard rod.
4. Incorrect caster angle due to being lifted.

Maybe more than one of these, but look at them in that order.

John

[MinniTheMoocha]

As above but I also experienced the same wobble and it turned out to be the steering drop arm ball joint.

A fairly easy fix and now it handles the bumps without me anticipating the wobble.

[UNDEROVER]

Thanks for the heads up on that one... If it may make any difference, it has had a new set of heavy duty king springs all around, plus procomp shocks, (but the steering damper was never replaced, still original) which seems to have lifted the vehicle more than I expected, but then again, the original equipment was never that great. I've had a quick check of the balljoints/linkages/bushes, and they seemed ok, but I might need to look a little bit harder. How much movement is too much?? As far as the swivel pre-load is concerned, I've done it once before on my old 2A, I'm assuming that the Defender is no different??
Matt.

[JDNSW]

Thanks for the heads up on that one... If it may make any difference, it has had a new set of heavy duty king springs all around, plus procomp shocks, (but the steering damper was never replaced, still original) which seems to have lifted the vehicle more than I expected, but then again, the original equipment was never that great. I've had a quick check of the balljoints/linkages/bushes, and they seemed ok, but I might need to look a little bit harder. How much movement is too much?? As far as the swivel pre-load is concerned, I've done it once before on my old 2A, I'm assuming that the Defender is no different??
Matt.

If you have done the swivels on a 2A you can do them on a Defender - pretty much the same setup, although the later ones (not sure when) go to two taper roller bearings. A few minor differences such as the bracket holding the brake pipe held under the swivel pin bolts - most get modified to a slot rather than a hole to make life easier. Note that the parts, although generally similar to the Series, are not the same or interchangeable. But same general setup.

John

[UNDEROVER]

Just so you all know. the problem actually ended up being the steering damper. I fitted a Bilstein job sourced from Coffs Harbour 4WD and it's problem solved!:) Thanks for all the advice.

[Gumnut]

Hi,

I have faced the very real threat of being thrown out the deefer window by steering wheel wobble a few times, and it has always been panhard bushes. Very cheap, quick and easy to fix.

I do not want to put the mockers on the job, but please make sure that the new steering damper has not just "hidden" the root cause problem. Remember, there are plenty of oldies getting about with no damper, and no vibration (well, no more than "usual")

Have a good christmas,

Andy

[UNDEROVER]

Thanks Andy, will certainly have a look at that when the vehicle arrives back home, as it's in Brissy at the moment. Out of curiosity, how long would you reasonably expect to get out of panhard rod bushes? The vehicle has done 1 cape york and 1 kimberley trip, plus various close to home sojourns. It is primarily used to get to and from fishing spots, rather than recreational 4WDing. And coming from owning a 11A for quite a long time, I'm none the wiser.

[JDNSW]

Provided they are installed properly, and the bolts are never allowed to come loose - a very long time. I have fitted two sets in over 400,000km. But the slightest movement on the bolts, or poor installation - they could last only a few thousand.

John

[UNDEROVER]

What options are there for panhard bushes? rubber Vs poly? any preference out of the two if you can in fact get both?

[JDNSW]

What options are there for panhard bushes? rubber Vs poly? any preference out of the two if you can in fact get both?

I'm pretty certain both are available. Poly bushes are easier to install (but the main problem is likely to be getting the old ones out), and the traditionally stiffer red may give slightly sharper steering, but in my view there would be little to choose in this application.

John

[350RRC]

What options are there for panhard bushes? rubber Vs poly? any preference out of the two if you can in fact get both?

Super Pro (Fulcrum) poly bushes. Plenty of converts here and on OL.

cheers, DL

[UNDEROVER]

Thanks for the info, I'm onto it.

[Vern]

Super Pro (Fulcrum) poly bushes. Plenty of converts here and on OL.

cheers, DLx eleventybillion:D

[d2dave]

I had the same problem with my old 83 Rangie. I did the swivel hub bearings and the panard bushes. The panard bolt holes were worn so I repaired the holes.

The front end was as tight as, but the problem was still there( mine was at 80 kph).

I rang Andrew Richmond (known as Rangie Spares back then) for advice.
He told me it would be the steering damper, so I went to the land rover joint in Box Hill (Melb) and they sold me a cheapie.

This made the problem worse. I then re rang Andrew Richmond and he still assured me it was the steering damper and to use a good quality one. He has had so many people skeptical about this that he had a loaner you could borrow to prove his point. I drove over and fitted it out the front and Bingo, problem fixed. The brand was Bilstein whom he was a big fan of.

So I purchased a new Bilstein damper and when I sold the car ten years later I had never encounted the problem again.

Dave.