Thread: power steering box

Originally Posted by lennardj

What sort of price am I looking at for a '90 RR new power steering box/fitting and a steering pump/fitting (local Melbourne) and approx cost please ?
Lennardj

Those steering boxes are heavy items - if you're paying someone to do it I'd be thinking that you would have to budget for around or slightly more than $1k for parts & labour - add extra for the pump.

Thanks Chatterbox - yeah, given the Rangie lives in a parking bay I have no option but to get it done professionaly - any suggestions as to what operator around Springvale (Melbourne) who might be a tad cheaper than the next - thoughts will be appreciated ? Lennardj.

Can't remember the business name as I only used him the once, but there was a business in Hallam, near the railway station, who is a LR/RR enthusiast and was quite reasonable and pleasant to deal with. His business logo was the green oval with the business name in it, sorry I can't remember the name. Google might find him. I would source the box myself- they can be bought new for around $700, will probably be about $200 labour to fit I would think.

Thanks POD, I'll try and find him - I also need a new pump - all rather pricey !

for a few hundred more you can get a beefed up steering box.

Eastern power steering, sydney rd bayswater quoted me 900 for a change over to one that uses bearings instead of bushes.

What is wrong with your existing steering box ? Is it's leaking fluid, grinding/graunching on turning the steering wheel or have you excessive play, or some other problem ?

What makes you think it needs replacing (at vast expense) when there may be easier/simpler/ CHEAPER options to address your problem.

Deano

For me its the out put shaft leaking and massive play. getting beefed up one to ensure better life of the next one - plus for a few extra hundred on top of OEM or reuilt ones - I reckon it will be worth it.

Hi RaZzOR, are you absolutely sure your excessive play is in the steering box ? There are a number of things that can give you excessive play in the steering.

For example loose bolts or worn universal joints in the steering shaft connection to the steering box will give you heaps of play but is very simple/cheap to fix.

Another culprit is the drop arm ball joint that connects to the drag link that goes from the bottom of the steering box to the front LHS wheel. When this wears this gives you lots of slop in the steering but is also a simple/cheap fix.

I bought a Defender a year or so ago and the seller told me that the steering box was "totally stuffed" and needed replacement. It had heaps of play and was very 'graunchy'.
There was nothing wrong with the steering box apart from that the adjustment screw on the top of the steering box had been 'adjusted' way too tight in a misguided effort to fix the steering slack, (which was why it was binding/graunchy), and that one of the steering universal joint bolts was loose and also the steering arm ball joint was stuffed. Total repair bill less than $50 (for a new drop arm ball joint), and some adjustments for a perfect result.

Worn ball joints on the drag link and tie/track rod can also give you slop in the steering and will need to be fixed if crook regardless of what happens with the steering box.

Or you could actually have a crook steering box, but in my experience this is the least likely culprit when looking for slack in the steering.

As for a leaking bottom seal, common as muck with all sorts of Land Rovers, but doesn't neccessarily mean the steering box has had it.

Have a read of this, not too hard to fix with a bit of mechanical expertise and really not much to lose if you're going to toss it anyway.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/technical-...ering-box.html


The easiest way to find what's causing you excessive play is to get someone to sit in the drivers seat, with the engine off and steering unlocked, and get them to rock the steering wheel back and forth whilst you check out the steering train.

Start under the bonnet where the steering shaft comes out of the firewall and ultimately enters the steering box (look for crook unis. and loose pinch bolts) then look under the front RHS at the Pitman/Drop arm for worn ball joint. Next check the drag link ball joint on the passenger side and then the ball joints on both ends of the tie rod. It'll be quite obvious if anything is amiss. Ensure the person rocking the steering wheel is doing it quite hard.

Another likely problem that will affect vehicle stability will be a worn Panhard bod bush/bolt. I've found this to be quite a common, but easily/cheaply fixed issue.
With the steering wheel being rocked, sight down the drivers side mudguard to a point on the ground. If the mudguard is moving in respect to the selected point on the ground then odds are that you have slop in the Panhard rod joint. Looking at the RH Panhard rod joint near the steering box this will be quite evident. It's been my experience that the Panhard rod bolt wears before the bush and is a cheap/simple job to replace. (please use a high tensile bolt here.)

Deano