92 Classic Steering box

Well I've changed my mind ..... I was just driving through a carpark, and got a lot of cracks and crunches from the front end as I turned the steering wheel. Tonight I'll test that damper I pulled off ....... I reckon it'll test fine .... and the issue is I'll have a frozen ball joint in the cross bar between the two front wheels. I bet one of its balljoints is full of rust and water if I peal the boots back. The damper loading the balljoint will have been causing it to lock. Only one way to find out ...................................... :)

I reckon the Viscous coupling in the transfer case must have thrown in the towel from towing the caravan too.... I've been spinning front and back wheels over the last 3 days ..... Never has it ever slipped a wheel over the last 6months .... Not even on wet grass or mud let alone slightly damp sealed roads. I guess locking "open" can be considered very much a positive. Better than locking closed and trashing the driveline.

seeya,
Shane L.

Are you sure you haven't got a smashed CV or rusted swivel housing lower bearing? I'd be jacking up the front axle and swivelling and rotating all the drive bits to see what's up. Put your transfer case into neutral to see if the viscous is indeed stuffed.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bee utey

Are you sure you haven't got a smashed CV or rusted swivel housing lower bearing? I'd be jacking up the front axle and swivelling and rotating all the drive bits to see what's up. Put your transfer case into neutral to see if the viscous is indeed stuffed.

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That is possible, it was smooth and free when I disconnected the front left ball joint from the steering box and moved the front wheels through the full range of movement with the damper removed. unloaded there may no signs of binding or grabbing. If the ball joints prove ok, I guess I'll have to dismantle the swivels next to check them. I'm used to issue showing up from slop, not random binding :)

How does putting the transfer case into neutral test the viscous unit? I'm guessing it's to remove the drag of the main gearbox when you jack a wheel to see if it'll readily spin.

OH >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> BROKEN CV ........ Say, spinning wheels .... is saying the power isn't being transfered to both axles.... Oh crap. Is there a simple way to check the CV's ? They are hidden in the swivels probably. With that suggestion you have just tied together two separate issues that suddenly have appeared in the last few days.

I'm driving home like an old women tonight.... I reckon you have nailed it. It'll have a broken 'CV .... and I bet the damn viscous unit is locked shut and caused this failure.

seeya,
Shane L.

I've never played with the axles before ...

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM4kDyWyxv8[/ame]

it looks like we just slide the CV out with the axle unit from the diff center. I reckon looking at splines will cause me to want to rebuild everything I look at sadly :wasntme:

This guys videos are quite good for somoene that has never touched any of this before (especially someone that sucks at reading manuals like me :D ).

seeya,
Shane L.

Well in typical "ME" fashion.... All I had to do was ignore it long enough and the problem become blatantly obvoius. As I left work, the front end gave two louds CRACKS in a straight line ....... Really, really obvious CV joint failure sounds ( I own lots of front wheel drives and have had driveshaft failures before).

See just wait until I'm stranded on the side of the road and I can work anything out :wasntme: It was a fun drive home at walking pace trying to keep the steering wheel as straight as possible either way :angel:

seeya,
Shane L.

well that paints a sad story...



http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment...1&d=1448101093

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment...1&d=1448101093

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment...1&d=1448101093

I guess the car was still driving hapily along the road mean the viscous center diff is certainly locked :(

I have your answer :d

Mercedes SLS struts & levelling valve.

If you can rebuild a citroen, then the sachs SLS damper will be a piece of cake. reshimming to spec will be easy. setting preload is as simple as placing a load over the rear axle and adjusting the actuator linkage.
You'll of course need an engine driven pump, but that's not hard to achieve, and a pair of nitrogen spheres from rexroth or even butcher your citroen ones.... but the principal is pretty straightforward and works well.

The only difference on the SLS mercedes cars is the spring rate is reduced. on an rrc, I doubt a reduction would be required, as the hydraulic struts are assisting the coils as well as controlling the damping. It's just a matter of getting the correct damping rates.

I have already given this serious consideration in my RRC.
Note: I am not talking about the full 4-corner hydropneumatic suspension on the w116 450SEL 6.9, which is a ridiculously expensive setup. I'm referring to the self-levelling struts. These can also be used on all 4 corners with ride height adjustment, not unlike the EAS, however if one was going to that extreme, the EAS would likely be cheaper, as it was already available on later rrc's.

I prefer the ride of coils.

There also used to be a brand of shock absorbers called hi-jackers, which was a crude but extremely effective solution. I remember my old man used them on his HJ prem when towing the boat. worked like a charm. pump them up with a bike pump or servo compressor etc... dead simple and effective.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mercguy

I have your answer :d

Mercedes SLS struts & levelling valve.

If you can rebuild a citroen, then the sachs SLS damper will be a piece of cake. reshimming to spec will be easy. setting preload is as simple as placing a load over the rear axle and adjusting the actuator linkage.
You'll of course need an engine driven pump, but that's not hard to achieve, and a pair of nitrogen spheres from rexroth or even butcher your citroen ones.... but the principal is pretty straightforward and works well.

The only difference on the SLS mercedes cars is the spring rate is reduced. on an rrc, I doubt a reduction would be required, as the hydraulic struts are assisting the coils as well as controlling the damping. It's just a matter of getting the correct damping rates.

I have already given this serious consideration in my RRC.
Note: I am not talking about the full 4-corner hydropneumatic suspension on the w116 450SEL 6.9, which is a ridiculously expensive setup. I'm referring to the self-levelling struts. These can also be used on all 4 corners with ride height adjustment, not unlike the EAS, however if one was going to that extreme, the EAS would likely be cheaper, as it was already available on later rrc's.

I prefer the ride of coils.

There also used to be a brand of shock absorbers called hi-jackers, which was a crude but extremely effective solution. I remember my old man used them on his HJ prem when towing the boat. worked like a charm. pump them up with a bike pump or servo compressor etc... dead simple and effective.

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I'm pretty sure the 450SEL uses Citroen suspension under patent ..... simplest suspension in the world to work on and repair :) The problem is your local grease monkey won't have a clue how it works. If you have one of them send me a photo of it's suspension spheres ....... I might be able to recharge them for you.

The problem with all the "helper" air bags is they are going to completely kill any axle articulation, this is why rover hasn't used them (though to be honest, if your towing you don't need axle articulation). Google up polyairs, these seem to be a much better alternative than the old air shocks you could pump up. They are a bag the fits inside the coil spring that you can add air too. Very effective, and you can just let them down when not towing.

I'm going to try rebuilding the boge first. I've been sent the details on the nivomats fitted under the rover SD1's last night. I'll see if I can attach it here for everyone. If not I'll have to sort out some hosting somewhere.

edit; brilliant !!! This site has let me upload a 6meg pdf.... Wow that's a generous file upload allowance!

seeya,
Shane L.

That's not a pretty sight :eek:

When I broke mine in the 76 Rangie 2 door I had a few years back it was completely dry, was more thick grease than any sort of oil must have been running like that for years. What I learnt is that if the swivel leaks, it has oil and if it stops, start getting suspicious :cool:

Yes I agree, your BW transfer has seized. Guess it's time for a Lt230 replacement :mad:

Trav

Yeah I've chased up an LT230 from the guy out at enfield.... Stupidly I didn't notice the selector mechanism isn't on it until after he'd left .... Hopefully he's still got it out at his place. I guess I'll soon work out if the output shaft on the gearbox and front driveshaft is the same.

I'll have to grab a 'cv from you at some point too :) There's no rush, I still need to extract the old transfer case and refit the lt230 (after chasing up the selector and diff lock mechanism for it).

He does have a full 5spd conversion kit there from a disco I could buy .... damn it no $$$ at the moment though :( Especially just before christmas!

seeya,
Shane L.