Lettie

Went for a bit of a drive on our block this afternoon to test out the rebuilt exhaust and happy to say everything seems good.

However...

Parked on this gentle slope and got out to wander about a bit, only to discover on returning that she wouldn't start. Never happens. Looked under the bonnet, and horrified to see petrol dribbling out of the stromberg carby, thus no fuel to the engine. (Parking on a slope gave it away). So...

1. Straighten up the wheels to roll back and get a better angle on the engine...very heavy under the steering wheel (stationary 7.5" tyres) and feel something strange through the steering wheel - sort of 'let go' a bit. But wheels seem now to be angled straight ahead.

2. Eventually get her started with half throttle (thankfully, cause it's about the rain). Get her back up the driveway to the workshop and the front tyres seem to be skidding/shuddering on the concrete.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment...1&d=1428822230

To do #01: deal with leaky carburettor.

To do #02: what the **** is wrong with the front wheels all of a sudden? Have wheels come out of alignment? If so, do what? Has the steering gear been stressed beyond some limit? If so, do what? Is it something else?

Speaking of limits, you may have guessed that mine are fairly narrow. Any advice greatly appreciated.

Garry

Is it in four wheel drive? That will have this effect on hard surfaces. Note that if there is windup, it may not actually disengage the front prop shaft until you drive it a few feet backwards or move onto a surface with less grip. The front wheel drive selector fork is spring loaded.

John

oh, of course! Thanks John. That used to happen in my little Subaru Brumby in 4WD on a hard surface.

That's simple, if that's what it is. Will check it out and let you know.

yep, you're right, John. Must have been stuck in 4WD. Seems fine now. Phew. Thanks again.

Just a question, though on the topic. Is it 'bad' for the system to force the wheels to turn when stationary? Obviously it puts all kinds of strain on the steering system that it isn't really meant to cope with. Or am I being too 'precious'?

I guess for parking and manoeuvring there are times when it is unavoidable. Do I need to watch out for anything in this regard?

Garry

Quote:

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Originally Posted by garrywlh

yep, you're right, John. Must have been stuck in 4WD. Seems fine now. Phew. Thanks again.

Just a question, though on the topic. Is it 'bad' for the system to force the wheels to turn when stationary? Obviously it puts all kinds of strain on the steering system that it isn't really meant to cope with. Or am I being too 'precious'?

I guess for parking and manoeuvring there are times when it is unavoidable. Do I need to watch out for anything in this regard?

Garry

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It is probably not an issue with any Landrovers, as loads on most steering components will be much higher from, for example, shock loading in normal off road driving. The exception would possibly be that if you do a lot of it, it could increase wear on the top bearing on the steering column. And this will be exacerbated by the use of wider than standard tyres and even the use of radial ply tyres - remember that the Series steering was designed for 6.00x16 crossplies, although pragmatically upgraded to accommodate 7.50x16 and radials by the end of Series 3 production. For example, when I had the bottom arm on the relay break on my Series 2 in 1966, I found the replacement was markedly heavier.

John

Thanks again, John.

My suspicion is that the sensation I felt while pulling hard over on the steering wheel while stationary was the steering wheel riding over worn splines on the column?

I haven't taken the steering wheel off yet, but if this is the case, would it simply be a matter of repositioning and tightening the wheel to the column? Or can worn splines be refurbished or would it mean the need to replace the inner column?

Hey Gary I have a second hand steering box here if you want anybits (nambour area)


1969 109" 2a named loti

Quote:

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Originally Posted by garrywlh

Thanks again, John.

My suspicion is that the sensation I felt while pulling hard over on the steering wheel while stationary was the steering wheel riding over worn splines on the column?

I haven't taken the steering wheel off yet, but if this is the case, would it simply be a matter of repositioning and tightening the wheel to the column? Or can worn splines be refurbished or would it mean the need to replace the inner column?

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If it is the steering wheel slipping, it is probably the wheel rather than the shaft that has worn splines as the wheel is zinc alloy and the shaft is steel. It may be solved by tightening the clamp bolt.

However, worn splines and movement is more likely to be the splines at either top or bottom of the relay. Get someone to move the wheel to check where it is, taking the wheel centre cover off to check there.

Other possible places for movement only under heavy load are the relay moving and hub swivel lever arms moving, usually because of incorrect installation of the fitted studs. Also possibly tie rod ends mismatched with tie rod (mixing of Series 3 and earlier parts) allowing movement until the threads wear until they are only just gripping.

All of these problems need immediate rectification, as they can lead to total steering failure, which could really spoil your day.

John

Lettie has been up on ramps for a couple of weeks while I spend a little bit of time each day removing the filth that has gathered on her underbelly over the decades. She's satisfyingly gleaming underneath now, allowing me to pinpoint the sources of several fluid leaks!

Anyway, she wouldn't start this morning when I went to roll her off, (considerably lighter with great piles of thick black excrement lying all over the ground under her) so I disconnected the battery cables and put on the charger this morning. This afternoon, I removed the charger, fixed the earth cable to the + terminal where it belongs, and started to clamp the other cable on the - terminal, only to see smoke rising from every electrical connection!

What the? Lucky she didn't catch fire!

How can there be a short (if that is what it is) when nothing has been touched since starting charging?

Stumped once again.

You've dislodged something while cleaning underneath, I would guess. Bit hard to fathom what though. If it is smoking with nothing switched on, I would look first round the starter switch, and then around the voltage regulator.

On the other hand, you mentioned you swapped the battery connection back to positive earth - it doesn't have an alternator, does it? If it does, that will explain the smoke. Any other polarity sensitive equipment that has been added may have similar effects.

John