Thread: Steering Relay oil

When I got around to looking at tightening arms on splines on relay box and lubrication of it in 1961 LWB acquired from a relative's estate last year, noticed a grease nipple that screwed in the side of top of box. ie under the top arm . With quarter inch UNF thread, common for grease nipples. Installed a new right angled one so grease gun can be applied when radiator grille removed. Pumped in Nulon red grease until some came out of both top and bottom seals. ( Similar to Wynn's containing PTFE which seems to throw out of bearings, unijoints etc less than most other greases.)

Looking at exploded parts illustration of relay box in Dec '63 workshop manual that came with vehicle. looks to me that "plug for oil hole " is where grease nipple is in mine. Anyway, seems to me that with what is inside this relay box and fairly heavy load but with not much movement, grease should be better than oil. Including for having one less place that Land Rover can apply its oil territory marker on the ground from.

To put oil into this hole with quarter inch UNF thread inside it would require syringe and needle. I wonder if original designer of housing had grease nipple in mind but message did not get through to those writing manuals etc. Another example of where it appears designers intended quarter inch UNF grease nipple be used is the pivot pins of Series clutch and brake pedals, which are hollow and have plugs on one end. On mine when I acquired it, this pin for brake pedal was very solidly seized and pedal became immovable . Heavy pin and bushes unlikely to have ever been greased or oiled and jammed with dirt that had set solidly. After getting it out (removing housing and all and lots of coaxing with heavy "knocktrometer" etc) and cleaning it. I drilled small holes for small locating pin for these on other side of housing so a right angled grease nipple could be installed on the right side of the brake pedal bracket. No room for one on the left side with clutch pedal housing so close. Straightforward replacing plug with right angled grease nipple on clutch pedal pivot pin though.

Land Rover workshop manual recommends same oil in steering relay box as some other applications on vehicle. Looks like one example of instructions written by people whose knowledge of the issues was lacking partly from probably never having done the job themselves. Anyway, seems to me that for those who have been wondering how to get oil in , it may be a sudden major change in thinking to consider grease instead.

Problem with grease is once it is wiped off there is no lubrication unless you use a self leveling grease the tupe that is used in gear boxes of drills & grinders, it is a mixture of oil & grease. With oil it will run back between the surfaces.

The relay has fibre bushes that rely for lubrication on oil soaking through them. Grease will not do this, so by filling it with grease you are effectively running it unlubricated, and will eventually wear out the bushes and possibly the shaft. The people who wrote the instructions knew what they were doing. Same issue as with the steering swivels - fill them with grease and you stop the leaks - and stop lubrication to the top bush.

Semi-liquid grease such as the Landrover "one-shot" specified for later Defender swivels will work, and leak is not as bad as oil. But the seal is easy to replace, so leaking is not really necessary.