Thread: Steering box's

I take it you have checked the drop arm is bolted on tight and that all the ball joints and so on are serviceable?

1/2 a turn is pretty massive!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep drop is on tight and yes the joints need to be changed but they would not cause this much play

Also the box is covered in old crud etc

Adam

Start by trying to adjust it. There is a square adjuster on the outside with a large hex lock nut.

must admit I have never had one apart so can't offer any advice there

good luck

Never had to do one - they give little trouble unless run dry or with water instead of oil, but looking at the manual, does not look as if there should be any real problems. Don't know about parts though. New boxes are probably still available, and may be cheaper than a rebuild - I think All 4x4 Spares had one at the Expo, although it may have been an earlier model than S3.

As suggested, try adjustment first, and have a look in the filler and see if it looks oily or rusty.

John

Adam,

I know what you mean, I've had ~ 45 degree play on my 120, and all of it was at the steering box. This is how far the input shaft turned before getting any movement at the output. The box was both leaking and covered in grime. I topped up the fluid when I got it and tried turning the adjuster bolt, but had little to no luck. It may have reduced the play by 5 degrees, if that.

I'm replacing it with a 4 bolt box from a discovery. One thing to be aware of if going down this route is that the input shaft on a discovery box is slightly shorter than on a county (not sure how different this is from a Stage 1). Mine is 2mm out, while Ben's (isuzurover) was about 5mm. I think he managed to fit his in, so you may want to find out what he did.

Cheers

Bojan

Thanks guys will have a look once the young fella is in bed

BTW Bojan did you manage to get the mirrors off (I have not got hinges off yet)

Adam

Pulled off the filler plug and it seems there is a bit of oil in there (stuck my finger in) but I would say its leeking like a tap

Also tried to undo adjuster and its a no go so I sprayed it with wd40 and I try again tomorrow

Adam

Series steering is pretty bad, but that is worse than normal.

Make sure you check everything, to make sure that it really is the box.

As I understand it, the adjuster bolt moves the worm and peg closer to each other, however if you adjust it in the straight ahead position the steering will be very tight at full lock.

As soon as I have the time, I will be doing a PAS conversion on my IIA using a 60 series PAS box. The series steering design is a bit complex and prone to excess play.

Another thing to check is that the firewall support bracket is tight. Either the bracket/firewall can flex, or the box can slide back and forth on its mount if the bolts work their way loose.