Tin Man

One thing I did forget to mention was that on the nearside caliper the forward sliding pin felt like it was sticking - I cleaned both pins and their seats, regreased and refitted; both then moving freely. This could have contributed if the caliper wasn't totally free to move and follow the pistons, etc.

OK, all fixed and running without a shake or a judder. What was done: 1. Swapped the 18" for a set of 16" alloys that had been checked for any problems and balanced. No change but these left on whilst the rest of the work was carried out. The 18" wheels were also checked for any problems, the balance weights removed and the wheels rebalanced from scratch for later refitment. 2. Drag link and tie rods inspected - no obvious play there but rods refitted and the steering set up properly; centralised steering box, etc, to minimise any play. No change.. 3. Propshafts removed and U/Js checked for play, no problems there, so no result. 4. All Hubs and ball joints checked for wear/leaks/play - all found OK, so no result. At this point I had a mad moment and changed all of the oil; hubs, transmission, transfer box - then did the engine oil and filter whilst I was about it. 5. Bushes, shocks, steering damper checked out - nothing obvious there. 6. Checked brakes and discs - nothing obvious but all pads cleaned and checked for free travel, plus the caliper pistons were (carefully) exercised out and in. Decided to change the front discs and pads. Vibration/Shake gone!. Spent the next half hour at all speeds braking and running to check if it really had been that simple! Yes a lot of work done but I have a good sense now of the state of my P38 after all of this, but she's completely re-lubed, and running as smooooooooooooth as silk. Hope this helps someone - maybe the next owner should change the brake discs a bit earlier in the process!

Steve, Cheers for the mention of the wheels you have but I have a set of 16" wheels that just need balancing and checking before the 18"s come off and they go on - the Rangie has a complete new set of Pirelli STs just under a year ago, plus I was told that these 18's have been known to warp in some cases. I'm expecting this to turn out to be wear somewhere and will be working through the bushes and ball joints step by step until she's running smooth again. I'll keep this updated in case anyone is following or needs to know what happens in the future. Cheers

The background is that I used to have strong and regular steering wheel vibration (to the point where the satnav on the windscreen was bouncing) and after balancing the wheels , etc, and being told it was an offside wheel bearing it turned out to be a seized viscous coupling on the front of the transfer box; the giveaway was that the outside edges of the front tyres were wearing, and then that the front axle was effectively permanently diff locked when checked with the vehicle raised off all wheels. Fixing that absolutely transformed the way the car drove and put a big grin across my face. The problem now is that there is still a slight steering wheel wobble that seems to come and go, as well as an inconsistent strong judder when braking which seems to happen randomly and at most speeds and I’m wondering if something has been worn after the original viscous coupling vibration. I am going to change the wheels and tyres with a second-hand set after they have been rebalanced, and then will be looking at the suspension bushes and ball joints for starters. Has anyone experienced anything like this? I would appreciate any help in finding the problem before I’ve worked through everything from dampers to bearing! Thanks in advance of anything you can help with.