[rrc softdash steering]

Thanks for the quick replys!

Could be a number of things.....

First, as you have mentioned it, the viscous coupling, jack up one front wheel so it is clear of the ground, put a wheel brace on one of the wheel nuts and with the handbrake securely one, it should turn slowly round. If it is locked solid then the vehicle's viscous coupling is knackered causing binding whilst driving in sharp turns. Replacement can be done in situ, and not too bad a job.

Secondly, wheel bearing, possibly, but I would say unlikely in this case, but is certainly the easiest to check, jack the front wheels up and try rocking them side to side an up and down, any side to side clunks is almost cetainly wheel bearing, a collapsed and therefore locking up bearing should be pretty obvious(!)

Another thing... could be a CV joint broken/breaking up/very worn, these click from the front axle when on full lock as they are under the greatest stress then. Checking them is a complete hub disassembly, and not a nice job, really mucky.

You could, I suppose, have low fluid in the reservoir, but I guess you have checked that

The viscous boxes are great btw, on road they drive much nicer, I went to an LT230 box for better gearing, and it does drive quite differently.... and chirps tyres at a standing start

When you say low fluid are you talking about PAS fluid? in which case yes.. when the power steering disappeared I figured it for leaking but it's not lost any PAS fluid at all sofar (apart from on my father's driveway when I pulled the hoses off the pump ), also there wasn't a gradual loss of PAS, just turned the car on one night and found no power assistance and an unexpected few days of exercise! replaced the pump with a new one and new fluid anyway.

I've had a broken front CV on my last RRC, a mid 80s 4door with a disco 200tdi & manual box installed, this problem doesn't feel the same as the clattery "you're going nowhere mister" noise when one goes, the steering feels fine for "normal" driving with the problem only really showing up on u-turns or full lock for parking.. I think that's what is confusing me about the automatic centre diff, if a CV joint was gone with a manual one the car wouldn't go until I locked it.. when I first noticed the problem I was going to do just that until I realised that the transfer box lever didn't move sideways!

I reckon checking for wheel bearings and the viscous unit is the next job, just scared myself witless looking on Rimmer's website for a viscous unit, £490 for a pattern part .. if it is that are the pattern parts ok? is there anywhere less 2nd mortgage inducing to get them from?

My money would be on a siezed centre viscous. The one thing I would add to the post above would be to make sure that the gearbox is in neutral. If you do it in park then the whole lot quite rightly shouldnt move at all!

hah! that's exactly the kind of detail i'd miss

[R-R Classic Newbie , few questions..]

Secondly , the heating inside is poor, is that normal?

Something I've noticed with my 300tdi RRC is that the heater is almost useless until the engine gets up to just under halfway on the temp gauge. My problem is that mine never gets that warm unless i'm at motorway speed for about 5 minutes, on my town commute in the current cooler weather my temp gauge never really gets above the bottom mark on the gauge. I'm beginning to wonder if my thermostat might be stuck open, or the viscous fan seized on?

[Gauging interest for fibreglass RRC panels]

Would fibreglass panels take a paint finish?

The worst holes on my RRC are in the bonnet and lower tailgate but holding out for finding metal replacements in the right colour (1993/4 really dark metallic red) is probably a bit futile.

[rrc softdash steering]

Hi all, sorry to do the whole newbie 1st post with an issue thing..

I've joined up after using the rather excellent technical howto post for 300tdi PAS pump replacement to guide me through that little job over the weekend, was very impressed with the guide, the only issue I had was that at some point after dismantling the intake system my whole EGR assembly disappeared.. oh well, it's lucky I had that little metal plate to replace it with!

Well, replacing the PAS pump has given me back the power steering but it hasn't solved another issue that i'd hoped was related to the failing pump, when I turn the car on full lock, as in when you're doing a U-turn through a central reservation, something odd happens to the steering, or the drivetrain maybe?

It's like I can feel it binding up, if I hold a constant throttle position at say 5mph the car slows down and stops (it's a 300tdi Auto), if I give it a little more throttle it moves off but then you get a "clunk" which i think is one of the front wheels breaking traction and spinning round against the road. On normal driving and turning it seems fine.

I've had RRCs before this one but this is the newest (on an L-reg, 1994 softdash) and my first one with an autobox and what appears to be an automatic centre diff.. which I admit is wierding me out slightly, my previous RRC had a manual centre diff-lock (disco 200tdi engine & manual box) which seemed like a much more sensible idea to me?

Anyway, just wondering if there's anything that the above symptoms is likely to be, or how I can go about finding out what's broke / breaking down?