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Steering box adjustment or UJs & bushes


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Drove my wifes 90 300tdi for the first time in awhile and nearly put the thing in a ditch due to the vague steering

i find a need to constantly adjust the wheel by significant  3 inches either way to stay on course

i know these things have vague steering but this is verging on the dangerous

i have checked everything is tight and secure on the column - the steering box is a recon unit of about 4 years old

 

how can i tell what needs to be done - whether its the box adjustment or bushes/UJs ? Treat me like an idiot and you wont be too far off the mark!

 

 

 

 

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Lay under it and get someone to shake the steering wheel left to right. Start by looking at the tracked ends. Then check the panhard rod bushes this may require more vigorous shaking. The go under the bonnet and check input versus output on the steering box and uj's. With your description I'd put my money on panhard bushes or drop arm ball joint.

Mike

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I don't mean to hijack your thread here but would worn panhard bushes cause the vehicle to jump across the road when you hit a pot hole/bump whilst going round a corner? It's a new trick my 90 has recently learnt and it's terrifying!

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Could well be, I'd be more suspicious of the swivel pin preloads though.

The cheapest thing to do is to have a look!

Check all bushes and joints for wear, and all bolts for tightness.

Other thing it could be is a completely knackered shock absorber... this gives rise to wheel hop, and when the tyre is in the air it isn't doing much! Bouncing the corners should reveal this.

If everything checks out, remove the road wheels, track rod and drag link and give the swivels a spin, if they flop about then you need to look further, also check for play by rocking 12-6 o'clock.

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Of course I'd be checking all ball joints bushes, bolts and bearings before doing anything drastic... but the bit that caught my aye was "the steering box is a recon unit of about 4 years old" - I've not heard of a recon box that has actually stood up to being a long term usable fix, after taking a few of these apart, unless the worm gear and sector shaft has been replaced then recon steering boxes are money for old rope I'm afraid. 

In all the searching I've done you just can't get replacement sector shafts for Adwest or Gemmer steering boxes, and there is no way of adjustment of the box that can account for wear of these components. 

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The steering box started weeping slightly at 10,000 miles in my 2015 Puma last year. It was replaced under warranty at dealer but they left the old one in the back and I still have it - I wouldn’t normally think of replacing seals in steering box as I know it’s normally a futile effort but would this be worth repairing due to its low age and use?

Edited by oneandtwo
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19 minutes ago, oneandtwo said:

The steering box started weeping slightly at 10,000 miles in my 2015 Puma last year. It was replaced under warranty at dealer but they left the old one in the back and I still have it - I wouldn’t normally think of replacing seals in steering box as I know it’s normally a futile effort but would this be worth repairing due to its low age and use?

I'd certainly be opening it up for a look at what caused the seal failure. 

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  • 1 month later...

so OP reporting back for some further wisdom ..... panhard rod bushes changed and it’s helped a little but it’s still wandering !

i have checked the steering UJs and can’t get any movement out of the top one - but the lower one has slight movement in it which you can feel by holding the spline and applying up and down pressure.

I presume that may be the culprit or should I be looking elsewhere first ?

 

 

Edited by cypermethrin
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Check by removing the uj's and testing for movement, then you'll definitely know if it (the uj) is worn. Also check the drop arm is tight on the output shaft, I've had it before where there's a slight amount of up and down movement on the drop arm. This is eliminated by tightening the output shaft nut up.

Steve

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On 1/12/2019 at 5:04 PM, Stellaghost said:

You can adjust the steering box play by loosening central nut on top of box and adjusting with Allen key

No you you can't, this is a suspension bolt that located the main sector chaft vertically, this will not improve steering play.

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 best to do with the vehicles font wheels off the ground, unlock [but do not unscrew more than 1/2 turn] the big nut on the top cover hold it with a suitable size spanner with the correct size allen key adjust the screw in the centre of the nut then tighten the lock nut, check steering does not have any tight spots, 

worked on my 110's steering box. 

info from workshop manual 

 

IMG_20190113_205236.jpg

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