Mutley Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 Well i needed to remove the dreaded steering drop arm as the ball joint parts were seized!?! I have read and heard the horror stories some have experienced with this task, so to say i wasn't looking forward to the job was an understatement! Having found a local outfit that would remove the arm for a mere £15 (all i had to do was remove the steering box and take over to them), which involves a bit more work than i wanted but hey, it's plan B and a pro was gunna do it the drop arm would be off! So having a couple of weeks before having time off work to do this, i decided to at least try myself so i undid the main bolt so there was a gap of about 5mm and the locking tab still effective, then with a large syringe of diesel fed this all round the top of the drop arm daily plus driving about as normal and the odd and i do mean the odd crack with a hammer. The next thing was to get hold of a puller, i didn't want to spend too much because if it didn't work it was money wasted!?! All seamed to be about 40 quid and upwards, untill i happened by chance on the Bearmach web site and saw this... It was actually £19.99 four days ago. I couldn't pass up that price and ordered it. Came next day too for standard delivery. Went out this morning and got all the tools ready for the job plus readied myself for the blood, sweat and tears plus the final failure of the drop arm NOT budging a fraction!!! Puller on bolt was firmed up, a couple of cracks with the hammer, bolt slackened off, tighten bolt a bit more another few cracks on the bolt with the hammer, swap wrench for breaker bar god firm push and another.......Then the bar just went with ease!?! I thought i had sheared the bolt but no the drop arm was off!?! A result i never expected as i have had the motor 12yrs and it's never been off in that time and it's anybody's guess if the previous owner had ever had it removed??? Cleaned up the splines on the steering box fitted new dust seal, smothered with copper slip and fitted new drop arm, all in less than an hour!?!?!?! Oh and don't have to resort to plan B......Some days life is good! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landy-Novice Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 quick, go buy a lottery ticket! i wish all landy jobs were this easy.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 Convert to the straight disco drop arm and never do another drop arm ball joint again ! 😎 Mo 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve b Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 You need the drag link to go with it but one of the best small updates to do , the ball jointed drop arm is truly rubbish - almost an annual service item . cheers Steve b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 I too remember having to remove the Defender steering arm. A tip from Steve Graham was to use two hammers with the box off the car. Yep the thing just fell off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troll Hunter Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 Apologies for hijacking your thread, but since I am in the early stages of rebuilding my 110 CSW this is a mod that I possibly should make at this stage, although I have no need to. Please can you give me the LR part numbers for what would be required to replace my existing standard Defender drop arm on a Gemmer power steering box. Also, is the straight drop arm fitted to all Discoverys, since they are relatively rare over here finding one of a specific year/model in a breaker's yard could involve quite a search. Many thanks, in advance, for these details. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mutley Posted October 27, 2019 Author Share Posted October 27, 2019 The new drop arm was and Adwest QFW000020G When i got it i noticed the ball joint was rather stiff and felt a bit gritty!?! So whilst it was off i decided to take it to bits and inspect it. I was shocked and surprised as to see how little grease was inside!?! Basically next to nothing!!! So i cleaned it all out and refilled with some good old JCB blue grease!!! So at least it has a good start in life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landy-Novice Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/173252840724 thats the kit, top quality. its what i fitted 4 years ago (altho i fitted d1 box complete with pitman arm) as it caused me to have vague steering as seen here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted October 28, 2019 Share Posted October 28, 2019 14 hours ago, Troll Hunter said: Apologies for hijacking your thread, but since I am in the early stages of rebuilding my 110 CSW this is a mod that I possibly should make at this stage, although I have no need to. Please can you give me the LR part numbers for what would be required to replace my existing standard Defender drop arm on a Gemmer power steering box. Also, is the straight drop arm fitted to all Discoverys, since they are relatively rare over here finding one of a specific year/model in a breaker's yard could involve quite a search. Many thanks, in advance, for these details. Mike Has the Gemmer got the same spline on the shaft? Discoveries would all be Adwest 4 bolts I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 On 10/27/2019 at 3:27 PM, steve b said: You need the drag link to go with it but one of the best small updates to do , the ball jointed drop arm is truly rubbish - almost an annual service item . You're lucky - I was going through 2 a year . Two years ago bit the bullet and stumped up for the kit from Gwyn and haven't touched it since, steering is also a hell of a lot tighter than it used to be, much nicer to drive as a consequence. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex Member Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 (edited) On 10/27/2019 at 11:00 AM, mmgemini said: I too remember having to remove the Defender steering arm. A tip from Steve Graham was to use two hammers with the box off the car. Yep the thing just fell off. Sure, but taking the box off of the car is a lot of work. These pullers will get them off in place. Edited October 30, 2019 by Red90 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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