mudmuncher Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 Hi all Do you need to lubricate the steering relay on a series land rover I have checked and toped up the steering box but the relay which sits in the chassis round hole does not seam to have a fill plug in it , i have enen tried removing the small screws in the top of the relay but i cant get it to fill enerything ?? Am i missing some think Many thanks Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbarton Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 Yes. If you look at the top there is a boss as part of the casting. This was the original filling hole, but is more than likely not drilled. You remove a screw near this and one opposite, the idea is you pour oil in one hole and the air comes out of the other. In practice this doesn't work very well! There are varous dodges, force oil in, take a screw out of the top and one out of the bottom and force oil in the bottom until it comes out of the top, heat the thing and pour oil in the top and let it get pulled in as the thing cools down, fit a nipple and fill with grease and so on! It must be lubricated though, it makes a big difference to the steering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secondjeremy Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 I don't think the bottom bolt holes on the relay communicate with the inside - so oil won't drain through them (or air vent for that matter) If you haven't got the filler in the top of the shaft you'll have to fill through one of the top cover securing screws - taking another one out may help let the air out. There is no reason why you can't temporarily fit a grease nipple and pump oil through it till it emerges from the other hole. You'll probably find the bottom seal leaks. If you're careful not to dislodge the centre shaft this can be changed without removing the relay (which probably won't come out) I'd stick to oil, not being convinced that grease will circulate properly. Lubrication of the relay is vital - and if it seizes the vehicle will wander and lunge all over the place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbarton Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 From this it looks like the LH bottom screw hole goes through into the body of the unit. When you fill it, bear in mind it takes a long time for the oil to perculate into the gubbins, it only has the space between the two halves of the conical bush to go through, hot oil is better. You can be easily fooled into thinking it's full when oil spills out of a top screw hole. At least if you force it in at the bottom when it comes out of the top it's full! Allow a small amount to drain out before re-fitting the bottom screw. I too would advocate oil rather than grease. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secondjeremy Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 Interesting diagram - I had the problem with my 80 inch and wanted to flush the grease out of the relay and had to remove the bottom plate (again). My Series 2a book shoes the bottom screws going into the casting with no communication to the oil space as I'm sure does my 80 inch book. Is the diagram from a Series 3 book? It would seem that the relay design ws improved during its production life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbarton Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 I'm sure it is a SIII book, I downloaded the SIII manuals as I have a SIII! I have an Autobooks which shows the bottom screws not going into the cavity, like you say. It also shows the filler plug on the top of the shaft and drillings to introduce the oil between the split bushes. The screws on the top are used to let the air out. You have to turn it upsidedown to drain it. Whether the modern design is an improvement is open to debate, it's a bit of a sod to get oil in the top screws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowbird Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 Great info as usual from this forum but can anyone tell me should I pack grease or anti seize around the outside of the relay before installing it into a new galvanized chassis? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbarton Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 Yes. I'd do everything possible to stop water getting down there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 Totally, removing a rusty relay is not fun. Crossmembers have been wrecked in the process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian_s Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 to get the relay out of mine (20 years or so ago) too an immense amount of work. in the end, what got it out involved having the thing up on a 4 post lift, straps around the chassis to the lift, a pole under the relay down to the floor, and lowering the lift and car down using the weight of both. it still didnt come out add ratchet straps pulling the lift down at the front end too. i don't know how much tension a ratchet strap can create, these were heavy duty big-ass ones. it went in the end with a very loud bang. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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