reb78 Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 My steering box in the 110 is a 6 bolt Gemmer unit. I've been considering replacing it for a while but just wanted to check there was nothing else i could do with it. This weekend, i had a long motorway run and noticed that at the straight ahead position you could rock the steering wheel, about half an inch at the rim, without any response at the roadwheels. You could feel it loosely rocking from side to side until it would reach a point where the wheels would react. Checking it out later, there was no response at the drop arm when the wheel was rocked. I went to adjust the play via the torx/allen nut on the top of the box and found that even if it was adjusted so that i couldnt tighted the nut any further, the play was still there. However, return to centre had dissappeared completely yet there were no tight/binding spots from lock to lock. DO you all agree that its new box time and there is no other adjustment left? The box has done 180k easy miles. Steering column UJs, drop arm ball joint, all three TREs and steering damper are new. Swivels are correctly adjusted (perhaps a little tight as they were new, so i went slightly high in the preload), tyre pressures and alignment are correct, so the box is the only thing left that could have play in it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 A would say it's new box time, a 4 bolt will fit straight on But you will need a matching drop arm, I'm fairly sure the 6 bolt arm won't work on a 4 bolt box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reb78 Posted November 4, 2012 Author Share Posted November 4, 2012 Thanks Ralph. I think adwest sell the boxes with the appropriate arm. I will check with them next week. Its pretty horrible to drive at the moment because the play is at straight ahead, so will get this done asap and use the D2 in the meantime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Fit a disco 1 drop arm and drag link, loose the naff defender ball joint kit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete3000 Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 try http://www.steering-racks.co.uk/ Kiley Clinton in Brum, used them for ldv and defender, no grumbles on price or service. They do a vast range of vehicles and all re-con work is done "in house". The ldv box has been on van three years and still like new. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reb78 Posted November 5, 2012 Author Share Posted November 5, 2012 Thanks for the link Pete. I've decided to go down the new route and have just ordered one from Adwest today. £289 for a brand new box including drop arm and ball joint. (not a bad price for new OEM i thought). I'd decided not to change to the disco system as i havent had many problems with the normal setup myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverik Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 new steering boxes's are amazing, i have zero slack in the 90's steering, makes it a joy to drive, its cool as even a slight wiggle on the steering is transmitted to the wheels! - you wont be disapointed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reb78 Posted November 5, 2012 Author Share Posted November 5, 2012 new steering boxes's are amazing, i have zero slack in the 90's steering, makes it a joy to drive, its cool as even a slight wiggle on the steering is transmitted to the wheels! - you wont be disapointed Hope so!! It used to be great and i wondered what folks were talking about with defenders being wandery old things. The last year or so though, i;ve replaced a lot of parts and the play has just got worse. This is the last thing to replace, so i hope its back to its old self again. Should arrive on Wednesday - i might even take Friday off to fit it so that i can use it at the weekend. How long do they take to swap over? I'm hoping its not going to be a massive job (thats gone and done it!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 ...... How long do they take to swap over? I'm hoping its not going to be a massive job (thats gone and done it!) It's not too bad a job tbh, biggest problem I had was getting the pipes reconnected. The problem I had was lining the threaded part on the metal pipe lined up with the steering box to get it to thread in properly. Other than that it's pretty easy. I imagine you know the box is pretty heavy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverik Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 (edited) Well I did mine in an evening (if memory serves it was a late one), a bit messy with oil leaking everywhere... depends on how easy all the bolts come loose etc. i remeber it being a total ball ache to loosen and tighten the pipework into it... i think i eneded up going through the driverside front headlamp hole... beat me to it rabbit - but as CW says, alighnment of the PAS pipes can be difficult too... Edited November 5, 2012 by Maverik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveturnbull Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 Get yourself a set of these. They make removing / tightening the pipes a doddle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 Swapped mine in a afternoon, lining up the pipe end fittings into the box was a pig, but got them in by releasing the clamps on rear face of front cross member. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 Seems like the general consencus is the pipes are a bugger to get on then, lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 Yep, might be better/easier if the pipes were a bit more flexible, similar to brake hoses instead of ridged pre-formed items Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatboy Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 I swapped mine a couple of weeks ago and found it easier to take the rigid pipe off the box itself which gave better access to the other two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrRob Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 Get yourself a set of these. They make removing / tightening the pipes a doddle. Nice. Need new box fitting. Would Peter do it one Saturday am do you reckon Dave? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveturnbull Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 Nice. Need new box fitting. Would Peter do it one Saturday am do you reckon Dave? I'm sure he could Rob. He does open until 1pm on a Saturday. But just not this Saturday as he'll be at my wedding. Give him a ring to see when he can fit you in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrRob Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 I'm sure he could Rob. He does open until 1pm on a Saturday. But just not this Saturday as he'll be at my wedding. Give him a ring to see when he can fit you in. Cool. Have a great wedding! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reb78 Posted November 7, 2012 Author Share Posted November 7, 2012 New box arrived today. Looks the business, just got to fit it now! I forgot to check earlier - are the brackets all a straight swap from the 6 bolt to the 4 bolt? (i dont want to get the old one off to find that i need different brackets etc... The other thing that amazed me is the markup other companies put on these boxes - they are on ebay for ~£440 - thats £70 more than i paid from the OE manufacturer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 ..... The other thing that amazed me is the markup other companies put on these boxes - they are on ebay for ~£440 - thats £70 more than i paid from the OE manufacturer! Was the £289 you mentioned earlier + vat and delivery then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reb78 Posted November 7, 2012 Author Share Posted November 7, 2012 It was £289.28 plus £30 delivery. So, £319.28 all in This one is £342 + £8.50 postage, so £350.50 all in (so £70 difference was an exaggeration, but still a good saving) The others on ebay seem of more dubious origin or reconditioned and i wasnt willing to take a chance with this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 Still much cheaper than the £440 I've seen as well, so a £120 mark up on some sites! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 New box arrived today. Looks the business, just got to fit it now! I forgot to check earlier - are the brackets all a straight swap from the 6 bolt to the 4 bolt? (i dont want to get the old one off to find that i need different brackets etc... The other thing that amazed me is the markup other companies put on these boxes - they are on ebay for ~£440 - thats £70 more than i paid from the OE manufacturer! I didn't change anything else other than the steering box & drop arm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrRob Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 Go direct to Adwest. Don't go anywhere else folks! Trust me..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverik Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 Yeah, mine was a direct adwest unit. easy enough, so why not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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