Steering Damper

Probably help if we knew which model vehicle (Series, Defender, Rangerover, Discovery, Freelander) you were talking about, but in general it is not "necessary" but depending on the vehicle may be easier. In particular, it may be easier to turn the steering to engage or disengage the ends rather than extending or compressing the damper by hand. JD

Another lie - unless you are exceptionally corpulent! You can easily do it with the wheels on the ground (comment excludes Freelander about which I know nothing).

On or around Wed, 6 Apr 2005 20:28:20 +0000 (UTC), "TonyB" enlightened us thusly:

haven't jacked any of mine. crawl underneath job, takes about 15 minutes.

Is that 10 Minutes to wheel out the Oxy then ;-)

Lee D

On or around Wed, 6 Apr 2005 22:33:39 +0100, "Lee_D" enlightened us thusly:

heh. no, 10 minutes to find the right spanner.

actually, I did notice that it's in a different place on the disco. 110's was on the drag link, disco on the track rod.

Supposedly one of the modifications you can do on a Disco in order to increase its off roading capabilities is to fit the steering dumper where Defenders have it.

A special chassic mount is required along with another one for the steering bar but it is said to work 100% OK.

Take care Pantelis

On or around Thu, 7 Apr 2005 11:40:09 +0300, "Pantelis Giamarellos" enlightened us thusly:

well, it would. can't see what it gains you unless it makes it less prone to damage.

We've certainly fitted a few

Personally, if I did a bit more serious off roading I'd seriously consider the relocation of the steering damper to in front of the axle, this would then be tucked away nicely so it's protected by a steering guard and would allow me to fit dan bars or heavy duty track rod...

IF I did do a bit more serious off roading I'd probably need to replace the standard track rod and steering damper a bit more often than once in three years - so far!!

Chris Take the rubbish out to email me!

Thanks to all, sorry I should have said it's an early Disco but it sounds like it doesn't make a lot of difference. I'll have a go with it on the deck then. TonyB

Excuse my ignorance, but what are the symptoms of a worn steering damper?

I have a sensation with the 300Tdi as if I was driving on a highly cambered road, i.e. it slopes steeply from the centre towards the two sides. If I turn the wheel slightly, the vehicle tends to over steer a bit. Is that is?

Steering damper or swivels? I know the preload is a bit low, but I was wondering.

Derry

Sounds more like a lack of caster angle to me - have you done a suspension lift?

G'day Derry....

Are the front tyres worn evenly ??

Around my way the road camber is more than in drier areas and driving 'against' this over a long period finally wears the 'port' edge of the front tyres if they're not 'turned over'. This , in turn, leads to symptoms similar to what you describe, especially noticeable when driving on a 'flat' hard road when the steering should be 'straight ahead' ( it veers to port!) ..

... frodo.

Most likely cause is tyre pressure, followed by any free play anywhere in the steering or suspension system, possibly swivel preload, but certainly not the steering damper. JD

On or around 7 Apr 2005 22:42:10 GMT, Derry Argue enlightened us thusly:

are all the balljoints OK? you can get that sort of answer from worn drag link ball joints. Also from tracking errors, notably from being toed out, and probably from worn track rod joints as well.

JD wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@dnews.tpgi.com.au:

Swivels, then. This is an ex-gamekeeper's vehicle, i.e. everything worn is indicative of lots of driving over rough surfaces at low speed. The tyres are reasonably good, no signs of irregular wear, and kept properly inflated.

I always go under the vehicle with the mechanic when he does an MOT so he can point out any weak points, so I think all other components should be OK.

I replaced the very badly scored swivel housings soon after I got this vehicle and know I got the swivel loading wrong through thinking I could remember what it should be from the manual! The steering is also rather light which would tend to confirm this. Moral: Don't rely on the brain after 65! :(

Thanks to everyone who responded.

Derry

Ah, I dunno but I've had the springs, shocks and tyres changed, the pre-load checked, the tracking done and all other components checked. I still have a wobble on the steering on bumps and thought that at 205k miles and for £15 quid I ought to change the damper too.

TonyB

All done. From walking out the door to walking back in took 55 mins and that included changing the air filter, setting up and putting away the wandering lamp and all the tools.

I was slightly delayed by an embarassing moment when I must have rolled onto my keys in my pocket. The doors all locked themselves and I was laying underneath thinking "what was that noise?" as it sounded exactly like the door on the conservatory opening and I thought a cup of tea might be on its way out. Next thing the blasted alarm went off about a foot away from me left lughole seeing as I'd left the bonnet up for a bit of extra light.

Ears are still ringing 30 minutes later.

Took a good 30 seconds to get out from under and find the keys to stop the alarm. The neighbours will never forgive me I bet!!

TonyB