Series III steering

Well you're not going to be concerned about 70+ mph on a motorway...

Mine used to wander a bit. Actually, it used to go to the shops without me knowing...

Give it a good straight run and see if it pulls - maybe nothing to do with steering, may be suspension or even a badly welded front dumbiron relacements making the front end eneven (lower on one side).

The biggest improvement I ever made to my S2 was putting radial tyres on it. It suddenly stopped changing lanes without me noticing.

You are unlikely to get stability to rival the P38 though... :-)

Actual play should be less than an inch on the wheel rim. If there is no excess play and it still wanders, look at -

1. U-bolts tight.
2. No excess play in wheel bearings
3. Tyre pressures correct
4. Tyres all the same, and a suitable type for your driving. Radials will reduce wander but may increase steering load when parking.
5. Steering box loose
6. Relay unit arms loose on splines
7. Relay unit loose loose in ring on bottom of chassis.
8. Damaged or out of balance wheels
9. Steering arms loose on swivel housing

It is unlikely you will get it as good tracking as a P38, but it should not be too bad when everything is in shape. JD

I've got 235 85 R16s on it at the mo, all decent Track Edge too. The steering is heavy, though not unmanageable. There's no play I can see anywhere, yet still when driving there is about a quarter turn of the steering wheel required evey so often to keep in a straight line. Without driving another Series III, I don't know if this is normal. Perhaps I'm comparing it to the Rangie when I shouldn't!!

Alan C

Tim Hobbs wrote

Mind you, the Rangie ain't exactly a MacLaren F1 in that respect. ;-)

Rich

Rangie 4.6 Tiggrr V8 trialler

Well I just thought vague steering was part and parcel of the whole series experience and was inherent in the design dating back to the 1940's with no nod to innovation.

I do not think anything is dangeros if the driver has the capacity to handle it. In two previos cars, braking produced a pronounced pull to the left, it was something I compensated for over time, but woe betide me if I used another car inbetween.

If anything having to keep your mind on keeping a straight line keeps you alert and awake, I would guess that a lot of modern motors, with no feedback from the road, traction control, abs etc, could lead one into a false sence of security.

At least when I am flat out it feels like it, unlike my limo, which although it only had a top speed of 110 felt like it was doing 30.

I've checked all the above, and it's all as it should be. As I corrected some faults the steering did improve, lose front bearing and swivel, knackered rear spring bushes etc. It's still not what I would consider as it should be though. While driving many steering inputs are required to keep the car pointing where I want it to be. Only bushes I've not changed are the front spring and chassis ones. I've got them (actually been fitting a polybush kit), so I'll put them on shortly. How do other peoples cars drive? I know the P38 Rangie isn't the best handling car around, but even then, it's just soooo much better than my 109!!

Is the toe-in right?

There's various things that can throw it off, such as spring bushes, and can even lead to it being wrongly adjusted after a fault is repaired.

Have you checked the swivel pins and swivel bushes too?. My mates landy used to wander a lot and taking a few shims off the swivel pins improved it a lot. On bumpy roads his landy would be all over the place.

Puting new pins and bushes in mine made it a lot tighter too.

I've found that with radials on a Series toe-in is critical. Set the wheels dead parallel or a very small (1mm) toe in. Any toe out will make it wander badly. Also tyre pressure makes a big difference. Trial and error is probably the best way to find the ideal pressure - I tend to run a higher pressure than the traditional reccomendations - the softer sidealls on radials mean you need more pressure to stop the tyre moving all over the place - about 32F/30R in an 88" on 205R16's and more in my friends 109 on 235/85R16's. Have a play with the pressures - you can't really hurt anything.

Mine wandered like mad . changed the leaf bushes and it cured it. Leaves are now being changed for parabolics and es3000s. Will i need to change my shims for the new srpings.?

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I didnt change mine when i did the springs and shocks. I dont see how new springs and shocks would affect them.

It might be worth your while checking them while youre working on it though.