Hi I hope some of you knowledgeable chaps can help me out here. The problem is that My 110 has rather slack steering, approx 45 degrees of travel before engageing the wheels. Any way it failed the MOT but the garage is not a landrover specialist, and he said that the "Pitman arm was lose" and that he did not know it was safe just to tighten it up. So my query is
1 is it safe and 2 do I need to replace the steering box to sort out the steering. Thank in advance Phil
I think he means the drop arm on the bottom of the steering box is loose - not exactly un-common. Tightening it up will often do the trick, but it is prety difficult to say more without seeing it.
... worth checking that the 'shoulder' on the output shaft is below the contact surface for the nut on the drop arm. If proud it'll be impossible to get it tight. Assemble first with a washer with a hole that will allow the end of the spline to pass through and no tab washer. Tighten to seat the components. Remove nut and check as above. If OK replace washer with tab washer. If the spline pokes through you'll need to use a washer to prevent the nut bottoming.
I think that there was an issue along these lines, and may even have had it myself but the memory is hazy. Perhaps someone else will remember.
Other silly things to look out for are burrs etc. on the splines (both male and female) and the possibility of a wear step if the drop arm has been rattling around for a while.
If the joint tightens properly the tab washer should be just a back-up measure. There are some drop arms which do not have a good flat for the bent over tab washer to seat on properly. Early tab washers were not really big enough to do the job properly.
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.