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maybe OT: LDV 400 steering

Just bought a pikey old LDV van (1996 400 model) for a bit of house clearance/ rubbish shifting. The steering seems to have a mind of its own and requires constant correction when driving along. It does not seem as though there is any play in the steering mechanism itself in that the wheels turn appropriately with even the slightest movement of the steering, but there is definitely something odd about the way it feels and behaves. To put it in perspective, I can still drive the van, but it just feels a bit hairy, particularly at higher speeds. The sensation is rather like what one might imagine if the rear wheels were somehow capable of steering (either through a loose/wobbly axle or via excessive flexing along the body axis).

Initially I was convinced that the tracking was to blame because the front tyres were worn particularly on the outside edges. I have now had tyres replaced and the tracking done, but no change.

The garage commented that the steering box was leaking a bit; could this explain things? The vehicle has PAS.

Helpful comments or suggestions welcome.

Thanks, Jim

Reply to
Jim Walsh
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It's a van with cart springs at the back, that's how they are. My Capri is the same to some extent. Joys of a live axle and no 4 links or panhard rods to keep it in place.

Reply to
Conor

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Jim Walsh saying something like:

Steering box? Have you been used to Rack and Pinion steering for years? If so, it's really noticeable how s**te the older system was - surprisingly, you get used to it after a while.

Welcome to the world of Shite Old Vans with steering boxes. You can probably adjust a bit of wear out of the box, but the wear tends to take place on the middle section of the worm, so if you tighten that bit up all that happens is it gets stiff at the ends.

Often the best cure is a replacement box.

Reply to
Grimly Curmudgeon

Although on the old LDVs the front axle bushes go soft & it self steers. They're also quite sensetive to tracking & even when perfect it's more like piloting a ship than driving a car.

Reply to
Duncan Wood

Replaced track rod ends and these bushes on the bands' LDV400 a few weeks back for it's MOT, it made the steering far better. The wheel now has some relation to what the front feels like it's doing. Still feels more like a boat than a modern car though :-) I hate it and find it unpleasant to drive. My brother is used to it and throws it around . Scary.

Mike

Reply to
Mike P

Thanks for the replies guys, although I do think that there is a real problem with the thing rather than just being par for the course for a shitty old van. The garage where I took it for the tracking and tyres is an LDV franchise and the mechanic took it out for a test drive as part of the routine checks. He commented on the report that the van was "unstable at speeds over 30mph; requires attention asap". I will phone them to see if they can elaborate on this, but I think they will say that they cannot be sure what it is without a detailed inspection. Looking under the van, it seems in surprisingly good nick compared to the tatty body. It certainly isn't anything horrific such as the chassis having rusted through or the rear axle about to part company with it. I wonder whether something like a single worn shock absorber might account for it, causing lopsided handling? It definitely feels as though it is actively lurching to one side or another every so often rather than just having vague steering. Needless to say, this is something of a contrast with my usual ride, being a Celica GT-Four! Lol!

Cheers, Jim

Reply to
j.r.walsh

Its a van with cart springs on the front too! We used to run a non PAS equiped 400 and the steering on that required a see-saw approach to keep it on the straight and narrow.

Tim..

Reply to
Tim..

Change the Bushes & the shocks then, they tighten up & then initially go soft over about 15K & then just get progressively worse slowly.

Reply to
Duncan Wood

We had similar vans with Rover V-8s in the '70s. I wouldn't say they drove brilliantly, but certainly weren't dangerous. No power steering, though. With lots of steering box systems you need a slightly different approach to driving them over R&P. Don't constantly try and correct small wandering.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

That's probably the main point , you know it's going to go the other way before it goes very far :-)

Reply to
Duncan Wood

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