Neither could I, it was still driving OK! These things are pretty much pre war technology so they can be a bit wayward at the best of times. Only thing to do is check and re check....
My 1978 S3 109 GS had the same problem. I knew there was an issue as sometimes, not very often, I’d hit a bump in the road and would hear a loud bang, metalic sound, which transferred through to the steering wheel. The steering wheel position would skip and stay at a new position. Just by pulling the vehicle to the side of the road would sometimes reset everything back to normal, thus making it quite difficult to identify the problem. The consequence of that tie rod end pulling free of the tube is disastrous, and has to be the singular most dangerous design flaw on these model Land Rovers. Another area you need to check, for it can manifest into significant slop in the steering, is the steering relay drop down arm. On mine, even when fully tightened, the clamping faces came fully together and wouldn’t clamp firmly onto the steering relay shaft. I was in the middle of nowhere when I finally discovered that and had to run a grinding disc carefully between the clamping/mating faces to remedy the problem.
Thanks, well it's been all through now and has sharp steering - good as a Series 3 will ever be. The other thing that can cause the straight ahead position to shift is the steering relay moving in the chassis - I chased that for ages before realising what was happening. A heavy duty support bracket for the bottom of the relay has made all the difference.
Coming to the party a bit late but had exactly the same on my track rod. Both clamps tightened up ok and done the tracking a couple of times in the last two years but just done front axle overhaul and diff change So with the track rod actually off I found the same faults. A vibrated threadless TRE. Because one end nipped up it disguised the other end failing to. Definitely something to be aware of. Didn’t show on a recent steering shake test with missus turning the wheel.
I've never seen or heard of ball joints wearing like that, I will check my drop arm now! I changed my track rod and ends last summer, they seemed ok to me at first but when i looked at them with someone else on the steering I saw the ball joint wobbled within the head. Changing them improved the steering so much! I measured my track rod like you did but also used 2 pipes one smaller one inside the other to measure the distance between the wheel rims, then compare the measurements front to back. Im surprised it wasnt picked up on your mot actually.
Alex Francis Me neither, shocked me a little. I know this Landy was in a front end collision with a BMW X5 a few years back, it wrote off the beemer and just put the tracking out on the Landy. However, whilst chassis and bulkhead are straight, I think the brunt of the impact was taken by that ball joint - the clamp disguising it for some time. Someone else suggested measuring between each side of the rims, should there be much toe in, if at all?
steamwally Ah that explains it, not so worrying then. I suppose ideally there should be no tow in\out but I set mine up with just slightly toed in. Still easily within the recommended length of the track rod in the manual. Toe in will help the steering pull to centre and toe out will make the steering wander more I believe.
nice to see the quality track rod ends !! thats my choice any way . but nice explanation will be changing mine soon as they are very rusty ( seaside parked) but one step at a time . cheers from tamworth
+Colin Tonkasdad That knackered track rod end was pretty frightening really - glad I found it when I did. Just finished adjusting a wheel bearing this evening, went for a blast and seems fine. Also fitted some remote breathers on the transfer box and overdrive - might stop it regurgitating the oil at speed! Phill.
I am at present changing my track end rod on my defender 110. Should I order Lemforder parts as you have. Do you get them cos they are best or will cheaper do. Thanks for the vids, Very informative.
Quite a few years ago I changed these track rod ends but they are still in perfectly good condition, they must have covered 50k miles at least now. As I remember they were less than a tenner each, it's just not worth buying anything cheaper in the long run. Buy the very best you can find.
Very clear and concise. Saved me a lot of time. Thanks
I can't believe how bad that track rod end had gotten! Nice video mate
Neither could I, it was still driving OK! These things are pretty much pre war technology so they can be a bit wayward at the best of times. Only thing to do is check and re check....
Fantastic video's, planning a resto series 3 later this year and i am finding this invaluable, thanks for your efforts.
This video is excellent, it’s given me the confidence to have a go myself :) thanks!
Hey man,
Thanks so much for the vid. This is one of the next jobs on for my SIII. Really helpful stuff 👍🏼
You fixed that at the right time !!! That is good you have the measurements for the length of the rods
not2fast4u2c It would't have gone on much longer...! I shall measure between the rims today and double check it.
Excellent work, thanks for posting.
My 1978 S3 109 GS had the same problem.
I knew there was an issue as sometimes, not very often, I’d hit a bump in the road and would hear a loud bang, metalic sound, which transferred through to the steering wheel. The steering wheel position would skip and stay at a new position.
Just by pulling the vehicle to the side of the road would sometimes reset everything back to normal, thus making it quite difficult to identify the problem.
The consequence of that tie rod end pulling free of the tube is disastrous, and has to be the singular most dangerous design flaw on these model Land Rovers.
Another area you need to check, for it can manifest into significant slop in the steering, is the steering relay drop down arm.
On mine, even when fully tightened, the clamping faces came fully together and wouldn’t clamp firmly onto the steering relay shaft.
I was in the middle of nowhere when I finally discovered that and had to run a grinding disc carefully between the clamping/mating faces to remedy the problem.
Thanks, well it's been all through now and has sharp steering - good as a Series 3 will ever be. The other thing that can cause the straight ahead position to shift is the steering relay moving in the chassis - I chased that for ages before realising what was happening. A heavy duty support bracket for the bottom of the relay has made all the difference.
Coming to the party a bit late but had exactly the same on my track rod. Both clamps tightened up ok and done the tracking a couple of times in the last two years but just done front axle overhaul and diff change So with the track rod actually off I found the same faults. A vibrated threadless TRE. Because one end nipped up it disguised the other end failing to. Definitely something to be aware of. Didn’t show on a recent steering shake test with missus turning the wheel.
I've never seen or heard of ball joints wearing like that, I will check my drop arm now!
I changed my track rod and ends last summer, they seemed ok to me at first but when i looked at them with someone else on the steering I saw the ball joint wobbled within the head. Changing them improved the steering so much! I measured my track rod like you did but also used 2 pipes one smaller one inside the other to measure the distance between the wheel rims, then compare the measurements front to back.
Im surprised it wasnt picked up on your mot actually.
Alex Francis Me neither, shocked me a little. I know this Landy was in a front end collision with a BMW X5 a few years back, it wrote off the beemer and just put the tracking out on the Landy. However, whilst chassis and bulkhead are straight, I think the brunt of the impact was taken by that ball joint - the clamp disguising it for some time. Someone else suggested measuring between each side of the rims, should there be much toe in, if at all?
steamwally Ah that explains it, not so worrying then. I suppose ideally there should be no tow in\out but I set mine up with just slightly toed in. Still easily within the recommended length of the track rod in the manual. Toe in will help the steering pull to centre and toe out will make the steering wander more I believe.
Thanks for the explanation, I'm very new to all this. I shall certainly make my checks more thorough - I should have spotted that sooner.
Phill.
@@steamwally My manual for 1983 series 3 say's 3/64 to 3/32 toe in or 1.2-2.4mm .
Thanks for sharing. I have to do the same on my S2A, so very helpful.
G
Great video thanks 👌🏻
nice to see the quality track rod ends !! thats my choice any way . but nice explanation will be changing mine soon as they are very rusty ( seaside parked) but one step at a time . cheers from tamworth
+Colin Tonkasdad
That knackered track rod end was pretty frightening really - glad I found it when I did. Just finished adjusting a wheel bearing this evening, went for a blast and seems fine. Also fitted some remote breathers on the transfer box and overdrive - might stop it regurgitating the oil at speed!
Phill.
I am at present changing my track end rod on my defender 110. Should I order Lemforder parts as you have. Do you get them cos they are best or will cheaper do.
Thanks for the vids, Very informative.
Quite a few years ago I changed these track rod ends but they are still in perfectly good condition, they must have covered 50k miles at least now.
As I remember they were less than a tenner each, it's just not worth buying anything cheaper in the long run. Buy the very best you can find.
Ive gotta change all mines, just out of curiosity, is it the same track rod ends for the bar from the steering box to the relay?
Love your work mate. How did you get you swivel joint areas so clean? Degreaser and wire brush?
Having good seals helps :)
What is the benefit of fitting steering dampers on Landy, would someone explain please
steamwally- great videos, really enjoying watching my way through them, you make it look easy!
whats the black paint are you using on the chassis?
Many thanks, the paint is just hammerite black, nothing special but it sticks like the proverbial!
Do the new track rod ends, have grease nipples or are they sealed?
Cheers
Harry Conn Sealed, but you can remove the rubber boot and re-pack if need be.
I should have added, the cheaper ones do have grease nipples but I bought these better quality ones.
Wonderful work
But why you measure Mr philip
Shame about the lighting, couldn’t see enough detail