Mech Prep continues. Fettling and fine tuning, or just generally faffing about, I suppose. All the little jobs that still need to be done seem to be multiplying the closer to departure we get. For instance having changed the wheels and tyres to the "desert spec" we decided that they needed to be properly balanced, and with a tiny bit of wheel shimmy evident again the whole setup could benefit from having the wheel alignment checked. Sandy at IWL doesn't have the full kit so Elly went to one of our local tyre fitters - big national chain - to have it done. This was a mistake. I trusted them. I therefore "f*cked up".
With the work done I drove 5 miles home with no issues, but the following day, driving around, the wheel wobble and vibration through the steering wheel was horrendous. I had to stop 3 times as the shimmy wouldn't stop on deceleration and was so violent I thought something was going to snap. Getting home, I got underneath to have a look. What I saw didn't impress me one bit.
The track rod had been heated around the pinch bolts enough to burn off the paint and melt the nylon in the self-locking nuts, which hadn't been replaced. Evidence of this kind of heat treatment on a steering component is an MoT failure. Elly went back to the Big National Chain for an investigation.The results of the discussion I had with the manager were positive - he agreed to re-check the wheel alignment - but not until I'd made my disappointment clear regarding the workmanship of his staff, who in turn suggested that if the tracking was out then I "must've hit something".
"Not yet, but I might", I thought, but let it go - for the moment, at least.
My complaint about the heat-treating of the track rod was brushed aside until I pointed out how the clamps are supposed to be released, and I had to insist that new nuts were used to finish the job. The MoT rules state that if the locking nuts etc are missing or damaged then the car won't pass the test. I pointed out to Mr Manager that NyLoc nuts will only "Loc" when the "Ny" is present, not dripping out of the nut like wax. Then it's just a "nut", and worse than useless on a steering component. Since none of these were available, I'd have to go back again to have the job completed safely - for now, at least. I could do it myself, of course, but there's more to be discussed - the question of the track rod damage has yet to be sorted out. As the place is also an MoT test centre then the standard of their work in that area has got to be questioned:
After all that, there's still a horrible vibration which is proving difficult to track down. Everything in the steering linkage, wheel bearings, swivels and track rod ends seemed tight with no play, knocking noises or rumbles, so I was getting a bit desperate for new ideas. I'm off to foreign parts next week for 3 weeks, leaving little time to sort the problem out when I get back. I need to find a solution pretty soon.
In desperation I changed all the tyres around to try to get back to a position we were in a week ago, which was with no - or very little - problem. An hour to swap them all around, a test drive...well, it wasn't a long test. Within a few hundred metres it was clear that the problem was still there and as bad as ever. Back to the driveway and put all the wheels back to where they'd been an hour previously.
Time to get help. With all my previous checks done by just swinging like a monkey on everything underneath that I could get hold of, I decided to try a different attack direction. Sue got in and with the engine running (to power up the steering) she moved the steering wheel to and fro while I lay underneath, tried not to get anything soft caught in anything moving, and watched what happened. Initially it looked like everything was moving the way it should, but as I got more interested it was clear that, with the steering now mobile instead of static there were 2 places that weren't moving the way they should. One was the joint on the steering drop arm. This wasn't moving smoothly and has a definite dead spot in it, together with a "click" that I can feel. This needs to be changed even though the play, if that's what it is, is tiny. It'll only get worse. The other problem was obvious now everything was moving. Remember the Panhard rod bushes that we changed in November? This is the remains of the bush at the chassis end...
The clue was a bit of shredded rubber poking out of the joint. With a bit more energetic movement of the steering wheel the movement got so bad it was clear that the bush had completely disintegrated. I think this is the one that I fitted before buggering up the other one and have Sandy finish the job so I'll have to dig the invoice out and find out where I bought it - and not buy another from the same source.This is probably why the tracking has been out, then adjusted, then out again. It would depend on the position of the axle when the readings are taken. The system is supposed to account for that by the wheels being rotated through 90 degrees for a second reading. This takes care of any variables such as bent rims. They didn't do this.
I took the bash plate off to get a better look at the front track rod and first of all found another buggered nut:
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| Look carefully and you'll see that the nut is empty of the Ny that provides the Loc. |
The excuse for the heat - once I'd reminded them that it was they that had done it - was that the track rods wouldn't adjust because the threads were rusty. When I suggested that they should use the approved Landrover technique for freeing them the response was "we don't have much to do with 4x4s". They're happy to take my money and press on in ignorance, though.
Peering down the steering damper, this was hard to miss now I had a clearer view:
The pinch bolt on the track rod has been turned so it presses hard against the damper, leaving a bright metal score across it. The score has been caused by the bolt moving left and right across the metal skin as the steering wheel is turned. It's so bad that it's forced the steering drop arm (Landroverspeak for the bit that connects the steering column to the wheels) out of alignment. The only way to get full right steering is for the bolt to force the damper out of the way. Not good.
Altogether, a bit of a horror story. The return visit to the tyre place wasn't successful in terms of getting the new nuts. They "hadn't been able to find any" even though a Landrover main dealer for the area is 200 metres away. We, the manager and I, had a quiet conversation and he's agreed to reimburse the cost of replacement track rods and retainers and re-do the wheel alignment...all I have to do is get the parts here before next Saturday.
I replaced the Panhard rod bush with one from a Polybush kit that I had in the bottom of the spares box. If I'd remembered that they were there I'd probably have used them when we did the job last year, but I used rubber ones instead. The idea was to put the Polybushes into the spares box for the trip since they're "easy to replace in the field".
Well, the split - that is, two-part ones - might be. The one piece versions? Not a chance. Despite trying my best with the big vice and various sizes of sockets I couldn't get it to go in, so it was back to Sandy and his expert workshop to sort it. The result, now that it's back on the truck, is the complete absence of any steering wobble! Hurrah! Sandy's solution to fitting it was to soak it in boiling water for 5 minutes. Why didn't I think of that instead of lathering it with more lube than an inflatable sheep?
So, I needn't have ordered the new steering damper, the new bushes, the new drop arm ball joint kit...Oh well,they all need replacing anyway, probably, so I might as well get on with it and prevent problems in the near future. The new damper only took minutes to fit and wasn't expensive, and the ball joint can wait until next week when I have to take the steering linkage apart anyway.
Overall, a busy few days. A few lessons learned and, best of all, the smooth ride restored.
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