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Yeah, I know. And they do look like them but it just doesn't make sense!
Neither does fitting poxy polly bushes instead of proper ones. Specially in the wrong place.
Yeah, I know. And they do look like them but it just doesn't make sense!
Neither does fitting poxy polly bushes instead of proper ones. Specially in the wrong place.
Update...
So, got the car back from the workshop. Couldn't have a look underneath yet, but driving has improved. I'll be checking underneath later on. No more death wobble so far (only drove 5 Km highway), but still there's a vibration. I would say the remaining of the vibration is down to steering damper, drag link, swivel rods and brake discs (soon to be replaced).
Not very impressed with the Britpart bush kit so far as it is very hard on rough roads now, but let's give them a fair try once I have all the other parts replaced.
Like I was advised before, it can happen that due to the bushings being new, everything is more stiff now (and I can feel that in the ride comfort) and the other components are struggling to keep everything in place.
More updates once I replace the steering damper over the next few days.
Update...
New steering damper in place and that made quite a difference. The old one had no action at all! 50 Km done. No death wobble (so far) and very little vibration remaining. Steering is a lot more responsive and a lot less play than before the bushes were fitted and I get to feel every road crack on the steering and the body. Poly bushes no more! very cheap but very uncomfortable. Can't wait for them to worn out.
Now, as I said before, I think the remaining vibration is down to brake discs and, as I was able to check underneath yesterday, the steering track rod, which felt quite loose when I tried to twist it and the rubber on the rods completely ripped off.
More updates over the next weeks when I have tackled these out.
Think if i had a steering wobble i would be checking the steering box, track rod, draglink and steering damper long before i considered new radius arm bushes.
I didn't have a steering wobble, I had no bushes at all! The steering wobble came on after replacing the bushes...
And I'm not saying the bushes are causing the wobble, I'm just giving my opinion that they are too hard and make the ride uncomfortable. That would be the only reason why I would change them for OEM.
Even if you replace with new genuine bushes the suspension will tighten up and seem more taught. The suspension rides on air springs new bushes don't make those any harder. New bushes just tighten the torsional movement of the axle. Making the front axle harder to twist in particular.
Have a read of this, put far more succinctly than I
"I had the same problem years ago on my 98SE.
Freeway speed, drive over some uneven section of road and violent shakes, scary, dangerous and embarrassing.
I would describe it as tank slapping, (a motorcycling term for a similar scary thing that happens to riders from time to time)
I changed the suspect steering damper first up, as it was on the way out, but like you, still had the problem, as bad or worse.
After reading the numerous posts here and considering all the different things others have tried, I can only come to one conclusion:
The inherent design of our truck's front end is such that, with a particular combination of wheels, tyres, toe in, shock absorbers, and steering box adjustments, there is a natural resonance , which at a certain critical speed the front end can be set off like a bell ringing. Set off by a disturbance, a bump.
Once it starts, it just self excites and keeps going, until you get away from that critical speed.
You can be fortunate, in that for your car, the critical speed for resonance is so high you never reach it.
Others are not so lucky.
Changing components can change the resonant point so much, that it no longer is an issue, or if the components you change have basically the same characteristics, the problem remains.
As with all resonance circuits, a good damper can kill the vibrations or prevent them from starting up.
Some cars will have the problem worse than others of course, and then even a good damper may not help.
All of the above is just my theory of course!
Did you change the steering damper with a genuine one or an aftermarket one?
Why I ask is because after a lot of checks, similar to what you had done, for some mysterious reason, I decided to pull out the new damper and check it on the bench.
It was an aftermarket one, from the UK, (I am in Australia).
The damping was good and firm in both directions but when I applied small back and forth movements rapidly, there was a small amount of movement possible which was not damped at all. About 10mm to 15mm.
That was enough for me. I bit the bullet and purchased a genuine article, at about twice the price.
That was one of the best decisions I have ever made,.
After installing it, no more violent shakes, ever!
I know that it does not fix the underlying cause, but bear witness to the many who have effectively had to change the whole front end to get a result.
My problem may have been different to yours of course, but, I have done over 100,000k now since fitting the new genuine steering damper, and no more death wobbles, even once.
Good luck and cheers".
It fits. Worked for me as well (so far...).
The only strange fact for me is: how was it possible to be driving with no rubber left on the bushes and everything was well, not even a slight vibration? And, how did the new bushes caused the wobble to appear?
Mine is on steel springs...
Mine is on steel springs...
This is a known Rangie issue and is caused by one of either three things:
1: worn bushes on the panhard rod. Often the right hand one as steering oil drops on it and rots out the inside. Looks fine on the outside but shot in the other side.
2: less common, the steering damper is kaput. Look for oil leaks but really just drop it off at one end and push it in looking for flat spots caused by air etc.
3: the more time consuming one, you've got play in your swivel pins and you need to remove a shim to tighten the ball joint back up.
The latter may show itself as a tiny amount of play when lifting a wheel up and down.
If you have that classic Rangie full in wibble triggered by a bump these are the three things that cause it and they are dirt cheap to fix.
Play in or buckled track rods would be a constant wobble as would other loose bearings or unbalanced wheel etc. The body wibble is triggered by a loss of damping in the steering.
A new Panhard is £20, a new damper isn't much more and a shin kit is less. And they can all be tested and fixed on a driveway.
It's a very well known problem and any Rangie mechanic will know of it and exactly know the fix
Very well known problem on poorly maintained Classics and Discos but not generally on the P38.
So with the new Bilstein damper fitted did a hefty run on the M25 and hit many bumps and ruts that would usually send the car into the shuddering fit but nothing
Still have the wobbling passenger seat at 62mph but guess I'll just have to live with that
So pleased to have sorted this problem
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