My Series 2a Wanders!

My Series 2a wanders I've checked the steering and when the steering wheel is turned the front wheels seem to turn straight away. Someone has said it might be the rear bushes? I'm new to this landy lark! Any ideas?

Check tracking first. See here : http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f6/tracking-196850.html

haha they all do it mate,i wuddnt worry,i drive a 88 inch series 3 everyday,and just let it do what it wants to a certain extend, there is a nack to it,if u havent been driving it long,then it will take a while to get used to it! if you want to make it better,bushes is a good place to start,and worn springs can give you interesting handeling,and just make sure ur tire pressures are okay,and just check ur wheel bearings and swivels,worn swivels can be very interesting! if they are worn badly it will snatch the wheel out your hand,from past experiance!

There are a lot of little things that matter when it comes to the steering and handling of a Series truck.

Were it me (and it has been over the years) I'd get the front end up on jacks. then wiggle and wobble things - pull and push on the top/bottm of tyres, and left to right. If you feel any movement in the wheels track it back to the source. Slop in both axes can be traced to wheel bearings by having a friend apply the brakes and performing the test again - if the locking of the drum stops it then the bearings are an issue.

If there is still slop, checking the wear in the swivels and adjusting the preload if needed is a good spot to go to. When pulling the wheel left and right put a hand on the track rod ends - they can be a source of flutter in the front end.

Don't forget the arms on both the top and bottom of the steering relay, and the relay itself - worn bushing there can give you no end of wandery steering, as can bad track rods on the steering rod.

Lastly, have a look at the mounts for the steering box and the tightness of the pitman arm on the steering box. I have seen many rovers that drove like pigs because the steering box itself was slopping about - that can be a serious safety issue and isn't always caught by inspection.

Rovers are great vehicles, but there are a lot of moving parts in that front end.

ajr

Thanks guys looks like I need to learn fast!

jgjgj1973 said:

Thanks guys looks like I need to learn fast!

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Not that fast - there is nowhere a more forgiving vehicle to work on than a Series Land-Rover.

Get a copy of the manuals if you don't have them already and follow the procedures. These things are very friendly to work on - nowt there that's all that complex.

ajr

I've got the Haynes manual and one for the 3.5 rover v8 engine are there any others you can recommend?

try and get hold of the restoration manuel for the series 1,2 and 3,i found it easier to read,and u can learn something about the different models aswell!

Ok mate will have a look on eBay for one

you can also download the workshop manuals and the parts catalogues free off the internet, can't remember the site but there is more thean one.

amazon sell the haynes resto manual that tom describes


parts catalogue has proved invaluable to me for getting the right nuts and bolts after i sheared a few off taking bits of mine apart

good luck with the old girl!

Could be several things. True, the steering is a little vague but if its excessive then something is worn. It could be a partially seized steering relay. Check, drain and refill with oil. Also might want to tighten the steering box. Often play and wandering is a combination of several small things worn which together create the accuracy of a go kart steered by ropes! I made a big difference to mine by replacing 3 ball joints, tightening the steering box just a little and replacing wheel bearings and swivel bearings,bushes,pins and adjusting preload. Most are little Sunday morning jobs which you can approach over a period of time.