Series 3 Quicker Steering.

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C

Citizen Kane

Well-Known Member
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323
Location
Hampshire
Been thinking about ways to reduce the number of turns lock to lock on my Series 3. I know I could probably use the adaptor made by Steve Parker that allows you to tie the drag link into the tie bar but are there any other alternatives.

I had thought I might be able to use a left hand drive steering arm and move the tie bar forward but that would totally mess up the Akerman angles.

Simplest option would be a shorter output arm from the relay but I don't know if they even exist.

Anyone with any other possible solutions?
 
Stick with what you have. Ensure the relay is full of oil and swivels etc are all correctly set up. Keep on top of tyre pressures and remember the Rover development engineers knew what they were doing. Apart from heavier steering messing around with it would bugger up any off road refinement.
 
I would be wary of chageing the steering rate. Smaller wheel makes more sense as the rim speed comes down for the same turn. The last thing you want a series to do is turn sharply.
 
Never thought about the smaller steering wheel. I guess that would take me some way towards my goal but I must confess I do like my current steering wheel and would be reluctant to part with it.

Think I'm going to go with the idea of tying the drag link to the tie bar, that should give me around 3 turns lock to lock.
 
I understand your reluctance to do away with the original steering wheel, I was the same. However, I found the original didn't leave much space for me and I kept banging my elbows on the doors. Fitted a moutney wheel and it has helped a lot. Only drawback is slightly heavier steering.

Col
 
rob1miles said:
Could you please explian the drag link / tie bar for me? How does that change the steering ratio? thanks
Click to expand...

If you think of the series steering system, the arm of the relay connects to an arm coming off one of the steering swivels, this same arm then connects via the tie bar to the other swivel. Because the tie bar connects onto the arm nearer to the swivel centre it doesn't have to move so far to get the same steering movement - so if you connect the drag link at this point or to the tie bar you will require less steering wheel movement (but with reduced leverage hence heavier steering).
 
Colthebrummie said:
I understand youreluctance to do away with the original steering wheel, I was the same. However, I found the original didn't leave much space for me and I kept banging my elbows on the doors. Fitted a moutney wheel and it has helped a lot. Only drawback is slightly heavier steering.

Col
Click to expand...

I've shared your pain on this for many years and the padding is still there to protect my elbow. The addition of PAS means I drive a lot less "elbows out" and the problem has more or less gone away but I will leave the padding just in case.

rob1miles said:
Could you please explian the drag link / tie bar for me? How does that change the steering ratio? thanks
Click to expand...

Rattlegun is spot on. I've attached a picture showing how it can be done. The way its done does introduce a small bending moment on the tie bar so it would be sensible to increase the stiffness slightly. I would move the drag link joint as close as possible to the tie bar joint and probably use a locknut rather than the pinched tube.

SPCK339-S3-PAS-6.jpg
 
If your steering is lite you could try a spinner knob ( steering assister ) on the steering wheel, when I first got my now 2a it was fitted with one and the steering was very easy without any play in it what so ever, ok the steering wheel will still have the same amount of turns but will be easier to turn, i'm half hopeing once mine's on the road it will be nice and easy and may fit a new spinner knob but will see :D
 
I can palm it around at low speed and despite the power steering I don't think I would be happy with a spinner off road. I'm going to pursue the reduced lock to lock turns and see what its like to drive.
 
Made a start on the adaptor to link the tie rod into the drag link.

Adaptor is will be made from 35mm hi tensile steel, first job it to add two flats to the bar.

IMG_2349.JPG


After a bit of turning I ended up with this.

IMG_2352.JPG


Next job is to bore the adaptor to take a standard Land Rover Ball Joint. The taper on the ball joint is clocked in on the lathe top slide and several test parts were made to make sure the angle was correct.

IMG_2353.JPG


The taper feature is then bored into the adaptor.

IMG_2356.JPG



Some micrometre blue is used to make sure the tapers match.

IMG_2357.JPG

IMG_2358.JPG

Last thing today was to turn one end down to 25mm, this will be internally threaded to take the ball joint.

IMG_2361.JPG


Land Rover use a very strange thread for the tie rod and drag link, its 11/16 16 tpi UNS which appears to be an American thread. I've had to order in a tap for this, hopefully it should arrive early next week. The other end of the adaptor will have a male 11/16 and will screw into a shortened tie bar.
 
I can see the argument for less turns lock to lock, but unless like some modern cars, you can get a variable mechanism which gives different output depending on how far from centre you are, i think you'd end up with a rather flighty experience trying to hold a straight line, especially at speed
 
Don't know of any cars that use a variable rate steering, cant even think how you might do that. Reducing the number of turns lock to lock will actually reduce the non linearity in the system.
 
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