Soundsfine · Oct 11, 2023

So I’ve been gradually replacing all the worn parts on my TD5.
The steering wheel has always had a lot of free play (about 1/4 turn) and after a lot of faff I think I’ve found out why.
The new steering box drop arm moves with the wheel with very little free play. However, where it attaches to the drag link/damper bracket it seems to be moving within the hole in the bracket. As if the bolt is too narrow/hole is too large in diameter.
This seems to be where the wheel free play is coming from. Does anyone have any experience of this? Or know how to fix it?

Resurgam · Oct 11, 2023

The drop arm ball joint has a taper on the pin that connects it to the drag link, so maybe it's not done up tightly enough. Take it off and see what the hole diameter is compared with the pin going through. If the hole has worn into a slot then the only realistic option is a new part. Have a search for part number ANR2858

tottot · Oct 11, 2023

I had this issue at MOT this year, just had to tighten nut. But as above hole may have worn, or as joint look new it may have not been tightened enough in the first place.

Soundsfine · Oct 11, 2023

Resurgam said:
The drop arm ball joint has a taper on the pin that connects it to the drag link, so maybe it's not done up tightly enough. Take it off and see what the hole diameter is compared with the pin going through. If the hole has worn into a slot then the only realistic option is a new part. Have a search for part number ANR2858

Thank you very much. I’ll try tightening the nut tomorrow and see if it helps. I assume if that doesn’t stop the play then it’ll be obvious that the hole is worn?

Soundsfine · Oct 11, 2023

tottot said:
I had this issue at MOT this year, just had to tighten nut. But as above hole may have worn, or as joint look new it may have not been tightened enough in the first place.

Fingers crossed it’s the same for me!

Resurgam · Oct 11, 2023

Soundsfine said:
Thank you very much. I’ll try tightening the nut tomorrow and see if it helps. I assume if that doesn’t stop the play then it’ll be obvious that the hole is worn?

If it comes out easily enough I'd check the hole to see that it's round before you tighten it. It should be fairly obvious if there's any sort of irregular shape. I suspect there is wear, or somehow the joint is the wrong one. In the photo the castellated nut doesn't look like it could be tightened much more before the split pin misses the nut.

Soundsfine · Oct 12, 2023

Resurgam said:
If it comes out easily enough I'd check the hole to see that it's round before you tighten it. It should be fairly obvious if there's any sort of irregular shape. I suspect there is wear, or somehow the joint is the wrong one. In the photo the castellated nut doesn't look like it could be tightened much more before the split pin misses the nut.

Here’s a video of that helps shed any further light on what it might be:

v8250 · Oct 12, 2023

You've got two faults there, 1. the drop arm ball joint is not pressed home correctly in the drag link drop arm, and 2. the steering damper rusted bolt is either too lose/too small a diameter. Or, the drag link drop arm holes are worn and a new unit is needed.

ANR2858 - Drag link to drop arm rod - RHD - From MA - Find Land Rover parts at LR Workshop

Drag link to drop arm rod - RHD - From MA (ANR2858) is currently priced from £36.00 to £261.52 across Pattern brands like Britpart and appears in 2 diagrams. Find out more information on LR Workshop. Also known as: Eye, Cross rod-eye end Applicable chassis VINs from MA939976 (1995 MY)

www.lrworkshop.com

Suggest you disassemble, clean and measure holes and the bolt first to ensure snug fitting. If all okay re-assemble. Re' the ball joint, re-fit and clamp the ball joint to the drag link drop arm with mole grips/g-clamp to ensure thread base is fully home and then tighten the castellation nut and insert spilt pin.

ps your inner chassis could do with a good jet wash to get rid of that accumulated crud and then treat with Dinitrol.

v8250 · Oct 12, 2023

Resurgam said:
If it comes out easily enough I'd check the hole to see that it's round before you tighten it. It should be fairly obvious if there's any sort of irregular shape. I suspect there is wear, or somehow the joint is the wrong one. In the photo the castellated nut doesn't look like it could be tightened much more before the split pin misses the nut.

The castellated nut looks like a half-nut. Wonder if it's been incorrectly supplied?

Soundsfine

New Member

Attachments

Resurgam

Well-Known Member

tottot

Well-Known Member

Soundsfine

New Member

Soundsfine

New Member

Resurgam

Well-Known Member

Soundsfine

New Member

v8250

Well-Known Member

ANR2858 - Drag link to drop arm rod - RHD - From MA - Find Land Rover parts at LR Workshop

v8250

Well-Known Member

Similar threads