Sooooo, have been playing with my 90 trying to get her through the MOT she woefully failed the other day.
Thanks to helpful "how to" threads on 'ere I have been able to do brakes, hub assemblies, bearing seals, free the seized handbrake and much more.

I am now a little stuck as one of the failures was the track rod end off the steering arm and the steering box drop arm. I have the new drop arm ready to go and the old one seems to be free at the steering box end (usually a pig)! I am struggling with the connection from the drop arm onto the steering rod which also connects onto a steering damper. I am probably going to have to get a new rod as the track rod end is firmly glued in and heat and a heap of gentle persuasion has not budged it.....

Would any of you fine folks know what the part is called at the end which connects the steering rod to the steering damper and drop arm (I have searched paddock and a few others but cannot see the connector?).....I should have taken pics earlier, can post a pic first thing tomorrow if no joy with my rather crap description....

Probably need to say what year it is to get a part number but i think you are describing the crossrod eye end

Sorry, it's a '97.....
From busters "how to" thread this is what I need.....What is this called???

Still called a crossrod eye end by land rover , ANR2858. It's attached to the drag link... So maybe also called a drag link end?

Thanks Steve, much appreciated......I'll get on it first thing!

@Musicman
Just an early morning thought... you have tried to undo the tube the other way?
There are LH/RH threads

You do understand that is a taper fit? And can be a very tight fit in the drop arm end.
Consider investing in a ball joint breaker. ( a good quality one)
Sometimes they can take a bit to get apart and do make a bit of a bang when they come apart.( scary bangs sometimes)

If you change the whole end piece you may still find it hard to get the rod off and will possibly not get it exactly back where it was so you will need the steering set up after.

Steering drop arm loose you lucky sod

Thanks for comments Gentlemen! The steering drop arm literally dropped off (phew!) and so I have taken the steering damper and the rod out too so it is all in one piece. I have ordered a new rod as I am going to have to hurt the old one to get the crossrod eye off it, I had a look and the eye is in good nick so no need to order a new one.
I'll get it on the bench and either use some heat or cut the rod, need to be careful of the thread on the eye though?
The advice about the taper is helpful, think once I get it on the bench I'll use the breaker on it.

When she is all back together I'll put her in for alignment check to make sure all is good.

Have a good night all!

When i did mine i removed the clamps then put it on an anvil and gave some WD40 and a solid hammering all the way around on the drag link where the clamps used to sit. That is normally enough to break the rust in the threads. I also seem to recall that it was a left hand thread. You will probably need to wind it back and forth to get it running freely. On the off chance that hammering alone doesn't work then you can get a blowtorch on it. On reassembly i poured a bit of engine oil into the drag link to stop the threads rusting up. Messy but so far seems effective - copper grease may be a just as effective and less drippy.
Aligment of the drag link involves making sure your steering box drop arm is in the correct straight ahead position when the road wheels are straight. This does not affect tracking so may not be done by a garage unless you take it to a landy specialist. Doing this alignment is necessary as the box is designed to have least play at the straight ahead position, and its tricky because it doesnt have equal turns in either direction from straight ahead to lock. I guess that there are forum threads on this but there is probably an aligment mark between the box and the back of the steering arm to show the straight ahead position. After getting it set up properly you may find your steering wheel is on the p1ss. It needs to be popped off and straightened.. All good fun!

Thanks Steve, your advice is appreciated.....
I am still waiting on parts so have not had a chance to play today. I was going to count the number of threads showing on either end of the drag link (one end the eye and the other the track rod end) as a guide to put the new ones back on. I did have a look for an alignment mark but could not see one, it would seem that the drop arm can only go on one way in any case due to the position of the splines?
I am probably going to get the tracking done anyway as this was marked as one of the failures on the MOT.....? What you fink?

As Hicap Phill said, I fink the LH/RH threads, on either end of the steering bars, catch a lot of people out.

Been mulling over my messy instructions at work today and decided to take anothet crack at explaining it...

Yep, the drop arm has a master spline so can only go on in one position. If you dont have an aligment slot on the back on the arm then i *think* the procedure to centre a RHD box is to turn it all the way to left hand lock then back 2 whole turns. Once the box is centred (the drop arm is typically not exactly straight ahead in this position) you can then fix your steering wheel position if it needs doing. This is now a good point to adjust any play out of the steering box. You can find threads on this but the main thing is that after any adjustment the box should not have any tight spots. Now refit the drag link. I have i feeling that the starting point for adjustment is something like 924mm from cross rod eye to the centre of the ball joint taper at the other end - you should probably look the exact measurement up as it varies depending on whether you have the ball joint on the droplink and the eye on the drag link (earlier type) or vice versa. Counting threads will probably get you close enough. Once its all bolted up go for a drive and see if the steering wheel is sitting crooked on a straight. If it is, loosen the clamps at either end of the drag link and twist it a couple of turns and then go for another drive. Keep adjusting one way or another until the steering wheel is straight. Check everything is tightened up and you're all done!

Tracking is done on the rod behind the axle. I've done my own tracking with string but a garage ought to be able to do a more accurate job. Never heard of failing an MOT on tracking though - must be a long way out.

Edited for drag link length - just got 924mm from defender 300tdi workshop manual

SteveSw said:

Been mulling over my messy instructions at work today and decided to take anothet crack at explaining it...

Yep, the drop arm has a master spline so can only go on in one position. If you dont have an aligment slot on the back on the arm then i *think* the procedure to centre a RHD box is to turn it all the way to left hand lock then back 2 whole turns. Once the box is centred (the drop arm is typically not exactly straight ahead in this position) you can then fix your steering wheel position if it needs doing. This is now a good point to adjust any play out of the steering box. You can find threads on this but the main thing is that after any adjustment the box should not have any tight spots. Now refit the drag link. I have i feeling that the starting point for adjustment is something like 719mm from cross rod eye to the centre of the ball joint taper at the other end - you should probably look the exact measurement up as it varies depending on whether you have the ball joint on the droplink and the eye on the drag link (earlier type) or vice versa. Counting threads will probably get you close enough. Once its all bolted up go for a drive and see if the steering wheel is sitting crooked on a straight. If it is, loosen the clamps at either end of the drag link and twist it a couple of turns and then go for another drive. Keep adjusting one way or another until the steering wheel is straight. Check everything is tightened up and you're all done!

Tracking is done on the rod behind the axle. I've done my own tracking with string but a garage ought to be able to do a more accurate job. Never heard of failing an MOT on tracking though - must be a long way out.

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theres 3 and 3/4 turns lock to lock ,so centers half that

jamesmartin said:

theres 3 and 3/4 turns lock to lock ,so centers half that

Click to expand...

I've read that landies dont have equal turns lock to lock due to the position of the steering arm, so centre (or rather the tightest position of the steering box) is actually 2 turns from one lock (and 1.75 turns from the other). In practical terms there is only 1/8 of a turn between these 2 measurements so it probably doesnt make much difference. Disclaimer: i will freely admit that James Martin has probably done 1000 steering boxes for every one that I've done.

SteveSw said:

I've read that landies dont have equal turns lock to lock due to the position of the steering arm, so centre (or rather the tightest position of the steering box) is actually 2 turns from one lock (and 1.75 turns from the other). In practical terms there is only 1/8 of a turn between these 2 measurements so it probably doesnt make much difference. Disclaimer: i will freely admit that James Martin has probably done 1000 steering boxes for every one that I've done.

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they are wrong , there is a center tight spot ,that spot is adjustable whilst rebuilding the box if you dont get it right it wont be in the true center of lock to lock,which is what theyve most likely come across