Omega Owners Forum
Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: Entwood on 04 January 2013, 15:16:48
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As the title .. "excessive play in steering box"
Now desperately looking for something I believe MarkDTM wrote about being able to adjust the steering box, no mention of this in the Haynes "Book of Lies"
If anyone finds it before me please post up a link ... :)
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Bolleeerx, was engine running?
Ps adjusting the damper won't help anyway, it only affects dead ahead, and it's a feel thing anyway.
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http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1268642813
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http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1268642813
Magic Rob ...... will have a play tomorrow ... if I can find the relevant bits once I open the bonnet !!
Chris .. no idea ... was not in a position to tell.
Thanks :)
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I'm willing to bet here and now, there is nothing wrong with it, in respect to passing an mot.
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I'm willing to bet here and now, there is nothing wrong with it, in respect to passing an mot.
Only one thing wrong with that statement ....
It failed.
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Was it your usual garage/tester? If not perhaps worth a retest elsewhere :-\
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I'm willing to bet here and now, there is nothing wrong with it, in respect to passing an mot.
Only one thing wrong with that statement ....
It failed.
...in-correctly. I doubt very much anything you do, including fitting a new one, will affect the play with engine off. The slack is taken up by the hydraulics with engine running.
I'd suggest a re test elsewhere.
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Must be the tester, steering on my 2.2 is about as tight as Jordons legs. 160k old wishbones, 60k old nackered idler arm. Still passes MOT with ease though!
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Well he's tested this one 4 times, and the previous 2.5 about 6 times IMSMC, and he is exceedingly fair, talks to you about every problem .. even telling me that the box is adjustable. I'll give it a tweak and then ask him if there is (in his opinion) any difference engine on/off.
All I've got to do is find the box and this adjuster .... :)
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More importantly, is the play felt at the wheels or the steering wheel........
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More importantly, is the play felt at the wheels or the steering wheel........
He said steering wheel ... he said you can move the steering wheel too much before the wheels move ...
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I would be checking the steering idler.
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I would be checking the steering idler.
Replaced Sep 2011, 12000 miles ago
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I would be checking the steering idler.
Replaced Sep 2011, 12000 miles ago
Any play in it though?
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I replaced one on my omega and it failed the MOT the next day for excessive play. Was it a genuine/lemforder type or a generic one ?
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I replaced one on my omega and it failed the MOT the next day for excessive play. Was it a genuine/lemforder type or a generic one ?
Lemforder .. another thing I'll check in the daylight... 'tis a tad dark to be doing anything now !!
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Wouldnt have thought a lemforder would have worn out in that time,but you never know.Very unusual for a steering box to have enough play to cause an MOT failure though. :-\
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i "thought"that you were allowed 3" slop at the wheel on a steering box system:?
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It should be an easy check for you then nige, try with engine off and with engine on,
And yes sassanach, you are right it is 75mm for a non rack and pinion setup ( or no Land Rover would ever pass, not even a new one).
I would make an enquiring call to the mot guy regarding the allowable play given a non rack and pinion setup
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Must be the tester, steering on my 2.2 is about as tight as Jordons legs. 160k old wishbones, 60k old nackered idler arm. Still passes MOT with ease though!
how dare you insinuate that jordan is anything but a fine english rose,shame on you mark ;D
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Dug out the failure reference ..
2.2.A.1a Steering system has excessive free play detected at steering wheel (steering box fitted)
and my "quickie guide" lists this as ..
http://www.motuk.co.uk/manual_220.htm
which implies to me he thinks there is more than 75mm of play ??
At least it gives me something to check in the morning.. :)
would a "tweak" of the steering box thingie tighten it up at all ?? If it is easy to do I'm thinking of a 1/4 turn before the test then back it off after ... :)
If it is thought a good idea :) .. then how do I access this adjustment ?? or is it obvious ??
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Worst case, put a smaller diameter wheel on for the MoT. 75mm will go alot further with a smaller radius :y
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if you have 3" of slop at the steering wheel i would be suprised,chances are you have a balljoint or something with slop in it.do not adjust the steering box unless the slop is in the steering box itself
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Must be the tester, steering on my 2.2 is about as tight as Jordons legs. 160k old wishbones, 60k old nackered idler arm. Still passes MOT with ease though!
how dare you insinuate that jordan is anything but a fine english rose,shame on you mark ;D
;D ;D ;D ;D
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Do you need a hand with this Mr E? I can be free this afternoon.....
I probably wont be a lot of use......but i could at least twiddle the wheel whilst you look for play :-\
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If it had 75mm of play you would know it!
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If it had 75mm of play you would know it!
Without a doubt you'd know it. It would be impossible to drive at 30, never mind 70.
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Well, spoke to Mike about it this morning ... he said, with the engine running put a bit of masking tape at the top of the steering wheel with the wheels central, then very gently turn the steering wheel until the road wheels JUST move, place another piece of tape at the top of the steering wheel.... harsh movements will give a false indication. Repeat in the other direction. Measure the distance between the outer pieces of tape. Max allowed is 7.5 cm
Did all that and was exceedingly surprised that the measurement was 8.2 cm !!!!!
Used the adjuster on the box and with a shade under 1/2 a turn the distance is down to 4.7 cm. If I go above 1/2 a turn the "self centering" of the steering when driven is poor.
I must admit that the whole steering now seems much firmer/more positive, but whether that is just the adjustment made, or a combination of the adjustment and the new boots all round, or a placebo effect I can't be certain. I also wonder if my comments about "tramlining" are actually a mixture of the slop and the old tyres.....
Car goes back Monday to be re-tested.
I totally accept the above comments about being undriveable, and was VERY surprised at the measurement .. I would have thought the car undriveable as well .. but it seems that the hydraulics have the ability to mask the problem somehow, so that it only fully shows with gentle movement of the steering.
I wonder what Mike will say on Monday !!! :)
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Plus, as it has gotten gradually worse you probably haven't noticed as much ;)
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IIRC there is a section in the Carlton/Senator Haynes manual on how to tighten the steering box, I`ll have a look tomorrow.
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Took it back to Mike today ... quick play with the steering .. fine says he ... and prints me off an MOT .. with no retest fee :y :y :y Happy with that :y :y
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Fair enough. :-\
Need to re think my understanding of how that damper works by the looks.
Anyway. Another years miggin. :y
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Took it back to Mike today ... quick play with the steering .. fine says he ... and prints me off an MOT .. with no retest fee :y :y :y Happy with that :y :y
good result well done :y