How long did it take to adjust the preload? Mine is getting pretty bad. Very loose steering, noticable bump steer from small bumps, etc... Need to do it soon. You just buy a shim pack and use the fish scale method?

 

Walmart fish scale just removed shims and swapped them around till it was at about 15 lbs.

I would give an hour per side with jack wheel and cleanup, but second side went faster once I figured out to cut a slit in the brake line bracket to get the line out of the way, cut through it with a die grinder/ wizz wheel carefully

You need to clean everything good and install the bracket and torque the bolts each time you test, expect to disassemble each side several times

You need to remove the rear tie rod from drivers side to get it off the pass side, not enough clearance under the pinion

I have messed with these on older stuff but the how to in the tech section is real good

 

I really need to do a full rebuild but I'll probably just pull a shim or two for now to tighten the steering back up.

 

I can't believe how much it fixed the steering considering there was no visible play

 

Well I might have to get on that soon then. Between the loose steering and not enough BBs in the 35s it can be a handful. Hopefully have the tire balance issue sorted out this week.

 

There is a 2 part video on YouTube showing swivel replacement on a defender, they pull the knuckle and one of the rollers is missing from the swivel bearing ouch, hope you are not that far with the big tires and serious wheeling you do

 

Its not too bad but bigger tires amplify the effects. We will see soon. Just cut down some stock radius arm bushings to allow room for washers to space the front axle forward before I cycle it all and see where I rub. The swivel preload just moved to the top of the list though after I finish all that.

 

Wish my dodge ram steering was fixed this easy also wish it drove like this

 

muhh thats the reason i have bumpsteer then. all the tie rod ends look ok. i will try and wait until summer and do a full overhaul on the outers with D90 brakes. i'd rather do it all at once.

 

Yeah I ordered the other 2 tre the boots are broke and rust comes out but they are tight so for that cheap worth replacing before they go