When my truck is on jack stands, engine on, and I turn the front wheels side to side there is a definitive shimmy in the steering wheel. You can also see it in the wheels themselves if you look at them - a slight shaking when the steering wheel is turning

Is this indicative of the PS pump beginning to fail, or having failed already? There are no leaks in it at all. It was replaced 10k miles ago but the PO put in PS fluid, instead of ATF fluid. I changed that out not long ago, but the shimmy/shake is there. You can feel it when driving, but I thought it might be suspension components so I jacked it up. It's definitely there when unloaded on jack stands.

 

Hard to say w/o feeling the action and a good 'look' over. Could be the P/S pump, but could also be rough steering action caused by rusted or worn swivel bearings which is not uncommon (lift up on tires), or steering box issues (I doubt it is the case ..but can't tell w/o looking into it), or worn steering parts. Does it drive down the road fine? I'd look into the swivel pins unless you know they're good. The right way to test a steering pump AFAIK is to hook a pressure gauge up to it and see what it's at, then test flow.

Just running P/S fluid in and of itself shouldn't cause any failures. A lot of vehicles call for dedicated P/S fluid anyway because it has anti-foaming properties and I think I read it can typically handle higher temps better. I've run P/S fluid in several vehicles for many years (Walmart brand) ...I don't remember what I'm running in my Disco off the top of my head. P/S fluid is a hydraulic fluid and that's the important thing. A lot of equipment runs 10W 30 for hydraulic fluid (like a lot of Skid Steer Loaders) where you would think they would want hydraulic fluid ..... a lot of industrial equipment too. Usually when Mfgrs call for motor oil in the hydraulic system they also specify using an anti-foaming additive too. But running tranny fluid means fewer fluids to stock and keep track of.

But yeah, with a lot of the cheap rebuilds these days, who knows, could be the P/S pump. Do you have a steering linkage removal tool where you can unhook the tie rod ends w/o damaging them to see if the steering and swivel pins move freely? There are some useful Youtube videos on how to check the L/R swivel pins you might watch. Harbor freight has a pretty inexpensive steering arm puller set that is nice to have on-hand. Might be able to rent a puller free from Oreily's or some other parts' store. Once you have the tie rods or pitman arm unhooked, consider unhooking the steering shaft and rotate the steering box by hand to feel the action. The box on one of my classic cars felt really rough when turned by hand, I found it by accident. Turns out the input bearing was all rusted from washing the engine compartment, but I couldn't feel it through the steering wheel (yet). Once apart, it was clear to see the bearing was toast.
Steering Linkage Pullers: 5 Piece Front End Service Tool Set

That's about all I can tell you, hopefully others will chime in with some ideas / thoughts...

 

May be steering box issues because OP refuses to adjust per manual after screwing up in his first attempt.

https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...crew-up-79112/
......

 

I have adjusted the steering per the manual.

I am adjusting the swivel pre-load, but I have ABS and do not have that $50 tool (nor do I have the means to make one).

I disconnected everything and my swivel could move via fish scale at 1 - 5 lbs.

Can I just adjust it to 10-15lbs by removing shims and have it good to go? Is that special tool for the ABS swivel preload 100% necessary? I have seen that it is and that it isn't, but most of those are old threads.

 

What's the special tool? Are you talking about an inch/lbs torque wrench?

If you're futzing with your original steering gear, consider getting a rebuilt steering gear. I saw them for like $325 on the internet somewhere. Might as well get a replacement and just have 'good' steering ...unless your rig is like less than 60k miles. That's not cheap, but on the other hand, really good steering would be super nice too. But I hear you on tight funds...

 

This thing:

Vehicles with ABS are set with a torque wrench using tool LRT-57-024 (or homemade equivalent) as described in service repair 60.15.43 steps 52 & 53.

 

Panhard bushings are new.
No play in the tie rod ends and they are tight.
Steering set per manual with that rocking back and forth and tightening trick. Wheels were straight forward when adjusting.

Removed 2 shims on each side from the swivel pins. Preload with a fish scale is about 10 - 12 lbs I didn't go full 15 as I have ABS), not sure if I should go back in there or not.

When the front is off the ground there is still wheel shake (you can see it in the wheel) when I turn the steering wheel.

Going down the road just now, hit a bump and got some wobble.

I'm at a loss at this point.

My two front wheels could likely use new wheel bearings but you really have to wrestle that wheel to get any play at all. There was no play in the swivel pin bearings.

I don't think loose wheel bearings would explain a shudder in the wheel when jacked up and just turning the steering wheel though.

 

Can't you just make that tool by taking a piece of 1/4" or 3/16" steel and cutting a couple slots with a hack saw ...a bunch of small holes in the back end of the slots ..and just break the piece out with a pliers and true up with a grinder?? Then drill a 3/8" hole and file the edges square with a square file for your ratchet to fit into. Then make the round hole with a drill and die grinder ...or whatever you have, a Dremel. I mean, that's like a 40 minute job.

What about your steering stabilizer shock? Drag link bushings? I didn't see those in your list.

What tire pressures are you running? On my 98 the front tires are supposed to be 10 psi less than the rears, I think it's at 26psi according to the owners' manual. I wouldn't run a lb less than 26 though. Reason for this difference is because their engineering wasn't that great and lower tire pressure at the front induces understeer. A lot of guys overlook this, but mine oversteers like a bitc# if I run all the tires at 36#. Might be you are running your front tires too hard causing bouncing. I get a little wobble on mine too when I hit certain types of bumps, but nothing too annoying. BTW, what about your steering shaft joints ..anything excessive going on with them?

Just thinking out loud here..

If you can't make that tool, maybe it's time to break down and buy it and put it on ebay when you're done. Better than getting in a wreck. I remember my brother used to brag about *not* buying new tires until he hydroplaned into a tree with his truck he spent 2 months restoring and repainting ....and totaled it in an instant ...and almost got killed! Now, he doesn't go cheap on tires anymore. We all like to go cheap at times (me too) but that $45 could be cheap insurance on your life.

 

I don't know the dimensions of that tool. The sticky shows the guy adjusting it with the fish scale and he has ABS and others have said they used the fish scale, too. It seems strange that no one with ABS has used the tool -and- the fish scale and come up with a corresponding measurement for just using the fish scale.

I'm going to put in new wheel bearings so I guess I'll rebuild the swivel pin bearings, too, and may as well just buy the darn tool.

After your post I did check the tire pressure. I had it aligned and tires balanced a little while ago and the fronts and rears were at 40 psi. I lowered it down to 30 psi in the front and 35 psi in the rear and that definitely took care of a lot of the weird feeling in the steering and going down the road. I didn't get death wobble on a couple of bumps. I'll drive it more and see what happens.

The tires I have are 255-85-R16 and there wasn't a corresponding psi measurement in the owners manual for that size that's how I went with the 30.

It has a 2" OME lift and a newish OME stabilizer.

- Terra Firma adjustable panhard rod with polyurethane bushings
- Evolution P&D black anodized, 7075-T6 Drag link and track rods
- Steering damper relocation to drag link

All the bushings are new and upon visual look good. Putting it up and turning the wheels reveals no weird movement or clunking or anything out of normal.

I think that removing a couple shims and then lowering that tire pressure really helped. I'll order new wheel bearings and swivel pin bearings and do that next and see, but everything looks good up there, the swivel ball seals don't even leak.

 

Maybe experiment with different pressure combinations and let us know how it goes. You may be on to something here.