You're way off. You can continue you love affair with the rovers, but I have had BMW's, Mercedes, and Porches in older vintages with far less issues. one has to admit that LR's QC, at least prior to the current era, has been well below par.

And I never said I had an issue with replacing it with a rebuilt part. My question was explicitly...

"Is there a way, or is it worth rebuilding the steering box? I have also heard both positive and negative things about refurbished units. "

So far, that question has not been answered with the exception of one attempt... "You'll have a lot more than $300 in time invested into rebuilding the steering box."

The "parts" kit can be had for less than $75 shipped.

I'm looking for solid experienced answers here.

 

First of all, no love affair here. Land Rovers are a business for me. After the decades of ownership and the hundreds and hundreds of vehicles I've dealt with, this is not some silly infatuation.

You asked if it was worthwhile to rebuild the box using the kits you typically see for sale. I told you it wasn't and that people spoke highly of Meridian and their rebuilds. I also mentioned that they had developed a way of dealing with wear in the main shaft to mitigate the rapid deterioration of the seals.

I also told you to contact them to discuss the matter further.

You asked a question and I gave you an answer. Have you bothered to call Meridian? What more do you want from a bulletin board. As far as I'm concerned, if you're so well versed it the quality of MB and BMW, why the hell are you here driving a white Disco. It sounds like you need an X5 or a GL.

 

*****.

 

If only Mr Grant were experienced..

 

Now I have Jimi Hendrix singing in my head.

 

The main shaft is a worm gear that has a bunch of ball bearings that roll around in it (recirculating *****) and it reduces wear on the shaft because there are many ***** and they are designed to work themselves round and round the nut over time, ideally not sitting in any one position where wear would develop. That extends the life of the worm and nut and is why a steering box can last so long. But there is only one input and output shaft and these are wear spots with a lot of pressure exposed to the elements where a minute amount of play leads to a magnafied amount at the steering wheel. The majority of the play I've seen when rebuilding steering boxes is the output shaft bushing (or bearing) and the input shaft bearing. The input seal can leak water due to washing engine bays, or water splashing up there, etc and the bearings, which looks like a bicycle bearing and race can get rusty and promote play on the worm gear shaft. You'd never feel the grittiness of a rusty bearing at the steering wheel. The other issue is that the worm gear (screw) end play develops over time and can't be adjusted externally w/o removing the box and pulling the bottom off. Well, maybe it's 'possible', but if you want to set one up, you really need to put it in a vise and reset the settings. So, you can adjust the screw at the top of the box all you want but not address any worm shaft end-play. There are also some valving components and o-rings. When you get a kit, it usually contains all these parts including new bearings, bushings, seals, recirculating ***** etc but not the worm gear, nut or main gear. But the ***** fit in the groove of the worm gear and the 'nut'. So by replacing these you are replacing part of the main screw assembly. All these are hardened parts lubricated in a closed system and I would look for wear in other areas.

So, what I'm saying is, generally the worm gear is a wear item, but not necessarily the MAIN wear area. If a rebuild facility does due dilligence and carefully inspects a worm gear and nut and determines that they are within reasonable tolerance AND addresses the other main wear areas with new bushings, bearings, recirculating *****, o-rings, etc, and sets it up to proper tolerances, then you should end up with a box that is 90-95% as good as new. You should have a steering gear that restores your steering to like new levels. The other option you have is to buy a brand new one (where available) which is a lot costlier. Remanufacturered parts shouldn't be considered as good as NEW. I feel for you though, because it would be nice if a new worm and main gears were used in a steering box rebuild, but then you're really into a new box and it wouldn't be $300. You could check with Borgelson and see if they do Land Rover steering boxes. They actually produce new steering boxes for a lot of classic cars now and for the price, I wouldn't even consider rebuilding.

If you go to buy a remanufactured AC compressor, they inspect the pistons and bores for abnormal wear, replace the seals and clutch (which are the main wear items), blast the housing, put new screws in it and re-sell it. A remanufactured starter or alternator will have a used stator and windings in it. Could have other parts from the original part, including bearings (when was the last time an alternator bearing went out??). Ok, I'm sure someone will say, "Hey, I just had an alternator bearing go out on the wife's car." The main wear items are typically replaced and new paint/screws/paint put on to look nice.

I read a very interesting article in a Corvette magazine years ago where a well-known racer was doing a series of articles on how to optimize a corvette for weekend racing. He addressed suspension set-up, bushings, shocks and so on. The number one item he pointed out in the first article was to remove the steering box, pull off the end cap and re-torque the adjuster screws to factory settings. He indicated that in his experience ANY Corvette over 25k miles, the steering box would have enough wear or be out of adjustment that just re-tightening to specs would be the single most benneficial thing an owner could do to sharpen handling and steering. Then address all the rest of the system.

I would definitely encourage you to rebuild your steering box if you have decent tools and aren't intimidated. Heck I might even do mine someday, although for $300 that sounds pretty tempting. There aren't any spring-loaded parts that are going to go BOING across the shop floor. You shouldn't need a shop press, most bushings (on the ones I've rebuilt, and granted I haven't done a L/R unit) tap out with a hammer and punch or you can adapt the right diameter washers on a large threaded rod for all that. Now that I've done a few I wouldn't feel distraught about not using an inch/lbs torque wrench either because if you just tightened up the set screws with firm but not heavy tightness, it's within specs usually. The specs are fairly wide and they are that way because they allow for wear over time. It's not as scientific as one might think. Or, you can buy a cheap inch/lbs torque wrench off ebay. I wouldn't get hung up on an expensive one because like I said, ya just snug them up firm, but don't lay into it hard.

I've only done a few (and not a L/R unit, mostly borg warners) but everytime when I get done I almost always say to myself, "next time I'm just going to buy one already rebuilt." Ya don't really save any money if your time is worth anything. But it's a fun experience and I like doing crap like that if I have the luxury of time. Otherwise I'd never be able to describe it to you guys

Hey, don't forget to check any U-joints you have in your steering. An almost imperceptable amount of play could add 1/2" of steering wheel play. GM changed a bunch on pickups years ago and you couldn't hardly even feel play in them. You get a little play there, a little at the box, a little at the steering joints, well, then before you know it you have an inch and a half of slop at the steering wheel.

 

Wow brother, way to make people just want to jump up and help you.

x2 on the suggestion that you go find one of those other quality vehicles and see how you do with that

 

My guess is you haven't read my siggy. But, there are reasons why this BB has seen a massive drop in activity in the last 18 months. And comments like this are one of them.

 

And i'm telling you that I have heard different about them. 50/50 at best.

You told me some stuff you "heard" about a company you never dealt with. And I wasn't asking what people heard about where to source one, I was asking about rebuilding one because I have heard mixed results about the rebuilt ones.


Maybe I like a challenge, perhaps it's why I got married a second time, but everyone makes mistakes.

This one was neglected and 1 auction away from the junk yard. I took it on as a winter beater with a heater and an occasional trail toy. But neglect doesn't cause bad steering boxes. This is one of many design flaws. There is a reason why there is always a fresh part-out thread going.

I will admit that it will probably be my last LR product. I'm not even sure I want to give the new ones so much as a sniff.


My guess is you haven't read my siggy either.

 

Thanks for posting this as it has given me some perspective of what to look at. I am sitting on a spare, so there is no harm in opening it up and seeing what I will be dealing with.