Alright guys, I have a problem with the front end on my 99 disco II. I was driving down the interstate at about 70 mph and all of a sudden there was a loud rumbling from the passenger front of the truck. It felt and sounded like a flat tire with the steering shimmy and noise. I pulled off on the shoulder and looked and the tire was fine. Aired up to 35 psi and no bubbles in the tire. I got back on the interstate and only got up to about 45 MPH and the noise was still there. I exited and went to a spot to park it. There happened to be a guy working at the tire shop there that had worked on Landys in the past and went for a drive with me. Go figure the damn thing wouldnt do it again. He felt a vibration, one that I thought was normal, and he seemed to think that it was a harmonic vibration. He couldnt figure it out, so I went back to my in-laws about 2 hours away. I bypassed the interstate and looped around Houston, where the problem persisted for a while in stop and go traffic. I got almost around Houston, and the problem went mysteriously went away. In the 2 hour drive back, there was no sign of a problem, just the slight vib that has always been there.

A quick history of what I have checked and done.

I have replaced the tires in the past 2 months. The 2 front tires are yokohama geolanders,the back left is a dayton off road tire, and the back right is a continental contitrac suv tire. All tires are the same size and about the same wear. They were affordable at the time is why I bought a mis-matched set. I have crawled under the truck and found no torn CV boots and the driveshaft is a fairly new LR replacement with grease zerts in all joints. This was done before by the PO. I pulled the piece of crap plastic fill plug in the front difff to check fluid levels, and lube poured out. It is full. I grabbed ahold of the front drive shaft while the truck was in neutral, and there is absolutely no play in the front input yoke on the front diff. There is a slight amount of play in the t-case, but I dont know how much slop should be there. I pulled one end of the steering stabilizer, and it took a fair amount off umpf to move it back and forth. The truck has 146,000 on the clock and I dunno what the hell is wrong. Help now would be greatly appreciated.

Preston

 

hmm i dunno..maybe a bearing/hub? jack up that wheel and spin it around and move side to side up and down to check for play.

 

Yeah I too was going to sujest a bad wheel bearing. If it is bad enough that the wheel "slops" to one side it could cause a real bad noise/vibration. I would have it looked at ASAP, otherwise your wheel could fall off.
If you jack up the front end and let each wheel hang freely you can check for play.
Most brake/frontend shops will do this for free. There should be no play in the hub.
And if it is a hub you are in luck, you have to replace the whole thing, not just the wheel bearings (like a DI), about $400.
http://www.roverparts.com/Parts/TAY100060.cfm
Have your front hubs checked for play, and then rotate your tires, you might have bad one.
If the noise/vibration moves to the rear, then you know it is a tire.

 

I got no clue. Quit driving on the rumble strips?

 

HaHa..rumble strips. Seriously, could a wheel bearing be intermittent? No problems, then noise, then no problems?

 

I think that it could, cars can do very many strange things. Nobody has seen it all. I would get them checked out.

 

ifall four tires are not the same size, you are loading up your driveline.

Also, no one has said shocks yet. If your tire is out of balance, and your shocks suck, it will hop and not hop depending on speed and road conditions. Have someone watch you drive by at 45. After you check the wheel first. Jack it up and check for play.

 

Nice one OKDGuy, it could also be a bad/broken spring, never thought of the suspenion.

 

OK guys, I have checked bearings by wobbling the tire in the air and the only play is from side to side, not up and down. I have checked the ball joints and they have no play. I have finally come to the decision that it is the tie rod ends. They are the ONLY thing I can see that is loose. They literally have slop in the joint that i can physically see. The guy at Atlantic British said that I need to buy the whole steering linkage front and back and was surprised that I havent had any troubles before. What is everyones take on this as the problem? Is it still possible that I have bad/broken springs??????

Preston

 

I had to replace the pitman arm off the power steering box.
Its the only thing that holds the wheel to the front steering
and a known weak point.

I took mine in for a alignment to the dealer and they found mine.
I was out the door with alignment about $210 USD.