I've noticed that when I drive over rough or bumpy surfaces, that my steering wheel jiggles or oscillates a bit. Think that perhaps this means my steering damper is shot.

Wondering if all I need to do to check it is unbolt the shaft or rod end,...and see if there is still resistance in the damper, .....or....if there is a more technical procedure?

Brian in Cedar Park

 

how old is the truck and do you know if its ever been replaced? The steering damper hides a lot of things by cushionlng the road feedback, so you should check your frontend completely before just replacing it.

 

Its a 2003 showing 165K,.......I have reason to believe that is not accurate and that it is closer to 200,000 miles. I Actually wasn't looking to just replace it,....I wanted to know if my suggested method for determining if it is shot was OK,...or if there was something more technical in approach.

Regarding checking the entire front end,...how would you go about checking it to ensure everything was OK? I did replace the center link about 2 years ago,....I had a lot of play in the steering wheel. The center link took care of it.

 

When you have a minute,....I had posted some questions in response to your questions and suggestions.

 

I have the exact same problem with my 2003, so I could also use some helpful information and suggestions. Thanks forum members.

 

The first thing I would do is unbolt one end and test it.

 

Yes, take it off and see how it operates when you push/pull it in and out. In just the same way as you might check a suspension damper you should get a good resistance in each direction.
Shimmying of the steering when you go over humps and bumps is a symptom, but could be something else too. It's not an expensive part and would be a good starting point to source the problem and if it is the original wouldn't hurt to change it anyway.

 

I have a 2002 LD with 130000 miles. When I steer left or right it sort of overshoots the turn on the tires, is it due to the steering damper shot? Any help will be appreciated.

 

No that's understeer, the tendency for the car to turn less sharply than intended. It's not uncommon for this to happen in the Disco, but can be exacerbated by the choice of tyre. The steering damper is there to reduce the tendency for the steering to shimmy when you hit bumps in the road.

 

I agree with drowssap, the damper can disguise many steering defects. Firstly check any slack in the steering box as it adjustable.

The things to check.

Track control and drag link ball ends.
Top and bottom steering ball ends both sides.
CV joints.
Tire balance.
Radius arm bushes.
Panhard rod bushes.
Rear Watts linkage bushes.

It really depends what you want to achieve. At 165K miles most everything is worn to some degree unless recently replaced. Typically, driving around with tires out of balance will rapidly ruin or degrade most of the steering joints and/or bushes. One good test is to remove the steering damper and drive the truck around as you can better assess any problems. If it is the steering damper at fault these can be tested accurately in a workshop on a rig designed for testing dampers but it may prove cheaper to replace it in the long run at around $55 plus fitting.