I've got an '02 discovery and the steering is so twitchy, always has been since I bought it from a friend. At high speeds it feels like if you make a quick move it will potentially lose control and roll so you need to be very careful. I've always taken it easy but it scares my wife so alas it's time to finally figure it out. Within the last year I've replaced the power steering pump, steering box (used from tarheel on ebay), terrafirma track rod and drag link - panhard rod - steering damper and still it's sketchy. There is some play in the wheel but nothing too crazy from my experience. Other potentially relevant modifications/issue are - old man emu lift, BFG mud terrain 265/70/16, body mounts could use replacements (maybe somewhat related?)

 

Check the sway bar links. I had some odd handling at highway speeds that I thought was steering related, but couldn't pinpoint the problem. My rear sway bar links were shot, bought some cheap ones on sale at RockAuto and the problem is gone.

 

Interesting, thanks for the tip. Best way to check is just inspect the boots and also grab them and see if there is play right? Otherwise how would I know I should replace them?

 

You don’t mention whether or not you had a proper wheel alignment done after (or before) the work you did. My first thought is that the alignment is way out of limits.

 

Alignment was done. I know there are various elements of the alignment but the vehicle does drive straight with the exception of the wheel being very slightly off center heh.

 

Check tire pressures, My D1 got crazy if there is more then 32 PSI in the tires. Cheap fix!

 

The boots all look decent but not great - still seem sealed. I didn't jack it up and check for play but I don't really mind replacing these, I'm not sure how old they are and it's not terribly expensive and seems likely its the issue.

Tire pressure was about 32 PSI all around, could this really be the issue?? 32 seems like a reasonable pressure if not a little low for 265/70

 

Start by taking the slack out of the steering box and see if that improves it. When you lifted it you changed the caster which makes it feel twitchier. If you had it aligned to factory specs then it doesn't have quite as much toe as would be necessary for a lifted truck to feel stable. You can install Castor corrected swing arms but they're not cheap.

 

Interesting point, I think the previous steering box had an adjustment that the PO made. Just need to make sure the steering is centered and then make an adjustment? I found a couple forums talking about it but it wasn't very detailed. Kind of vague about how to make sure the steering is centered etc. I'm pretty good with cars but some stuff I need explained as if I'm a 5 yr old

 

All D2's have a slack adjustment on the steering box, super easy to adjust. Have a look in the RAVE manual here: https://extinctmotorsports.com/extin...-manuals-rave/