[shandy92]

hey all,

i went out for a wheel yesterday arvo, all was going great till i came to this one small hill. i didnt really think anything of it as it didnt look that hard, as i was driving up it i had to use a bit of gas to get over a few rocks and prob carried a bit to much speed (in 1st low) but i heard a few bangs and scraps but didnt really pay attention as thats normal in my car. once i had drove up the hill i noticed that my steering wheel was now on a 70degree angle to the left, kind of like this / .

on the drive home i didnt get any vibration and it wasnt swerving the left any more than what it has in the past. all the arms look straight and in there usual condition, the only thing that im not sure of is that the actually steering box (non-power) is actually on a bit of an angle. the rear of the box is sitting about 10mm out off the chassis while the front of the box is sitting on the chassis??

can someone confirm that this is the issue? ill take a photo for you, incase u dont understand.
i need to no if its safe to drive it like this? as i need it for work.

thanks, any help would be great
Mitch

[atari4x4]

pics?

have you checked to see if it's torn the chassis rail or the bolts have come loose?

[shandy92]

just uploading pics, but have to go out now (not in my car) so will put them up when i get back.

and no it hasnt torn through the chassis, should the steering shaft and the shaft coming out of the box be one straight line? as my two are on a slight angle. steering shaft is straight but shaft out of box is pointing towards the engine a little.

thanks

[inbits]

The box should be hard on the chassis where it bolts up if it's not there's something wrong!

[alien]

i saw it yesterday... basically the steering column point from the firewall straight to the box, but the joint between the box's shaft and the column is on about a 10 degree angle, kinda like this:
|
\

the box is not sitting parrallel to the chassis rail (looking it from above) and thats whats creating that angle.

if someone else with a SWB Vit can take a peek at their steering box and confirm if its straight with the chassis or not then mitch should have his answer =)

[atari4x4]

shandy92 wrote:

i need to no if its safe to drive it like this? as i need it for work.

probably not until you work out whats wrong.

[shandy92]

well the box is still firm on the chassis, and doesnt have any movement in it, in any direction (tried prying it with a bit of wood and didnt move.

[atari4x4]

got mud

[shandy92]

atari4x4 wrote:

got mud

ahaha yeah you wouldnt think there would be any water out there would u, especially since we just had a string of 38-40 degree days lol. i dont no why but mud goes into the engine bay more than what it goes outside lol.

what do u think of the steering? can u see where it is sticking out further (can be seen in the 3-4-5th photo's), but if u look you will see that its not off the chassis as there is still something holding it in there?

Mitch

[royce]

box is fine, check the idler bracket on the other side to see if its bent

[shandy92]

royce wrote:

box is fine, check the idler bracket on the other side to see if its bent

thats good cheers the idle bracket is one the first things that i checked, it doesnt look to be bent, but i got some photos so ill chuck them up when there uploaded.

is it possible that the steering shaft has just jumped a few teeth on the box shaft splines??? having a bl the shaft doesnt have as much contact area with the splines so, that what im hoping.

im going to take it to get a wheel alignment in a few days and see what they say.

[alien]

we did a fair drive yesterday - is there any feathering on the front tyres? usually if its out of alignment itll pull to one side or steering feel is at least weird.

maybe jack up the front end and push the tyres side to side to see if theres any resistance etc as well?

[shandy92]

alien wrote:

we did a fair drive yesterday - is there any feathering on the front tyres? usually if its out of alignment itll pull to one side or steering feel is at least weird.

maybe jack up the front end and push the tyres side to side to see if theres any resistance etc as well?

how would u describe a feathered looking tyre?

yeah i might do that, see if it turns more one way than the other.

what could it be tho????

[alien]

one side wearing more than the other - usually theres super thin bit of rubber dangling off the side thats being worn - you can see it in the middle of this pic:

[shandy92]

ok well, jacked up the front and there is not differnce in resistance from either side. the only thing i noticed is that the edge of the outside lugs are slighly rounded while the inside is still pointed. the rear: inside and outside lugs are both pointed. there is no super thin bits hangind off either

what would this mean???

[alien]

thats just from steering wearing away the edges, tis normal =)

[Chop]

shandy92 wrote:

what would this mean???

You have IFS

[shandy92]

ahah ok cheers

had another look at the idler bracket and it may be bent.
i drew some lines on it to make it easier.

also on the steering shaft, is this in far enough?

[royce]

oh shit that steering shaft is a disaster waiting to kill you!!!!!

[shandy92]

royce wrote:

oh shit that steering shaft is a disaster waiting to kill you!!!!!

thank you for the informative post royce, i now exactly what i need to fix......can u please be a bit more informative?

i have to drive to work tomorrow, thurs and fri. will i be reasonable safe???

[LAY80N]

How much spline is acutally engaged. Is the locating bolt still in its milled out notch on the spline? Is it even tight?


Layto....

[royce]

If I remember correctly, there is only 1 milled section on teh box so the bolt is now off the edge of the box input?

you need to fit a spacer to the rag joint type thing up the other end of the shaft

[shandy92]

as far as i am away it has been like that since the BL, JC says that its ok but i will ask him again.

where can i get one of these spacers from???

yes the shaft is still tight, royce how long is the milled out section??

[shandy92]

[atari4x4]

when you did the body lift did you loosen both ends of the steering shaft or just the steering box end?

[christover1]

I would suspect it has either jumped, or broken a few teeth of the end of the spline shaft, because locating bolt does look like it ain't holding on to too much.

[shandy92]

atari4x4 wrote:

when you did the body lift did you loosen both ends of the steering shaft or just the steering box end?

just the steering box end, i was never told about the other end, do i need to do anything with the other end??

what are you thinking when u asked that question??

[atari4x4]

what do you reckon?

[christover1]

shandy92 wrote:

atari4x4 wrote:

when you did the body lift did you loosen both ends of the steering shaft or just the steering box end?

just the steering box end, i was never told about the other end, do i need to do anything with the other end??

what are you thinking when u asked that question??

usually can gain more spare length, by doing both ends.
IE can pull it down/out further, so get proper fit

[steak_knife]

shandy92 wrote:

atari4x4 wrote:

when you did the body lift did you loosen both ends of the steering shaft or just the steering box end?

just the steering box end, i was never told about the other end, do i need to do anything with the other end??

what are you thinking when u asked that question??

That you could adjust the shaft at the fire wall to get you some more spline on the s/box...