cecilthecat
Member Since: 21 Oct 2006
Location: Hertfordshire
Posts: 47
 
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Hi, I was hoping you guys could help as I am getting increasingly frustrated with the off centre steering wheel on my D3 to the point I am thinking of getting rid of the vehicle or part exhanging it for another that does not have this problem.
The problem is that when I am driving along a dead straight piece of road with virtually no camber then the steering wheel has to be held about 5 degrees off centre (to the RHS). If I hold the steering wheel in the centre position then the car will run onto the hard shoulder. I have already had 2 dealers perform the full 4 wheel alignment with the second giving me the readouts from their equipment. The vehicle does not seem to pull to one side although if I release pressure from the steering wheel then the car will naturally want to go to the left, but I think this is more due to any camber on the road and is expected.
I have never experienced this on another vehicle and the first dealer sugested 'That they all do this sir' and is due to the air suspension etc..., I'm not convinced and don't remember any of the demonstrators driving like this but then you don't always tend to pick up everything during a test drive. surely if the car is in true alignment and the steering is held dead centre then even if there is a camber the vehicle should still go in a straight line not in effect a great big circle ?
My question is to you is, does your car do the same and am I just being a moaning  , or is there something adrift with the car ?
As I say I am getting to the point of selling the vehicle which is a shame as in all other respects I love the car, but do a reasonable amount of mileage (7K miles since new in November ) which consists of about 70% motorway and this is getting to really bug me. 
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 3rd Mar 2007 9:47 pm |
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simon
Member Since: 11 Jan 2005
Location: Shropshire
Posts: 18296
  
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Mine is like this (to the left) since I had a new steering rack and shaft fitted.
Will get them to adjust it for me next week.
As long as you are looking down the road (you are aren't you ?) and not at the wheel all the time, it makes no difference to the driving or safety.
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| 3rd Mar 2007 9:53 pm |
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captain_sugar
Member Since: 05 Sep 2006
Location: Hradec Kralove
Posts: 1095
 
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Dear Pussy,
I can't help you any more than by saying your dealer is lying on you. My disco3 never had this problem.
Vibrations in the steering wheel - yes. But that is because I am to lazy to clean the mud out of my alloy wheels and therefor they are not balanced properly.
If my steering wheel is horizontal, the car goes straight. With a bit shaking of the wheel at motorway speeds.
I am sure other experts on the site will give you advise enabling you to educate your dealer (technically and proper customer service) and save your d3!
good luck
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| 3rd Mar 2007 9:56 pm |
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bkehoe
Member Since: 25 Feb 2006
Location: Wexford
Posts: 1481
 
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When mine had the lower steering shaft replaced mine went slightly off centre. Brought it back to the dealer the next day and they fixed it (did the tracking), and recalibrated the steering angle sensor just in case, in less than an hour. IE - 05 D3 TDV6 HSE - Zambezi Silver
SA - 07 VW Golf TDI - White - Sold!
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| 4th Mar 2007 12:43 am |
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David-H.
Member Since: 13 Nov 2006
Location: Edinburgh
Posts: 129
 
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cecilthecat.
Ours has the same foible , though not quite five centimetres out. It sometimes annoys me but not to the point of booking it in to the dealers. I'm going to wait for the first service and have them check it then.
Cheers. 2014 Defender 90.
Suzuki Jimny - lifted 2".
SWMBO's BMW Mini JCW.
Member of The Scottish Off Road Club.
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| 4th Mar 2007 12:52 am |
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DirtyDisco
Member Since: 21 Oct 2006
Location: County Durham
Posts: 76
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I am not familiar with the mechanicals of the D3 but am quite sure that the problem can be solved by adjusting the track rod ends...Or whatever the D3 has. The tracking may well be correct but adusting both sides by the same amount will alter the steering wheel angle without altering the Toe in/out. I would take it to the monkeys that you have already paid to do the job and ask them to get it right!
Good luck. Serial Depreciation Victim
07 D3 TDV6 HSE. Side Steps. Privacy. TV. Stornoway + Alpaca.
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| 4th Mar 2007 1:12 am |
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Gareth
Site Moderator
Member Since: 07 Dec 2004
Location: Bramhall
Posts: 26748
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CTC, mine is off center, to the right. If I swap my tyres around, it will go the other way. I think the tyres wear in relation to the camber in the UK and the steering wheel reacts accordingly.
Swap your front tyres around and see if it cures it.
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| 4th Mar 2007 1:17 am |
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caverD3
Member Since: 03 Jul 2006
Location: Oberon, NSW
Posts: 6922
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Check the tyre wear to see if it is uneven. You may need to get them to correct the bush sttle problem. Also could be lower steering arm issue if you get a kick through the steering over small bumps. The othe possibility is faulty steering bushes or the body bush issue. My steering wheel was ou when new. Four wheel alignment done. It came back with the wheel still out. Corrected. Have since had the for wheel alignment done again due to uneven wear. Now all even wear and no steering issue.
Definately get the dealer to look if it is not like the demonstrator. “There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely gamesâ€
Ernest Hemmingway
D4 3.0 Active Diff, Adaptive Lights, High Beam Assist, Surround Cameras, Privacy Glass.
D3 2.7:Adaptive Headlights,Electronic Rear Diff,ARB Bar,Blaupunkt Speakers,JVC Powered Subwoofer,Removable Snorkel,Mitch Hitch,Pioneer After Market Head Unit,Steering Wheel Control Adaptor,Remote Adjustable Supension Rod System, Taxside Dual Battery System.
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| 4th Mar 2007 3:57 am |
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pdes
Member Since: 09 Jan 2007
Location: Cambridgeshire
Posts: 338
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My D2 had this and I have to admit, it really annoyed me. Couldn't get the dealer to put it right though and tracking didn't help. Picked up my D3 on Thursday and it's the same! I am trying not to get annoyed and I certaintly wouldn't look to change the car because of it. With regard to tyre wear, this can't be the case on a car that has done 50 miles! I would imagine that the Disco is set up on a flat surface as they are sold for left and right hand drive so my view is that this is due to camber and the need to keep a little right hand pressure on the wheel to keep it going straight.
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| 4th Mar 2007 2:02 pm |
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Winger
Site Moderator
Member Since: 15 Feb 2005
Location: UK
Posts: 3428
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Cecil, your original post doesn't clarify if you are saying that your steering wheel is out of aligment, as in you let the wheel go (ok, the natural road camber will probably mean a drift to port) but otherwise the vehicle runs straight and true - just with the steering wheel appearing as if the car should be headed right?
If that is the symptom, no end of wheel alignment will help; you tracking will be perfect, but the wheel will still be off centre.
So, if this is the correct interpretation of your problem, ask the dealer to centre your steering wheel. It is only a matter of taking the wheel off the steering column and rotating it a few splines to the left.
Don't ask why LR cannot ship cars from the factory with the wheel not central - my three previous LR vehicles have all needed the steering wheel to be adjusted.
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| 4th Mar 2007 3:51 pm |
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simon
Member Since: 11 Jan 2005
Location: Shropshire
Posts: 18296
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Mine was more or less dead straight before my rack and shaft were changed. Having the bush(s) done this week so they can look to put it straight again.
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| 4th Mar 2007 3:51 pm |
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DirtyDisco
Member Since: 21 Oct 2006
Location: County Durham
Posts: 76
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Hate to disagree with you Winger old chap, but removing the steering wheel is not the answer. If the wheel is five degrees out then you would need 72 (360/5) splines in order to be able to solve the problem. I am not familiar with D3 mechanicals but would be amazed if there were even half that many splines on the steering column... i.e it would be even further out the other way if moved by just one spline. As per my previous post the tracking may be perfect, what is required is to adjust the track rod lengths in order to move both wheels to the right by the same amount to correct the problem. This could be done with two spanners and no other gear as long as the number of turns are made the same each side. One will be a left handed thread, at least if things have not changed since i used to enjoy getting underneath cars. Serial Depreciation Victim
07 D3 TDV6 HSE. Side Steps. Privacy. TV. Stornoway + Alpaca.
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| 4th Mar 2007 6:03 pm |
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bkehoe
Member Since: 25 Feb 2006
Location: Wexford
Posts: 1481
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DD, that's what was done on mine. Should have been clearer, but one of the first steps in doing the tracking is to center the steering wheel, and then the actual angle of the wheels is adjusted so that they point straight ahead. But make sure they recalibrate the steering angle sensor, as the sensor is in the upper steering column, and will be out by a few degrees. Probably not that important, but it should only take them a few minutes extra. IE - 05 D3 TDV6 HSE - Zambezi Silver
SA - 07 VW Golf TDI - White - Sold!
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| 4th Mar 2007 6:08 pm |
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simon
Member Since: 11 Jan 2005
Location: Shropshire
Posts: 18296
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So chaps... having a new steering rack and shaft (no idea if it was the upper or lower shaft) replaced could cause the steering wheel to go off centre ?
Yes or No ?
Tried driving with the wheel visibly vertical on different roads... and yes it does vary depending on road camber etc but in most cases (like any lane on the motorway) the wheel naturally settles turned left now.
Also at low speed (very slow) and with very gentle brake applied, the D3 turns to the left - not sure this is related or even relevant here).
Have been noticing that the steering is very sensitive to camber and surface roughness recently. Much more so than before. Tyres are 5K new and have made a difference compared to last set. Wheels changed to base 17's at the same time. Would the narrower tyre cause this affect ?
cheers
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| 4th Mar 2007 6:13 pm |
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bkehoe
Member Since: 25 Feb 2006
Location: Wexford
Posts: 1481
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Well the replacement of the lower shaft definately caused my steering wheel to go off centre. If I held the steering wheel dead straight after I had it replaced, I would have quickly ended up in a ditch! 
On some roads I have to hold the steering a bit to the right to go straight due to the camber, but I find the D3 a lot better than my TD5 was. On most roads I can quite happily let go of the steering wheel and it'll take a few seconds before it starts to slowly drift to the left. Almost no input is required to go straight on the vast majority of roads here in Ireland and on UK roads.
I would have assumed that the 17s would be more resistant to the road surface. It's low profile wheel/tyres that suffer from this problem the worst I thought. IE - 05 D3 TDV6 HSE - Zambezi Silver
SA - 07 VW Golf TDI - White - Sold!
Last edited by bkehoe on 4th Mar 2007 6:29 pm. Edited 1 time in total
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| 4th Mar 2007 6:21 pm |
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