LR3/4 Steering Vibration issue

[dsm02c]

Need a little feedback from you guys...

Having a vibration issue starting between 45-50mph on up through 80mph.

I have replaced the lower control arms (bushings, ball joints) about 4K mi ago and the front rotors and pads as well and wheel bearings. I previously had a vibration under breaking, that is now gone with all the aforementioned items I have replaced.

I now have a rather annoying vibration issue from the front end of the vehicle that begins to be barely noticeable at 45mph (I mean barely) to over 80mph (I live in Texas and we have speed limits 75+) where it can become a real nuisance.

The issue is intermittent and on freshly paved or smooth highway there is no vibration or so little but only when turning around a sweeping curve, and again it is Minor, on rougher highway the issue is there, with micro vibrations left to right.

I swapped my spare for the wheel I thought was the primary culprit And that did improve the situation however it is still not completely gone. I have two sets of wheels and tires for this vehicle and it happens in my Bridgestone passenger tires as well as my BFG K02's which are an e load rated LT tire, I've swapped everything around several times trying to figure out if it is a bad wheel or tire.

Additionally the steering is heavier when turning to the right than when turning to the left. I have recently changed and flushed my power steering fluid and there was no noticeable change in feel (I don't know if there should be I was just swapping most of the fluids in the truck, this steering feel was the same before and after the fluid change)

The vehicle also pulls hard to the right despite having an alignment completed at my local Land Rover dealer less than a month ago, (no, I haven't hit anything or been wheeling in that time period and the truck has been driven less than 400 miles since then.

I have ordered new tie rods, ends and inners as it is the only item (besides the upper control arm) I have not replaced on the front end. But after examination it seems unlikely those are the culprit as all the diagnostic things I have tried to determine if they are actually the problem have not given me a positive result.

Alignments in these vehicles are expensive and I would rather not pay for another one...

I am frustrated at this point and am tired of throwing parts at this truck... I might take it to my local discount tire in the morning and have them balance all my tires / wheels and see if that improves anything.

I guess I say all this to ask if I should replace the tie rods or not...

 

[dsm02c]

Update, had all tires dis mounted, flipped to white wall out, and balanced. Vibration is improved but still not gone. It is now most noticeable when the tire is straddling a seam on the road or I hit a bump, there is a temporary jolt followed by a few vibrations then everything smooths out.

At this point I'm leaning toward replacing the tie rods as there must be some play in the steering... These trucks are supposed to eat tie rods almost as often as lower control arm bushings, but again all the diagnostic methods I've seen online are not giving me a positive result. Will update thread tomorrow after alignment has been performed, that is unless someone chimes in with another suggestion....

 

[ColoDisco]

Your on the right path. There is a reason we at my dealer balance the wheels every 10k as part of the service. Tie to dinners and outers should have been checked by your dealer prior to a alignment. What did their inspection say?

 

[dsm02c]

Colodisco: If it was you would you be replacing them (sounds like it based on above response)?

They didn't say anything regarding the tie rods. It's pretty frustrating because this is my third alignment in about 8 months, once was for the LCA replacement then due to taking them apart again to weld in alignment tabs(flattened them on one side after a hard hit off road, the above alignment sheet is from that repair) this time will be for the tie rods. All these $200 alignments are killing me, I have half a mind to use my toe plates and set the tow myself.

 

[ColoDisco]

It's difficult to diagnose via web. I would still be leaning at tire balance. I have seen tie rods loose (inner and outer) and not had a vibration issue in the steering wheel.

 

[dsm02c]

It's difficult to diagnose via web. I would still be leaning at tire balance. I have seen tie rods loose (inner and outer) and not had a vibration issue in the steering wheel.

That's what's confusing, after getting everything balanced this morning it's rolling smooth at speed, now it's only when hitting a bump, which happens often here in Texas on the highways... I'm going to replace the tie rods then get it aligned as planned tomorrow. At least I'll have one more thing eliminated. At least this issue and possible resolution may prove to be useful for someone else in the future...

 

[A.J.M]

For the stiffness.

The steering lower column is known to go stiff with age and mileage. It can also cause a knocking noise as it wears.
I would have that checked as that could be possibly to blame.

 

[dsm02c]

I'm half done with the install now... There is definitely easy movement in the inner tie rod now that it is disconnected from the spindle. I'll have them look at that tomorrow as well. Thanks for the feedback AJM!

 

[A.J.M]

Also, steering inner arms, that go from the track rod end to the rack can wear, check the inner joint for play.
Done them on mine, along with the rod ends and the lower column in mine.

 

[Victory_Overland]

I may have missed this so if I did, I apologize. Can you provide the year and mileage of your vehicle you are experiencing the vibration issues on?

I won't get into the linkage and suspension components because it appears that you are new all the way around and you have the wheel balance covered I think as well.

My first 30 days of owning my 08LR3 with 62k miles had a left rear wheel bearing blown. Felt the vibration at highway speed and it fluttered. Jacked it up and it was apparent the wheel bearing was shot. Not sure why it was bad that early but I replaced both rears to be safe. I have two fronts sitting on the shelf since I am approaching 85k and I would rather have them now and not have to wait to order after failure.

I would highly recommend you look at wheel bearings. The front is a sealed hub assy and not too overly expensive considering it's a LR part. Essentially you will be replacing the entire front hub and I recommend if you DO find a bad front on one side, just do them both.

Low speed operation do not always show a bad wheel bearing because the vehicle is sitting on all weight. Once up to higher speeds like you are feeling it, the suspension and vehicle float a bit as they roll down the road and the unloading of the suspension can cause the fluttering effect. On a motorcycle it's known as a speed wobble but harder to depict on a car unless multiple bearings are shot.

Hope this helps you find another place to look. Sorry very hard to offer up over the internet but that is where I would be looking.

 

[dsm02c]

Victory, I've replaced wheel bearings on both sides already. Truck is at 64k miles at this point... Did the wheel bearings when I pulled everything apart. Replacing LCAS w/ polybush units and did rotors and pads too, the spindles are much easier to manipulate without a brake assembly in them and at that point you're at the wheel bearing anyway and have to replace the nut...

Almost got the truck finished with the exception that Atlantic British sent me the wrong inner tie rod for the LR4, 2010 onward they are the LR010667 ON BOTH SIDES. So, now, waiting till the Napa truck comes in to put the drivers side back together... Why bother giving AB my vin if they're going to send me the wrong kit.

Salt in the wound, when I figured out their "Kit" had the wrong inner rod, called both local rover dealers and NEITHER OF THEM HAVE ANY OF THE TIE ROD PARTS. ******?!?

Also to anyone who is on the fence about doing their own tie rods, it's SUPER EASY.

 

[ColoDisco]

Surprising the dealer doesn't have the kit, we replace a few every week and stock the parts.

This is how I started my LR3 ownership.
(At the time I worked at a independent LR shop so I went aftermarket) and all were worn out.
New brakes all the way around, new inner/outer tie rods, new front bearings new rear sway bar bushings and new spark plugs.
Since I have done the RR wheel bearing and am going to do the LR as I suspect is is starting to make noise. The badly worn Nitto tires I had on we're all out of balance yet I drove it from Dallas to Denver with no vibration. These trucks are very forgiving, that's why I suspect the wheel balance still but can see how a loose tie rod would trigger a vibration over a bump.

 

[ColoDisco]

They give a clunk when going over bumps. Means they are worn out. New bushings keeps the sway bar working. No real performance upgrade, just working as it should.

 

[ColoDisco]

If it's bouncing it's more likely worn shocks.

 

[dsm02c]

Yet more drama to the swap, the 2010 LR4 I've had since new has a unique spindle on the driver side on my specific truck and Land Rover no longer makes the rod end that fits into the spindle, fortunately that one is still good for sure, plenty of resistance and zero grittiness. Ordered one from Napa but they're not sure it's the correct one, only that it's a 16.5mm, will take a week to get here to boot.

Of course called the dealer and, guess what, their suggestion was buy a new spindle for the driver side to make it accept a $40 part. Talk about annoying. $530 for a new spindle because rover decided to change a part and then not provide stock for trucks into the future. I'm waiting to see if Napa provides the correct part before biting that bullet. Pretty easy to change the spindle, it's just more work than I want to do!

Maybe I will stop being such a perfectionist and listen to my gut tell me that I really probably don't need to change a part when everyone is telling me that it's most likely not that part that is bad.

Talking to the guy at Napa he gave me a hypothesis about why I'm still getting extra feedback over bumps for a moment, potentially being the bushing in the bottom of the struts worn out. At 64k I'm sure it's possible, my tire wear is nice and even and I have zero leak down at night so the struts seem to be in good shape, going to get under there with a small pry bar to check it out tomorrow morning.