The standard Series steering system is often maligned for being sloppy, but well maintained, this should not be the case. However, there are a few inherent weaknesses where steering input motion is lost, and the steering relay is one of them. The top of the relay is secured to the chassis with two long bolts, but the bottom of the relay merely sits within a pressed steel collar. This collar is to flimsy to resist motion and is a slack fit over the relay, so as steering inputs are made, the bottom of the relay tends to move left or right, losing some of the steering input, feel and precision. It is part of why there is so much steering wheel movement required to hold a straight line on a road with varying camber or side slope.
To this end, I have just fitted a thick steel collar in place of the standard pressed item. It bolts to the chassis’ cross member just as the original, but is thick enough to avoid any distortion and was made as an interference fit, needing to be drifted into position with a club hammer (one handed mini-sledge hammer).  There is now no movement between the steering relay casing and the chassis.
It is not possible to reduce the amount of lateral movement of the relay shaft within its casing if the relay is already in good condition; a stronger spring pressing against the taper bearings would make the steering loads to heavy and could prevent lubrication of the bearings. The suspension springs and bushes also allow some lateral movement of the axle in relation to the chassis which cannot be eliminated other than with a panhard rod (like on Defenders, Range Rovers and Discoverys), but this has implications of imposed side loads when the suspension articulates, so is not going to be of much assistance over all. However, by eliminating the relay case movement, one of the big steering loss factors in a well maintained system, the steering feel and accuracy should be significantly sharper than on any original vehicle.
The collar is available from a member of LandRoverNet.co.uk using the screen name “Tony109”.
Are the four bolts securing the bottom relay collar fastened by self tapping system or are there nuts welded to the inside of the chassis? I ask because my collar is welded to the chassis along with a couple of it’s bolts. I think that as at the moment I am working on the bare chassis, this is the time to put things right in the original way.
Hi Mario,
The bolt holes are tapped in the chassis section, just as on the original chassis.
Hello Nick,
Not been about much lately but this has caught my eye, nice simple solution – good write up too. Think I may just have to get a PM to tony109 in the near future.
Regards
Chris
Hello Nick,
LandRoverNet.co.uk no longer exists. Can you publish further contact information for the chap that makes the collars, or at least publish the dimensions?
Cheers,
Stuart
I don’t use that forum anymore, so didn’t know the address no longer works, but a quick try showed they now use landrovernet.com. The dimensions are the same as the original collar but with an internal diameter the same as your relay’s outer diameter – they’re a tighter fit.
Hi Nick,
Great resource as usual! How thick is the steel the plate is made from?
Cheers
Terry
Hi Terry,
I’d have to look to be sure, but as I remember it, I think it was 5mm. The centre hole was turned undersize to allow a snug fit after a little filing. It does make a difference to the precision of the steering, though it’s still not as tight as a PAS Defender or the Range Rover.