Rover Sports Register Forum

Hi all, Just been out for a run in my newly acquired rover 10 ,bought it a couple of months ago, I was trundling along and got up to 45MPH then all hell broke loose! the steering felt like it was being dragged out of my hands left then right in violent motions, scared me silly, managed to stop and turned around to set off back home, seems it starts when I get above 40 or so, managed to get home and calm down, I have been driving for 40 years and have never experienced any thing like it and don't want to again

I had had the car front end off the ground to check for steering play or bearing play just before I set of, everything seemed good, can any body help with this very scary problem, I assume it is the steering however it has been fine up to now, there is some play in the steering which I thought was excessive compared to a modern car however the owners manual says its undesirable to have no play what ever in the steering

Can anybody help me understand what could be going wrong please

Thanks

Mike

The first thing to check is a loose wheel - either front or back. In my long 46 years with a Rover 10 that had been the only reason for what you describe to happen. Another reason may be very out of balance wheels. You can see example of balancing here:
http://wp.me/pXLKy-1jm

If you use the search facility on the forum (top right of the page) and type in shimmy you might find the answer to your problem. Unusual for it to be at such a high speed, it's more often around the 30mph mark it occurs.

Worn steering joints, king pins and bushes, shock absorbers geometry, wedges. there are a few items that can cause the 'P2 shimmy'

Please post back your findings in the hope it gives other members an insight to what can cause this problem

Thanks for the information guys, much appreciated

Having calmed down I took the car out for another run up a quiet country lane to se if I could understand what was going on, this time as soon as I went over a bump at around 25-30 MPH it started again just as bad, so it does not seem to be speed related, I controlled by stopping then setting off again gently and progressed on for a few miles, now I could feel it coming on through the steering and controlled it with backing off the gas until it settled down again, I tried going over a bump to see if this brought it on again, how ever this did not seem to make it happen again, Strange!

I drove the car the day before this started and there were no issues, even drove up the A1 for a couple of miles also, and everything was fine, the day it happened I had had the front end up on stands to check the wheels and steering as I said previous, as with anything mechanical that you have been working and then a problem then occurs afterwards, you think back to what has changed to cause that problem, in my case the only thing I did when the front end was off the ground was pump some grease into the stub axle ball joints, I cannot see that as being a contributing factor
Anyway thanks for your help I will get to the bottom of it and will advise on my findings
Mike

Aside from checking all the shock absorbers have oil to within 3/4 inch from top of filler, the other thing to check is the tyre pressure all round. My Car (Kitcher Special on a 10 Chassis) needs 30 psi (2.1 bar) in the front tyres.

Hope this helps

Mike

If I were you I would start by checking shock absorbers are working properly and filled with the correct oil, next that the king pins & bushes have no play, then check the steering balljoint that fits onto the steering idler arm, they are a known source for causing problems and I'm unsure if it's mentioned elsewhere on the forum, next check track rod ends. There is a mention on the forum of the wedges fitted to the front axle, do a search and read about them and the correct fitment

The ball-joint closest to the steering drop arm (Rover part no. 42843) is designed to reduce road effects on the steering.

If sized or loose (not enough trust on the spring) it can contribute to what you are experiencing.

Thanks to you all for the help, I am current off for weeks holiday ( Was going to be on a road trip in the Rover ,Now in the caravan instead due to the scary moment )

I will be going through all you recommendations and advice as soon as I get back in a week

I am booked to go to Harewood house classic car rally on fathers day, anybody out there going too it would be great to meet up

Thanks

Mike

Hi all

After weeks holiday I have now gone through the recommendations on what to look for on my shimmy problem on the 10, I went through all the joints in the steering to look for any play,I could only find a slight perceptible play in the nearside wheel bearing and tightened that up to reduce it further

All ball joints are good, However I did not recognise the ball joint nearest the steering drop arm as the one shown in the picture posted by Luli it seems to be a regular joint without any adjustment , next I went through the dampers , both were full of oil and seemed to be working well although the rubber bushings on the arms will need replacing, I disconnected the ball joint at the steering drop arm to see if there was any play in the steering box , this also proved to be very good if I am checking it correctly by turning the drop arm to check fro play, whilst this was going on I had taken all the wheels to Quickfit to have them balanced, this proved to be worth while as the fitter said he had a hard time balancing them due to how bad they were, the worst had to have 15 weights attached and the best 2 weights attached, I was hoping that this would be the problem so I fitted the tyres with the least amount of weights attached to them to the front axle.

Now off for a spin down the same road I experienced the shimmy, the car ran over the road where it happened before without any problems, so now I wanted to see if I could induce the shimmy, I found a couple pot holes one on the nearside and one on the offside about six feet apart and ran the car over them, the shimmy came back although maybe not as bad, after going through the steering suspension components I felt more comfortable and confident however so took the car for a long drive, I went over railway lines and other potholes without any problems, in conclusion I feel that if the car will start shimming if the suspension is subject to compression of the springs and dampers one side then the other in quick succession, I will concentrate on replacing the rubbers on the damper arms and perhaps remove the dampers in the near future to check for correct function

The last thing I checked was the the wedges under the front axle springs as advised, these are indeed fitted with the thick end facing backwards not forwards as suggested, however before I alter these, has anybody experience with any improvements from doing so ? I cannot find any topics on anybody doing this on the forum as yet

Once again thanks for the advice and comments the forum is invaluable

Mike

I suspect that not having the correct ball-joint assembly (Rover part number 42843) is the main responsible for the shimmy. This assembly, if sound and when adjusted correctly, prevents the shimmy. Try Mike Couldry or Mike Evans or Freddy Boulton - they might have it.
The wedge is often stamped "front" on its wider side. Sometimes people adding an extra wedge under it, to increase the castor angle. This results in a steadier steering - but heavier on parking.
One more point: the old beam axle may be distorted - results in uneven castor. See in the links below how to test and rectify it.
Finally, Wheel rims themselves can be badly unbalanced and even non-centric. It can be fixed by a garage dealing with alloy wheels - they have the right equipment.
See pictures (and explanations) here: http://wp.me/pXLKy-hO and here: http://wp.me/pXLKy-1AE http://wp.me/pXLKy-1zz