Steering Column Telescope Mechanism Problems & Solutions (Mark III)
Introduction
Symptoms
Cures
Parts
Reach Motor Replacement and Spindle Lubrication
Possible Shortcuts
More
Information
Photo: Steering
wheel on a 2003 Range Rover (from official press photo)
Introduction
Less common than failure of the tilt mechanism is jamming of the
telescoping or "reach" mechanism. (For problem reports see the RR
III Common Symptoms and Fixes page). This page is an
effort to document the official solutions and solicit input from owners
regarding any alternative fixes.
Symptoms
Two
main symptoms are commonly reported; squeaking and jamming. A number of
Rangerovers.net readers have reported the jamming problem. For example,
Ross Abaya
reported (March 2004) that the steering wheel telescopic feature froze
up on his '03 model with 19,000 miles. Another reader reported (June
2004) having both vertical and telescoping movement frozen on his
RR at 36,000 miles, and after the dealer "fixed" it there was an inch
of free play in the telescoping direction!
Cures
On April 12, 2005 Land Rover recognized these problems officially and
issued a service bulletin 57/04/05/NAS for its cure. In the words of
the official announcement, "Occasional jamming of the
telescope mechanism is addressed simply by lubrication, but if
operation is noisy the telescoping motor (reach motor) has to be
replaced". It is interesting that the seemingly lesser problem requires
replacement, while the more serious problem of jamming only requires
lubrication, and adjustment of the spindle nut. All L322 (LM) Range
Rover models can apparently be affected. In another twist, lubrication
is just as much work as replacement!! Both are rated as 1.6 hour jobs,
and are basically identical, involving the removal and reinstallation
of the (original or new) reach motor.
Parts Required
Grease QYL500010
Nylon bracket QYH500030
Steering column tool QME500100
Reach motor kit QME500090 contains the above items as well as the motor.
Replacement of Reach (Telescoping)
Motor and Lubrication of Shaft
Unfotunately the repair requires removal of the upper
steering colum. This is
adequately described in the official shop manual but is a tedious
procedure and the main reason why the whole repair operation takes 1.6
hours. Once you have managed to remove this part, the following
procedure is used.
Photo at right (adapted
from official Land Rover TSB photo) shows upper steering column removed.
1. Remove the old
motor from the springy white nylon clip that holds it in place.
2.
If you have the kit
with the special tool
QME50010, stick the tool in
its place. If not, use some other square shaft that you can grab with a
wrench. Use the tool to hold the shaft steady while you release the
spindle nut half a turn, then tighten it up again to 4.5 lb-ft (6 N-m).
Then, release it again one "flat".
3. If necessary,
renew the white nylon mounting clip. Re-insert the flexible drive into
the spindle.
4. Shove the new (or
old) motor into the nylon clip, making sure the protrusion inside it
engages with the hole in the motor housing to prevent the motor from
rotating.
5.
Apply
a thin bead of grease to the tilt and reach spindles.
6. Replace the complete steering column assembly according to the
shop manual.
Possible Shortcuts
If the problem is jamming, then abbreviating the procedure to step 6
above without removing the upper steering column might have at least a
palliative effect anad would only take about 15-20 minutes.
If you do go through the complete procedure but don't have the
official tool, you can probably get by just using a Crescent wrench on
the square cross section of the flexible drive to hold the shaft still
while making the spindle nut torque adjustment.
2006 Recall
In August 2006 a recall campaign was started to replace the steering
column on all Mk III Range Rovers. For more information on this see the
Steering Column Tilt Mechanism page.
More Information
Steering column tilt mechanism problems &
fixes
Common Problems and Fixes
(Range Rover III).