I just replaced the tie rods on my land rover (a solid 6 on the suck scale) and when playing around with the steering dampner, noticed I could easily push it in and out by hand.
Are these like regular suspension dampners where if you can move them easily, they are done?
A steering damper shouldn't be stiff at low piston velocities, it should be stiff when something tries to compress or extend it quickly (as in faster than a driver could turn the wheel).
I replaced the tierods due to a steering wheel wobble at high cornering speeds. It would shake violently from side to side when cornering hard. I wonder if that could also be a sign of a bad dampner?
Dampeners don't really necessary cause bad shakes, but will cover up minor ones.
You shouldn't easily be able to push one in, either. At least, not if it's gas charged.
ok.. off to order a new one!
What u described as your problem was your dampner. Unless of course tje joints were loose.
the were loose, you could twist the tierod by hand.
I have never had a car with dedicated dampner before. Yes, the Fiat had one, but it was intergrated into the system as a pivot.. the rest of the cars were rack and pinion steering
Just to be that guy, this is a dampener:
And this is a damper:
I used to do the same until a certain incident around some FSAE judges my freshman year. Still not as good as the team leader's balaclava/baklava mixup.
Down south we pronounce it dampner. Note the lack of an extra e.
Tie rods are supposed to twist...
not the way these were twisting. I could easily grab them by hand and twist them back and forth. And something I never saw before on one of the balljoints on the front tierod.. the grease inside had turned to liquid that oozed out all over the place once I punctured the boot with the picklefork
Grease is oil suspended in soap (or other things). Break the soap down, and the oil runs. Perfectly normal, and happens quite a lot when mixing greases.
Steering dampers are generally quite a bit softer than shocks. They're there to help keep the wheels from flapping when airborne (look at old farm trucks when they do it), and from kicking the steering wheel so hard it breaks your thumb. The action should be uniform and equal in both directions, full range. Nothing wrong with replacing one though. They do wear out, and do leak out their oil.
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