Power steering failure

[MattA]

Yes but what else could/would you buy now that's hasn't got the same risk. The 76 was the only other contender I did the sums on but a bung knee drew me to the auto in the Gren. The 76 budget came up to $115k which included, Recaros, bullbar etc, rear axle kit & castor work after a lift.
An owner has just completed 3000ks on an Anne Beadell trip (the corrugations are pure evil ) & another has done 10,000k towing including offroad. Standard bings & bongs but nothing that bought them to a halt. Encouraging.

When I did a 70 series build budget it came in well over 130k, that was OK until I test drove 2 of them, what a bucket of crap off the shelf so quickly binned that idea

 

[MrMike]

Yes but what else could/would you buy now that's hasn't got the same risk. The 76 was the only other contender I did the sums on but a bung knee drew me to the auto in the Gren. The 76 budget came up to $115k which included, Recaros, bullbar etc, rear axle kit & castor work after a lift.
An owner has just completed 3000ks on an Anne Beadell trip (the corrugations are pure evil ) & another has done 10,000k towing including offroad. Standard bings & bongs but nothing that bought them to a halt. Encouraging.

Yeah, those corrugations looked awful

 

[MrMike]

When I did a 70 series build budget it came in well over 130k, that was OK until I test drove 2 of them, what a bucket of crap off the shelf so quickly binned that idea

My son drives them occasionally for work, he wonders what all the appeal is about. Says it's one of the most basic uncomfortable vehicles he's driven.

 

[bigleonski]

Yeah, those corrugations looked awful

The corrugations particularly on parts of the eastern side of the Ann Beadell highway are / were absolutely bone jarring / vehicle destroying. There is one rather large section where the ground is almost ironstone and there is zero relief. You can hear the whole dash shaking and it feels like it’s going to separate and fall to pieces. You try to vary your speed to find a sweet spot, but in the end just give up and drive at the speed the group can live with. We were stopped twice a day to run the spanners over the vehicles tightening things up. I had the battery tray bracket lose a nut, mag wheel cover nuts fall off, roof rack nuts and bolts loosen, all sorts of stuff.

But it’s a great trip!!

 

[Tazzieman]

And that is why we are looking for a strong roof rack setup!
Well in Australia at least.

 

[AnD3rew]

Unfortunately, it sounds like someone like DCPU needs to do a breakdown of how to disconnect the steering damper for dummies collage. I'm sitting here wondering, "What's a steering damper, precious?"

Someone could show you in about 2 minutes with a vehicle in front of you. But it’s the kind of thing you probably need to familiarise yourself with before you start out on that kind of adventure

 

[MrMike]

And that is why we are looking for a strong roof rack setup!
Well in Australia at least.

I still think the Rhino is suitable, 18.5kg dynamic load on each "foot" shouldn't be an issue

 

[Tazzieman]

I still think the Rhino is suitable, 18.5kg dynamic load on each "foot" shouldn't be an issue

If they do a 3/4 i'm interested.

 

[ChasingOurTrunks]

As my Grenadier gets loaded onto the AA lorry a guy in a very smart Range Rover is gloating and taking pictures I imagine it will be all over Facebook later. Although I don’t do Facebook View attachment 7820099

He can probably post it to Facebook from his dashboard but doing so will trigger a fault and the AA man will be back to get his Range Rover any minute now.

 

[AnD3rew]

I'm just curious as to why disconnecting the damper would have made a difference to the drive ability if the IG is in limp mode? Anyone got answers?

It’s likely the damper that is making it so hard to steer without power steering, it’s not so much in limp mode, just no power steering. If you remove the damper it is still going to be heavy but probably possible to steer.

 

[MarkH]

If they do a 3/4 i'm interested.

Same one used for the QM, should be about 40kgs. Not cheap, full rack is $2640.

 

[255/85]

Removing the damper will somewhat lighten the steering but with hydraulic systems it will still be difficult to steer as you're now moving fluid through the box manually (he said from 5000 miles away without a Grenadier to confirm with).

It's unlikely that three Gateway Control Modules have failed in a row due to manufacturing errors. Possible but unlikely. In no particular order I would think these are the possible causes:

1) Mechanical binding in the system is causing the module to work too hard and burn out - especially after a longer drive when the vehicle is stopped or turned off and there's no active or passive cooling. This could be swivel/knuckle bearings or tie rod ends (TREs) or the steering box itself. It would not think it to be in the steering shaft or steering wheel bearings as those are above the steering box and any problems would be felt all the time. Maybe there's a steering shaft U-joint that's out of spec and contributing but, again, I would think that would be happening frequently and while driving to boot.

2) An intermittent electrical short to the Gateway Control Module - possibly heat related - somewhere in the wiring is shutting it down. Finding that is a process to be sure.

3) If the module's operation is software related then a bug or PCM failure could be the cause.

I'm no expert but I thought I'd throw these out as a way to start eliminating the obvious. You could have something I am not smart enough to consider. HTH.

 

[James]

With no power steering, I would expect it to be extremely difficult to turn the steering wheel whilst the car is stationary, but not with the vehicle moving. Just like all older heavy cars, the driving technique used to need all the turning done with some movement fore or aft.. Is this consistent with the problem?
definitely reminds me of my 2A, made you a bit stronger in the forearms…

 

[trobex]

A handful of Aussies (the lucky early adopters) have already driven their car out of the showroom , +/- towing , and headed 1000s of km into the outback.
No issues at all.
Are you going to wait for the first CSR?Simpson traverse?

Well no issues yet cause they might be stuck out there no reception!!!

 

[Eric]

As a potential buyer I am watching these types of threads very closely
I want a IG to do remote travel in Australia, most certainly not the environment where a unreliable car is an option…
I hope it gets sorted quickly and you can be on your trip ASAP

If you order now it's going to be some time before you get your vehicle. They should be able to sort things out in that time, and your likely to be on an updated model by then.

 

[MrMike]

Removing the damper will somewhat lighten the steering but with hydraulic systems it will still be difficult to steer as you're now moving fluid through the box manually (he said from 5000 miles away without a Grenadier to confirm with).

It's unlikely that three Gateway Control Modules have failed in a row due to manufacturing errors. Possible but unlikely. In no particular order I would think these are the possible causes:

1) Mechanical binding in the system is causing the module to work too hard and burn out - especially after a longer drive when the vehicle is stopped or turned off and there's no active or passive cooling. This could be swivel/knuckle bearings or tie rod ends (TREs) or the steering box itself. It would not think it to be in the steering shaft or steering wheel bearings as those are above the steering box and any problems would be felt all the time. Maybe there's a steering shaft U-joint that's out of spec and contributing but, again, I would think that would be happening frequently and while driving to boot.

2) An intermittent electrical short to the Gateway Control Module - possibly heat related - somewhere in the wiring is shutting it down. Finding that is a process to be sure.

3) If the module's operation is software related then a bug or PCM failure could be the cause.

I'm no expert but I thought I'd throw these out as a way to start eliminating the obvious. You could have something I am not smart enough to consider. HTH.

Thanks for the detailed explanation

 

[MrMike]

It’s likely the damper that is making it so hard to steer without power steering, it’s not so much in limp mode, just no power steering. If you remove the damper it is still going to be heavy but probably possible to steer.

Yes, but unfortunately won't solve the limp mode issue on the road, but I do understand what you're saying

 

[Tazzieman]

Well no issues yet cause they might be stuck out there no reception!!!

But the clever chap packs a sat phone/Zoleo etc

 

[DCPU]

Agreed, although 2 things help, first is that this does seem to be isolated so far.

I want that to be true but the truth is we really don't know.

Second is that disconnecting the steering damper is an easy job on the track and would allow you to get out of trouble.

That would suppose that symptoms such as solid/seized/jammed steering is all down to the steering damper and if the electrics go at speed, it's impossible to turn a corner in the road?

 

[trobex]

But the clever chap packs a sat phone/Zoleo etc

Faithless! But smart, alas.