upper steering column for my Disco 1 300 series playing me up

[clover]

Hi

I have an issue with Clover (300 series Disco 1 P reg). I have a serious problem with my steering making it unsafe at the moment.

It is basically when you steer right it locks up like the steering lock is on (v scary!). At first I thought it was the lower shaft seizing up. So out came the WD40. No difference. I removed the lower shaft altogether and now when I turn the wheel it is still doing it!

Leading me to believe that the problem is with the upper steering column. I removed the ignition switch thinking maybe there was a fault with the steering lock. It was still doing it!

On inspection of the column itself it seems to be due to something inside the shaft assembly itself. Whilst getting a mate to hold a pair of grips on the end where it comes out the bulkhead (firewall?) you can actually get the steering wheel to move slightly without it transfering to movement at the other end. It makes a loud clicking like sound and feels like something is slipping. I thought the steering wheel had sheered its splines but you can see the steering column moving and removal of the steering wheel does not show mashed up splines. I am figuring its toast and that I will have to replace the upper column? I am guessing that inside the upper steering column there are actually two shafts and they have some kind of joint that collapses when you have an accident causing the steering column to fold upwards in the middle rather than remaining intack and moving backwards toward the driver? I am thinking something has gone wrong with this joint? But I am only speculating...

Anyone else had this problem?

Anyone got a good secondhand unit?

Cheers

John

[Range Rover Blues]

Any suspicion it's not A-ok and you are right to swap it out.  The column should be the same on all 300 series Disco (and soft dash RRC) but not the 200 series.  There are a few breakers still dealing in LR parts though prices seem to be creeping up.