babyfood1217

Not sure how to better phrase that title, but here is what I up against...

1993 4runner - 22re with 5sp

I've had this truck almost two years. When purchased, it was clear it had been in a front end collision, given the slight body damage (front driver fender and driver side front bumper.) This appeared to have been dealt with and repaired fairly well however, so I never did too much to it. One thing that I left alone at the time of purchase, was the steering wheel. It was clocked off by a bit (25-45 degrees), but the truck tracks straight and I had no abnormal tire wear.

Fast forward to now. I've got new ball joints on the truck, new TRE's waiting to go in, and $800 worth of new Cooper tires on the truck. Really, I'm just working on getting the running gear all sorted and trued up. Since my hands were dirty working on it the other, I pulled the steering wheel off and reclocked it to center.

YES, I understood this would throw off the turn signal indicator switches (one would cancel early, the other a lot later.)

That is why I decided to undo that move. So, my wheel is still clocked off, and I'm not sure what order to remedy it. What I know is this...

-pitman arm is registered correctly on the steering gearbox
-TRE are fairly even on either side of the truck
-steering wheel is likely not installed dead center on the steering post (?) assembly, likely due to both my changing it in the first place, but also failing to match-mark it when reversing my actions.

So what I'm wondering is what steps/order/sequence should I go through in order to get my steering wheel centered AND have the overall steering equal between L and R (ie: no early/late turn signal cancel issues.)

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

The position of the wheel on the shaft does not affect when the turn signals cancel.

When you go for your front end alignment just tell them you want your steering wheel centered.

I am sure you don`t want your new front tires ruined in a few hundred miles.

Alignment makes things steer so much smoother.

bswarm

When you take it in for alignment ask them to check the Steering Axis Inclination (SAI) and Included Angle (IA) and ask for the alignment printout. It only takes an extra minute and shouldn't cost any more. That along with the rear thrust angle (should be close to 0) will tell you if you have a bent frame. Please share the align printout. Might want to look at the steering coupler on the shaft at the steering box too.

babyfood1217

Cool. As soon as those TRE's got put on and I get a driveway alignment done, I'll have my shop finalize things and true everything up. I've never heard of the SAI and IA in regards to alignment before. Good to know. I'll get a printout posted ASAP