ieandro

Hey all,

I swapped my Pitman arm and apparently the new arm isn't an exact match so m steering wheel sits bout 90º to the left. The arm needed to be changed before I could get an alignment so the alignment isn't good to begin with. After reading some posts I need to do a driveway alignment before I can get it to the shop.

Do both driver and passenger side tie rods need to be equal length?

Does centering the drag link make a good starting point? Where do I center on?


I honestly don't know what i'm doing. I've worked on cars, but never attempted a home alignment. If my questions seem stupid please enlighten me.

rustypigeon

Edit: can you reposition the pitman arm on the splines to get the wheel staright?

ieandro

Thought about that, but wouldn't that reduce the amount of rotational range of the steering wheel on one side?

When the pit arm is disconnected I ensured the equal amounts of rotational range (2 1/4 turns each) then centered the wheel. Alignment makes on splines matched but when connected the steering wheel is 90° off the left when driving straight down the road.

ieandro

Also, after doing that I stopped on a flat surface (wheels straight, but steering wheel still off to the left), disconnected the pit arm from the steering splines, rotated my steering wheel center, and when reconnecting the pit arm, found the marks to be in alignment (weird??) and reconnected again. Started the truck, drive straight and still did the same thing.

xfactor203

How far is it to the alignment shop? I have swapped steering parts a bunch and always just drove it to the shop to be aligned (maybe 5 miles at most) afterward.

Sturmcrow

I agree. The steering being off center a bit should not matter at all for a short drive.

Now, if the wheels are howling while you drive down asphalt, that's a whole 'nother story (been there too).

ieandro

It's about 3 miles away, but reading these posts now. About an hour ago I took the tie rods out to get them equal in length and get a driveway alignment done before taking it to the professionals. Darkness and cold stopped me from putting it back together so will try again tomorrow.

Only reason why the tie rods are out because when I tried to adjust the spline position earlier today, i found keeping one wheel pointing straight out (in my case the drivers side), the passenger side just seemed to be pointing out with excessive toe out. Upon inspecting the tie rod, it looks like the passenger side has about 3-4 threads showing on both inner and outer, but the drivers side tie rod has no threads showing.
I'll get them even and try again with the pit arm splines.

Sturmcrow

Did you read through the driveway alignment thread here on YT? I think you will find that things go from bad to worse if you just try to align by matching the tie rod end thread counts. There is a very good chance you will make it undrivable.

Check out the driveway alignment thread and get your string ready and you should be good to go. Again, do not worry about the clocking on the steering wheel for now. Only be concerned if the tires are howling while you try to drive it (or it is uncontrollable, of course).

Flash319

Only 90, I would just pop the steering wheel off an turn it to center.....

ieandro

I did read the driveway alignment thread along with some others. I understand for the most part (some pictures have been deleted which would have been nice as a reference for our specific truck). Before I had started any work i've noticed my front passenger wheel with toe out condition when the front drivers side wheel is straight. This led me to believe the tie rod was longer in the passenger side because of the amount of threads I can see compared to the shorter tie rod on the drivers side. I was going to turn the passenger side tie rod in to match the length of the driver side tie rod in the hopes that brings the passenger side wheel more in line with the drivers side wheel.
That way I can kind of get it close before I find the steering box center (2 1/4 rotations for left and right on the steering wheel) and then reconnect the pit arm.

Unless I'm wrong, please tell me. My hesitation in just popping the steering wheel off and centering is my reasoning of reducing the roational range of the steering wheel (ex. 3 turns to the right and 1 1/2 turns to the left) because preloading the steering wheel either left or right.

I've seen the posts where many have just said to popping the steering wheel off and recentering, but i don't see the justification mechanically why that would not adversely affect driveability. I just seems dangerous to limit oneself when steering left or right.

I hope I make sense. I will definitely be taking it to the alignment shop, but would rather get it as close as i can

xfactor203

I am speaking from ignorance here, but isn't steering wheel rotation limited by the steering stops on the knuckles? Meaning turning radius is unaffected by alignment of the steering wheel.

ieandro

And you may very well be correct, sir, but can you tell me why preloading the steering wheel left or right would not affect its range? I'm also speaking out of ignorance, but with the pitman arm disconnected i can count 2 1/4 turns either way - which leads me to believe just disconnecting the steering wheel and recentering will reduce those turns either way. I am positive when exiting my driveway at a low speed into the street that i will turn that steering wheel almost 2 turns which leads me to think how dangerous it would be if I wasn't able to complete my turns sending me driving wide across the lane.

xfactor203

Preloading wouldn't affect the range if wheel rotation is limited by the steering stops when everything is attached. When you checked the range with the pitman arm disconnected, was the arm disconnected from the shaft, or from the rack? If the pitman arm was still connected to the bottom of the shaft it would eventually hit stuff under there, making it stop.

Regardless, you could always move the steering wheel the 90 degrees, jack the front up, and turn the wheel lock to lock. Look under there to confirm the steering stops are making contact at each extreme. If so, you're good to go.

ieandro

Thanks for the replies. As an update, I went ahead and ordered new tie rod assemblies. The passenger side could not be adjusted. Looks like come corrosion on the threads, plus the boot was leaking out some grease. Cranking on it netted me some busted knuckles and mangled rods. Non-greasable so it was only a matter of time before it went. Picked up some Duralast components which look fine - only weird that the outer had zerk fittings. Will install hopefully tomorrow and report back.