92DLX

Hey ya'll,

My wheel is crooked when driving straight after a powersteering swap. You can see how much the wheel is off in the photo which was taken while driving straight. It doesn't drift or pull. What do I do to fix this?

nieb15

If your alignment is fine, simply take the steering wheel off and remount it a straight. There are teeth holding the wheel (much like a gear), and you just need to move it a few teeth counter clockwise. I had this problem after replacing my gauge cluster, I accidentally installed the wheel crooked.

RSR

You actually need to adjust/release the steering shaft to straighten, nto the steering wheel. At least if you want your turn signals to work correctly...

jgrant721

Seems to me if it was straight before the PS work and nothing was touched inside the cab then the problem resulted from something being mis-adjusted in the PS system. Probably the Pitman arm is one notch off on the PS gear spline.

If you did the PS work, well I guess you need to get back under there! If a shop did it, they need to fix it...

Good luck!

Jim G.

nieb15

Interesting, I didn't think the wheel itself had anything to do with the turn signals (I thought the shaft canceled them). My wheel is misaligned yet my turn signals work perfect.

the_supernerd

If the truck is not pulling and the wheel turns an equal amount to the left and right, then odds are you can just re-center the steering wheel as posted above. To get it perfect, I would suggest centering the box with a dial indicator and getting an alignment.

Basically you should have the same amount of turns to the left and right from center, where the steering wheel should be level. Use a dial indicator on the steering box and pitman arm with the pitman arm disconnected from the center link. Mark the box at center and install the steering wheel level. Then reconnected the pitman arm. When you get an alignment, they will adjust the toe with the steering wheel and the box at true center.

Patriot

when you installed the power steering box you misaligned the splines on the knuckle... move it to the driver side 1 notch and it should be right on!

Gevo

Well when I did work on my steering gear I found that unless I remove the bolts of the steering shaft to the firewall I cant slip the connecting gears off from the steering gearbox. In which case it was easier to remove the gearbox bolts. So does are your options for proper adjustment. However I think you may be able to get away by resetting just your steering wheel. Do it and let us know of any megative affects.

92DLX

Couldn't get it to be centered by adjusting at the Pitman arm so removed the wheel and rotated it. Back to center. I haven't really checked to see if it is the same number of cranks in both directions to the bump stop but signals work fine.

jordanirvin

Two questions about this:

After doing the idler arm and pitman arm, my steering wheel looks worse (but further turned to the right). I'm going to pull the pitman arm off, set the steering wheel straight and get the tires pointed as straight as possible. If I get back under there, standing at the front of the truck, pointed towards the rear end and looking upward, I should turn my pitman arm clockwise or counterclockwise to effectively rotate my steering wheel to the left (counterclockwise)?

Secondly, when I originally did this, I had a terrible time getting the pitman time back onto the steering shaft. To get the old one off, I had to use a torch and a puller. Any suggestions for a way to make the new one slip on easier? I tried cleaning off the dust and rust first, as well as a light wipe with grease.

RSR

Your pitman arm has alignment marks which should be aligned with those on your male shaft of the steering box. So that your steering components are bending/banging on your frame when at/near full lock, it's important that this is done correctly.

To fix your steering wheel, the correct way is to adjust the steering shaft. Some do the steering wheel.

jordanirvin

RSR,
If my pitman arm has marks (others have said theirs don't), then I can't see them. I was hoping to chalk it now, then rotate it 2-3 splines to adjust the steering wheel to where is should be, and repeat these steps if necessary since there is a very good chance I mis-aligned it during the removal/install.
I'm trying to cut down on the trial and error and rotate it in the right direction to start.

RSR

From here: http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/su...ckup-steering/

If it didn't come with alignment marks, then the part is faulty and needs returned.

Then you align with the mark on the shaft:

harleyman711

Question is that possible to aligned the mark without remove the tie rod because those fork damage the joint boots it so how to proceed . the tie rod is brand new


thanks

Gevo

My 2 cents..

I purchased the truck with about a 30 degree offset on the wheel. Rebuilt the stearing gear, reinstalled and still had about a 20 degree offset. Recently changed my tie rods and I new I needed an alignment anyway so i didn't keep track of existing dimension, after new ones isntalled I had a 90 degree offset.. then I eyeballed it, used the tie rod adjustments to get her back to maybe a 5 degree offset now. Checked that I don't hit the limit of the stearing gear, and now good to go until I get her aligned

the_supernerd

You can use a tie rod puller tool. I bought a cheap one at Autozone a few years ago, and I think it was only $10 or $15. If I remember correctly, they have two different sizes. The smaller one is the tie rod puller, and the big one is a pitman arm puller. I think on my truck I needed to use the pitman arm puller for the tie rods, but I am not sure, so measure first or buy both.

Tie rod pullers might put some pressure on the boot, but you can be careful and not damage anything like with a pickle fork.

RSR

Yes, align the mark on your pitman. If you raise the front end off the ground you can move your tires/centerlink to get everything aligned to the pitman. I'd probably get the pitman aligned and on loosely. Raise and get the nut on the pitman loosely. Lower. And then torque to spec. I think I ultimately ended up doign the centerlink first once I get everything close but can't recall.

I WOULD NOT HAVE THE VEHICLE OFF THE GROUND WHEN YOU'RE TORQUING OR USING A BREAKING BAR.

Yes, that's caps. Busting the pitman nut is a crap ton of force. Wear safety glasses in the event your breaker bar breaks... It has been known to happen.