Steering wheel off center but truck tracks perfect.

Skillet · Jul 9, 2006

Went and did some medium to heavy wheeling this weekend to see what she has got and when I got back on the highway today, I noticed that the steering wheel is way off center. Definitely not like that before.
It is probably 2-3 inches from straight when going straighline, but when you let go of the wheel at 70, she floats straight as an arrow.
Perhaps I am not familiar enough with this steering system but when any other truck or car I have had with a wheel off center, it would not track correctly.

Any ideas on this one and a fix for it?

Capocaccia · Jul 9, 2006

More than likely your steering linkage. Nothing big, an easy fix. Your tires could be out of alignement a little but its probably just the linkage.

IBCRUSN · Jul 9, 2006

If it still tracks ok it's probably not the tie rod. I did the same thing back in Feb and haven't bothered to change it, still tracks fine and no odd tire wear. Unless you have the ability to make the adjustment yourself I wouldn't bother because it'll change the next time out. Otherwise adjust away and get used to it. good luck

dtchevy42 · Jul 10, 2006

I had the same problem after some tough wheeling with my stock truck. Turns out that the front rod adjusts the relationship between the steering wheel and wheel position while the rod behind the wheels, the tie rod, is the one that changes the toe. From the way I understand it, one can be out of adjustment but the other can be fine.

Well, even though my truck went straight enough, the steering wheel bothered me. So I took it to the alignment shop and they fixed it. The toe was actually off by just a bit, so it wasn't a complete waste of time.

NorCalDoug · Jul 10, 2006

same happened to me after some wheeling a couple years ago.
I just got used to it being a little off-center...I figure that I'll fix it eventually when/if I need to replace my tie rod or TREs.

Darwood · Jul 10, 2006

The drag link is so easy to adjust there is no reason not to. It takes all of 2 minutes. (the drag link is the connection from the steering arm to the knuckle) Which direction did the steering wheel shift to?

To adjust the wheel to the right (clockwise) the rod should be turned up when facing it. To adjust the wheel left (counterclockwise) the rod should be turned down while facing it from the front of the truck. All it takes are 2 17mm wrenches to loosen the bolts and nuts that lock it down.

To adjust it 5 degrees either way I would turn the drag link about 1/8 of a turn.

I however don't know why it is out of alignment.

Also be sure the steering wheel isn't locked when you adjust it or the rod might be hard to turn.

landtank · Jul 10, 2006

you might have bent the drag link. Is the wheel to the right when driving down the road? If so that is what most likely happened.

Mickldo · Jul 10, 2006

Most likely a twisted sector shaft in your PS box. I've twisted mine several times. Search "sector shaft".

If everything looks straight underneath ie; no bent tie rods or draglinks, check that the sector shaft is straight. To do this park the 80 with the wheels pointing straight ahead then check the scribed alignment mark on the end of the sector shaft, it should be parallel with the chassis. BTW the sector shaft is the vertical shaft coming out of the bottom of the PS box that the pitman arm is bolted to.

Sector shafts on 80s must be made of licorice as they seem to twist all the time when wheeling moderately hard. I think tyre offset plays a big role in the chances of it twisting as since I've gone back to OE rims my frequency of twisting the shaft has reduced greatly.

Mickldo · Jul 10, 2006

A couple of pics of the likely culprit

Has anybody found an aftermarket source for these as genuine prices start getting a bit over the top after the first two or three?

I hope for your sake it is only a bent draglink but I reckon it's probably the sector shaft.

:cheers:

edit; BTW in the first pic you can see the twisted splines causing the problem.

TX_TLC · Jul 10, 2006

On the superior

D) 93 and 94 FZJ's (non airbag) you can adjust the stearing wheel back to center yourself.

C-Dan posted some excelent step by step instructions that worked great for me.

Skillet · Jul 10, 2006

landtank said:
you might have bent the drag link. Is the wheel to the right when driving down the road? If so that is what most likely happened.

I checked all of the linkage, and nothing looks bent, or even scratched.

It is, however, turned to the right.

Skillet · Jul 10, 2006

TX_TLC said:
On the superior D) 93 and 94 FZJ's (non airbag) you can adjust the stearing wheel back to center yourself.

C-Dan posted some excelent step by step instructions that worked great for me.

I thought about that, as my vehicle is a '93, but I just don't want to be overlooking and masking a larger problem under the vehicle.

Skillet · Jul 10, 2006

Mickldo said:
A couple of pics of the likely culprit

View attachment 82541

View attachment 82542

View attachment 82543

Has anybody found an aftermarket source for these as genuine prices start getting a bit over the top after the first two or three?

I hope for your sake it is only a bent draglink but I reckon it's probably the sector shaft.

edit; BTW in the first pic you can see the twisted splines causing the problem.

So, if this IS the culprit...would it be a big deal if I just straightened the wheel itself and kept on cruising or is there colateral damage that can occur?

Darwood · Jul 10, 2006

TX_TLC said:
On the superior D) 93 and 94 FZJ's (non airbag) you can adjust the stearing wheel back to center yourself.

C-Dan posted some excelent step by step instructions that worked great for me.

Did this include removing the wheel and recentering it? I hope not. It's 100 times easier to adjust the draq link and works for all 80 series (and 40, 55, 60 etc.) And adjusting the drag link is the correct method for centering a wheel.

landtank · Jul 10, 2006

Skillet said:
So, if this IS the culprit...would it be a big deal if I just straightened the wheel itself and kept on cruising or is there colateral damage that can occur?

if the pitman arm jumped out of position you might not be able to turn the wheel to it's full lock position going right because it would be limited by the steering box and not the stops on the knuckle. You might try and look at that as well.

Ivan80 · Jul 10, 2006

In your other post you had stated that you bent your PS rear control arm. Was it bad enough to offset your rear axle? If it was bent bad enough this would shorten the distance between your PS front and rear tires, causing you to have to steer to the left going down the road.

I don't know if would still 'float as straight as an arrow' if you let go of the wheel however.

Just a thought.

cruiserdan · Jul 10, 2006

Mickldo said:
Most likely a twisted sector shaft in your PS box. I've twisted mine several times. Search "sector shaft".

If everything looks straight underneath ie; no bent tie rods or draglinks, check that the sector shaft is straight. To do this park the 80 with the wheels pointing straight ahead then check the scribed alignment mark on the end of the sector shaft, it should be parallel with the chassis. BTW the sector shaft is the vertical shaft coming out of the bottom of the PS box that the pitman arm is bolted to.

Sector shafts on 80s must be made of licorice as they seem to twist all the time when wheeling moderately hard. I think tyre offset plays a big role in the chances of it twisting as since I've gone back to OE rims my frequency of twisting the shaft has reduced greatly.

My thought as well.

Cruiser Jimmy · Jul 10, 2006

There should be a scribe mark on the pitman arm and the sector shaft for you to reference. You may need to clear err up.

BTW, I could have a sector shaft and seal kit for sale if you need it.

cruiserdan · Jul 10, 2006

Skillet said:
So, if this IS the culprit...would it be a big deal if I just straightened the wheel itself and kept on cruising or is there colateral damage that can occur?

I would think that a twisted sector shaft would be weakened. Not the kind of part you want breaking at 60 mph...

Skillet · Jul 10, 2006

cruiserdan said:
I would think that a twisted sector shaft would be weakened. Not the kind of part you want breaking at 60 mph...

Good point. Silly me. :grinpimp:

Steering wheel off center but truck tracks perfect.

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