Post steering rack replacement Steering wheel off center

[chudly]

replaced my steering rack and i thought I had everything centered.

Well after getting everything back together it looks like the steering wheel is about 20-30 degrees turned to the left while driving straight. DOH!

Is there enough room/slack where I am I able to pull the steering shaft coupling off the steering rack while everything else is still bolted together? I do not want to take apart everything again !


Thanks

 

[PabloCruise]

Not sure about that, here is how I approached things: How To: Replace your own steering rack

 

[Skidoo]

Not sure how much extra rotation the spiral cable in column will support, if it goes to far it will break. As it is set now it will allow an extra 20-30 degrees in one direction. The other thing needed is getting the steering angle sensor data reset.
So as painful as it is to readjust the steering shaft coupling think you have to do it. I don't know if instead it is recommended to re-clock the spiral cable and reset steering angle sensor data, turn signal reset is in there too.

 

[FxFormat]

Remove steering wheel, line it up straight and reinstall. Hope the rack was centered and the steering wheel centered when you put it in. The reason your wheel is off centered now because when you put the input shaft on, it’s off by a few splines. Your traction control light is on now? Setting the steering wheel straight should cure it.

 

[CanadianRockyCruiser]

There is very little room to readjust the splines with the rack in, but it can be done with a few good tools. I recall the 10mm bolt being the biggest pain in the rear. I used a fairly long screwdriver and a mallet to tap the steering shaft free from the rack. Getting it back in, straight, was a bit of a pain too.

 

[Skidoo]

Remove steering wheel, line it up straight and reinstall. Hope the rack was centered and the steering wheel centered when you put it in. The reason your wheel is off centered now because when you put the input shaft on, it’s off by a few splines. Your traction control light is on now? Setting the steering wheel straight should cure it.

You don't want to do just this. See my post a few back, there is more to it than just re-clocking the steering wheel.

 

[TXLX100]

I recently replaced the steering rack on mine. I kept the wheel centered when I removed the rack. After installing the new rack I measured the left, right, and center range of the steering rack with the column not attached, then reattached column with rack and what I could determine was center for the rack and center for the steering wheel. The steering wheel came up off center about 15 degrees to the right. I adjusted the tie rod about 3 full turns on each side to get the wheel straight, until I got it aligned. Before alignment, the toe was pointed outboard about the same amount on each side, but not terrible.

 

[87warrior]

Is there enough room/slack where I am I able to pull the steering shaft coupling off the steering rack while everything else is still bolted together? I do not want to take apart everything again !

YES! There is enough room in the steering shaft to make the adjustment. Before moving the steering shaft a spline or two over, double check that your tire rods are set the same. I soaked the intermediate steering shaft splines with penetrating oil, removed the bolts from the middle of the shaft and at the rack, and used a persuasion tool to push the shaft off the rack. I centered the steering wheel and held it in place (a ratchet strap around the bottom of the steering wheel to brake pedal worked for me) then pushed the lower shaft back onto the rack's splines.

Pulling the steering wheel or centering it via tie rod adjustments is ignoring that the steering shaft was installed off center.

 

[Somebodyelse5]

YES! There is enough room in the steering shaft to make the adjustment. Before moving the steering shaft a spline or two over, double check that your tire rods are set the same. I soaked the intermediate steering shaft splines with penetrating oil, removed the bolts from the middle of the shaft and at the rack, and used a persuasion tool to push the shaft off the rack. I centered the steering wheel and held it in place (a ratchet strap around the bottom of the steering wheel to brake pedal worked for me) then pushed the lower shaft back onto the rack's splines.

Pulling the steering wheel or centering it via tie rod adjustments is ignoring that the steering shaft was installed off center.

When you did this, did you have to unbolt the rack itself? I'm a few degree's off, ever after being super careful.

 

[87warrior]

I did not unbolt the rack (that I can remember), but I do not see why that would pose a problem to get the steering shaft aligned. When I initially removed the rack, I also removed the intermediate shaft (lower 1/2 of the steering shaft assembly) at the collar accessible in the wheel well. I was able to clean up the splines and apply lube so the shafts fit together easily and with the bolt removed they would compress. These can only fit together one way since the collar is keyed.

If you are off just a few degrees, double check that your tie rods are set identically. If they are not the same, your steering wheel alignment will appear to be off center.