Problems Adjusting Drag Link to Center Steering Wheel (1 Viewer)

[mphilleo]

Followup: I successfully centered the steering wheel but the tracking doesn't seem to be 100% straight. This may be due to the excessive wind during my test drive tonight. Or the previous owner may have been masking an alignment issue.

 

[bicycleagent003]

Turning the drag link which way turns the steering wheel which way?

In other words, if I am sitting on the ground under the front bumper staring at the drag link (looking front to back), and I grab hold of the drag link with my hands and turn the top of it toward the rear of the vehicle, will that turn/adjust the steering wheel clockwise or counter-clockwise?

Thanks, in advance. Mine is very close to perfect, just needs a minor tune, so I don't to find out by trial and error.

 

[cruiserdan]

I can't tell you off the top of my head but you can look at the thread angle to determine what it will do.

O///I I\\\O

In the crude example above you have a left hand thread on the left side and a right hand thread on the right side. If you grab the tube from this side and twist it upward you will push the ends out. If you twist the tube downward you will draw the ends together.

I hope this makes sense.

 

[thatcabledude]

You won’t hurt anything turning it too much one way to find out. Just give it a healthy twist and find out. If it went the wrong way back ‘er on up.

 

[SpenserAK]

I made a note for myself if I ever had to do it again. To answer your specific question, if you roll the bar toward the back of the vehicle, the wheel should turn to the right.

Wheel to right: Roll bar back

Wheel to left: Roll bar forward

I actually need to do a micro adjustment, so this was a good reminder…

 

[bicycleagent003]

I made a note for myself if I ever had to do it again. To answer your specific question, if you roll the bar toward the back of the vehicle, the wheel should turn to the right.

Wheel to right: Roll bar back

Wheel to left: Roll bar forward

I actually need to do a micro adjustment, so this was a good reminder…

Thanks so much. I really appreciate it.

 

[60 toy ota]

I know you already got it separated, but what I had to do was remove the rod with ends, remove a wheel, and loosely place the stuck end into the steering arm so that the rod is sticking out of the car as opposed to under it. Then, I set up a Jack stand at the same height as the steering arm and placed it under the "floating"end. From there it was back to the pipe wrench but now you're free to jump on the end. It popped for a good few rotations before moving freely but did the trick

 

[Marco Lau]

i just pull the steering wheel off and center it, takes about 2 mins. This happens every time after our wheeling trip. No air bag of course.

 

[cruiserdan]

i just pull the steering wheel off and center it, takes about 2 mins. This happens every time after our wheeling trip. No air bag of course.

You may want to inspect your steering linkage, including the sector shaft for twisting. It takes a fair amount of force to knock the wheel off center. The forces are harder than the feed-back through the wheel.