Steering wheel out 90 degrees (1 Viewer)

[BloodyMGT]

Greetings and salutations. I took the newly acquired FJ80 up an easy pass this weekend. Went up Medano Pass from the Great Sand Dunes Nat. Park side. Only hit hard once in a mud pit. Now my steering wheel is 90 degrees out. I checked the universal joint in the cabin, the sliding joint yoke and the pitman arm. All seem tight and normal. Wheels are aligned and no noticeable pull. There is and was minimal play in steering box. Cruiser has not been off raod at all before.
Are there gears in the gear housing that could have jumped? Where would an exact 90 degree difference most likely come from?

 

[Douglas S]

Bent drag link or twister sector shaft splines are two likely possibilities.

 

[FJP971]

Make sure your tie rod and drag link are straight. I bent the drag link/steering relay and my steering wheel was off buy about 90 degrees.

 

[baldilocks]

Literally every time I go wheeling, I hit the pavement with my steering wheel in a different position than it was before I left the pavement. However, the difference is usually more like 45 degrees.

If your sector shaft splines got twisted, I would be surprised. The drag link and tie rod can bend rather easily despite being made of rather thick material.

All suspension bolts need to be torque checked regularly when you use your rig off road. Old, crusty bushings can contribute to what you are experiencing also.

I decided "it is what it is" and if nothing is bent, broken or twisted, I'm not worrying about it because I also had this happen on other trucks I wheeled.

 

[FastCarGuy]

Same thing happened to me one time. The adjuster for the drag link was not as tight as it could have been. The impact knocked the lower part of the drag link. Simple enough to fix. Loosen the 2 nuts with IIRC a 9/16" wrench and readjust.

 

[bwakeling]

Bent my sector shaft. Take a look through the driver wheel well and you might be able to see twisted splines.

 

[mudgudgeon]

If your sector shaft splines got twisted, I would be surprised.

I wouldn't be surprised myself.

I twisted one on a weekend trip. Changed out the steering box for a trip the following weekend. Finished the swap at 11pm Friday night, by 12noon the following day, the replacement was twisted like a, pretzel after hitting an unexpected pot hole at 25mph.

Have a good look at the 3/16 of visible spline between the Pittman arm and steering box, the spines should be parallel with the shaft. If they appear angled at all, the sector shaft is twisted