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Centering steering wheel

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steve from staten island

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With the car driving straight ahead my steering wheel is not centered. The toe in/out is very close. I know the steering wheel has a master spline or flat spot and can not be removed and centered ( i think) . Im searching past threads and still am confused
Can anyone shed light on exactly how i go about centering the wheel....Thanks
 
You do it with the tie rod ends.....if it's bad, then you need to find out why it's so far out of whack.
 
The same way that the alignment shop does it. First, you center the steering wheel, and then from under the car you loosen both outer tie rod ends. Looking at the car from the front, one tire should slightly toed in and the other slightly toed out. On the tire that is towed in, you will turn the tie rod sleeve in the direction it takes to shorten the total distance between the inner and outer tie rod. This will cause the tire to toe out. You turn the adjuster on the other side of the car the exact same number of turns in the opposite direction to toe the tire in. When you are done, the steering wheel should still be straight and the tires should now be pointing straight ahead.
 
MoparLeo said:
The same way that the alignment shop does it. First, you center the steering wheel, and then from under the car you loosen both outer tie rod ends. Looking at the car from the front, one tire should slightly toed in and the other slightly toed out. On the tire that is towed in, you will turn the tie rod sleeve in the direction it takes to shorten the total distance between the inner and outer tie rod. This will cause the tire to toe out. You turn the adjuster on the other side of the car the exact same number of turns in the opposite direction to toe the tire in. When you are done, the steering wheel should still be straight and the tires should now be pointing straight ahead.
Click to expand...
You have to loosen both clamps on both sides to make adjustments....
 
No and no.....just loosen the clamps on the sleeves. If the threads are dirty and dry, clean and lube them. Pitman arm is indexed with a blank spline. There's left and right hand threads so when you turn them, things move pretty quick. It would be nice to have the front sitting on turn plates but it can be done without them. Just don't make 'big' adjustments.
 
Loosen the clamps on each sleeve (red arrows)

Turn the whole sleeve to lenthen or shorten. They're right and left hand threads inside the sleeve. (tube)

With the steering wheel straight, look at the car from the front. Which tire needs to go in or out to make it right? Turn that sleeve to lenthen or shorten. Count the turns, maybe only a half turn at a time depending in how far your steering wheel is off. Then turn the sleeve at the other wheel the opposite way the same amount.

(This drawing isn't exact but close enough for an example)
20181121_215847.jpg
 
Last edited:
Started to go looking for a drawing! And yep, it's close enough and excellent to see the tie rod ends and adjuster sleeves. The drag or center link is what's different. What kind of a car would use that setup??
 
steve340 said:
The drawing could be a Ford Mustang.
Click to expand...
Not familiar with Mustangs from 67 up but 65/66's weren't like that. The ones with PS had a slave cylinder but you could remove that and iirc, swap out the drag link and go with a manual setup easy enough. Column was the same too. Man, been a long time since owning one of those weak *** cars lol
 
Cranky said:
Started to go looking for a drawing! And yep, it's close enough and excellent to see the tie rod ends and adjuster sleeves. The drag or center link is what's different. What kind of a car would use that setup??
Click to expand...

i-dont-know-smiley-emoticon.gif
just grabbed it off the net.

I edited my response to just a half a turn at a time.

Jack the car up, loosen the clamps and spray penetrating oil in the slot in the sleeves. Get them so they're working real easy. Don't adjust anything yet. With everything working easy, set the car back on the floor, roll it back and forth once to settle the suspension. Then set your steering wheel straight and see which way the wheels need to go to make them straight. Now reach under and turn the sleeve that makes one wheel correct. Then turn the sleeve on the other side the opposite way the same amount.

With the suspension hanging it throws everything out of wack. Do it with the car on the floor to see what you need easier. Once things look good then jack it back up and tighten the clamps. Remember, lenthen one side, shorten the other the same amount.
 
steve from staten island said:
With the car driving straight ahead my steering wheel is not centered. The toe in/out is very close. I know the steering wheel has a master spline or flat spot and can not be removed and centered ( i think) . Im searching past threads and still am confused
Can anyone shed light on exactly how i go about centering the wheel....Thanks
Click to expand...
Next time you go to an Alignment shop...get the idiots to lock the steering wheel in the centered position BEFORE making any adjustments. Then your steering wheel should be about where you expect it to be. :D
 
kiwigtx said:
Next time you go to an Alignment shop...get the idiots to lock the steering wheel in the centered position BEFORE making any adjustments. Then your steering wheel should be about where you expect it to be. :D
Click to expand...
I didnt take it to a alignment shop. I do now understand that the wheel has to be held in the proper place. I think thats part of the problem I'm having
 
steve from staten island said:
I didnt take it to a alignment shop. I do now understand that the wheel has to be held in the proper place. I think thats part of the problem I'm having
Click to expand...
Take it to an Alignment Shop....otherwise you are just guessing, and will scrub out your tires in no time at all.
 
kiwigtx said:
Next time you go to an Alignment shop...get the idiots to lock the steering wheel in the centered position BEFORE making any adjustments. Then your steering wheel should be about where you expect it to be. :D
Click to expand...
Been a very long time since taking my old junk to an alignment shop. Not very many know that the cam adjusters on the upper control arms do NOT go full circle. If you've never seen that damage, you don't want to! It really screws things up. Started doing my own alignments nearly 30 years ago and there's no guessing if you have the right tools. Only thing is, 4 wheel alignment off of a laser machine isn't very easy but it's not that easy doing 4 wheel aligning with a live axle car anyways.
 
I have alignment tools and I'm trying to get it as close to possible before i drive it to the shop. I set the camber, caster and got the toe in/out very close. When i took it out for a ride the difference was drastic in the way it drove, i was very happy. However the steering wheel was slightly off.
 
steve from staten island said:
I have alignment tools and I'm trying to get it as close to possible before i drive it to the shop. I set the camber, caster and got the toe in/out very close. When i took it out for a ride the difference was drastic in the way it drove, i was very happy. However the steering wheel was slightly off.
Click to expand...
Well, if you are competent with manual alignment tools....maybe you need a brace to hold the steering wheel as well. :thumbsup:
 
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