Straightening steering wheel/adjusting steering gearbox
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Straightening steering wheel/adjusting steering gearbox
First I want to mention that I did a search for my problem, and found nothing addressing my particular issue.
Here are the facts:
1989 Pontiac Firebird Formula
Rebuilt front suspension (New tie rods, struts, idler arm, center link, lower ball joints, polyurethane bushings all around, factory "wonderbar" off of an IROC)
Rag joint replaced with a universal-joint steering shaft off of a '98 GMC Safari.
I had the car re-aligned after all of this.
After I did all that, the car rode and handled great (and the wheel was straight), but the steering box was leaking out the wazoo, so I rebuilt it. After the rebuild, the steering wheel is about 15-20 degrees to the left when driving straight down the road. I think when I was putting the ball bearings back into it, the input shaft must have moved slightly, resulting in the wheel being being cocked off. You can see that the flat part of the input shaft is off to the left when the car is parked and the wheels are pointing straight ahead.
Is there any way to adjust this (the right way) without taking the box out again?
I know that I could adjust the tie rod sleeves to get it straight, but then I wouldn't be able to turn as far on one side.
And please don't tell me to just remove the steering wheel and move it one or two splines over.
Here are the facts:
1989 Pontiac Firebird Formula
Rebuilt front suspension (New tie rods, struts, idler arm, center link, lower ball joints, polyurethane bushings all around, factory "wonderbar" off of an IROC)
Rag joint replaced with a universal-joint steering shaft off of a '98 GMC Safari.
I had the car re-aligned after all of this.
After I did all that, the car rode and handled great (and the wheel was straight), but the steering box was leaking out the wazoo, so I rebuilt it. After the rebuild, the steering wheel is about 15-20 degrees to the left when driving straight down the road. I think when I was putting the ball bearings back into it, the input shaft must have moved slightly, resulting in the wheel being being cocked off. You can see that the flat part of the input shaft is off to the left when the car is parked and the wheels are pointing straight ahead.
Is there any way to adjust this (the right way) without taking the box out again?
I know that I could adjust the tie rod sleeves to get it straight, but then I wouldn't be able to turn as far on one side.
And please don't tell me to just remove the steering wheel and move it one or two splines over.
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sjorgens
Suspension and Chassis
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10-01-2015 07:54 PM