steering wheel out of alignment

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steering wheel out of alignment

Postby jim327monza » Thu Nov 13, 2014 6:33 pm

Ok, basics 762+2 factory v8 ps pb monza with s-10 5 lug conversion using bob gunn adaptors. new center link tie rods ball joints and idler arm.
Problem, when I put every thing back together the steering wheel is 90 degree out (spokes at 12-6 instead of 3-9). Is this a normal problem and if so how to fix? I've had the front end aligned and that did nothing to help. It's ok to drive but i would like to fix this before moving to motor swap. As always thanks for the help.
Jim H
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Re: steering wheel out of alignment

Postby Smiley » Thu Nov 13, 2014 7:32 pm

the alignment shop should have centered the wheel when they did the alignment.
did you have the steering wheel off ?
was it straight before the 5 lug swap ?
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Re: steering wheel out of alignment

Postby cjbiagi » Thu Nov 13, 2014 9:30 pm

All of the steering components are designed to only go on one way. All you need is a alignment shop that knows what they are doing. You need a simple adjustment of both tie rods turned in the same direction to center the wheel. As mentioned, the steering wheel should have been centered before the alignment so that when they set the toe in adjustment the wheel will be straight.
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Re: steering wheel out of alignment

Postby cosvega76 » Fri Nov 14, 2014 8:50 am

I would recommend a couple of things first:

Check the alignment of the steering wheel on the shaft. There is a mark on the end of the shaft, and a small mark on the steering wheel at the spline. Make sure those are aligned.

Next, remove the center link from the pitman arm. Rotate the steering wheel all the way one way to the stop. Rotate it the other way all the way to the stop, counting the number of turns. Rotate the wheel back half the number of turns. The steering wheel should be near the normal, straight-ahead position and the pitman arm should be pointed straight back from the gearbox, parallel to the wheels.

If this is not the case with your car, report back and see if we can suggest a fix.


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Re: steering wheel out of alignment

Postby jim327monza » Sat Nov 15, 2014 10:49 am

Smiley, Clyde, Chuck, The steering wheel was straight prior to the five lug swap. The wheel has been off several times. When I got the car back from the shop, we discussed the wheel and they said that they could align by adjusting the toe but that it mite change the turning radius on one side or the other. I opted to leave it as is and check with you guys to see if their were any other options. I plan to put the car up on stands center the wheel and see where the wheels end up. The numbers from the shop are as follows , left front: camber -1.0 caster-1.5 toe -0.6 right front camber -0.4 caster -2.2 toe-0.10 . all caster/ camber adjustments are at end of travel. as you can see the left front camber and right front caster are out of spec. At this point I plan to buy a set of ac delco offset UCA bushing to correct the camber issues and possibly by adjusting the right rear bushing correct the right caster. Any thoughts ? I read the forum pretty thoroughly before starting this and have not encountered any problems that were not anticipated, but your thoughts and comments always help.
thanks Jim H.
P.S. Chuck, I will look at the pitman arm while I have the car on the stands
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Re: steering wheel out of alignment

Postby cjbiagi » Sat Nov 15, 2014 5:10 pm

Ok, need to get back to basics and as Chuck suggested you want to make sure the steering box is centered in the middle of its' range before doing any alignment. Turning the wheel from lock to lock and accurately measuring the amount of turns and then dividing it in half should center the steering box. At that point the steering wheel should be straight. If it is not then the wheel needs to be indexed on the column. There is a tiny scribe mark on the end of the steering column under the wheel that should also be straight up at this point. It is important that the steering box be on center when the steering wheel is straight. The box is designed to be run this way so I would start there considering all that has been done. What I don't understand is the steering wheel should have been centered when the alignment was performed, so with the wheel centered the toe should be set so the wheel should be very close to perfect when done. I did my own alignment on my car after having my steering box rebuilt and changing some front end components. I did use the offset upper control arm bushings to get the camber right and dial in some positive caster, unlike the stock spec that calls for negative caster.
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Re: steering wheel out of alignment

Postby jim327monza » Thu Nov 27, 2014 9:20 am

sorry to so long replying, I hate when work interferes with fun! Combining all the suggestions, I put the car up on jack stands,with the stands under LCAs to mimic ride height. Verified steering wheel on shaft correctly, pitman arm parallel to frame , steering wheel centered. Front wheels pointed 10+ degree left. Adjusted Tie rods same number of turns to right, checked toe with string, very close. I have used this shop for years for tires, brakes, and front end work with out any problems. apparently working with a mixed component front end blew them up! there is a shop near work that deals in hot rods and customs, I'll use them next time. question for clyde and anybody else using offset bushings. What brand did you use and how did you index them? Iam assuming the front bushing were pointed out to correct camber and the rear pointed down to correct caster and then use the LCA adjustments to dial in final adjustments?

Hope everybody has a Happy Thanksgiving, Thanks Jim
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Re: steering wheel out of alignment

Postby cjbiagi » Thu Nov 27, 2014 9:34 am

Glad you are getting things figured out. With the offset upper bushings I used Moog brand. You can index them according to the needs of your particular car. Just think of the way shims are used on "normal" cars upper A arm to get an idea of how they need to go. You first need to figure out and understand what your current alignment is and what condition you are trying to compensate for. Then install the bushings to move the upper arm balljoint in whatever direction it needs to go. You can compensate for caster and camber depending upon how you install them. These are used to get the rough adjustment and then the eccentric bolts are used to fine tune it. Keep in mind the front bushing has the biggest effect on camber and the rear bushing has the biggest effect on caster.
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Re: steering wheel out of alignment

Postby jim327monza » Fri Nov 28, 2014 8:15 am

clyde, I have the print out from the initial alignment and will use that as my starting point to index the offset bushings. I will let you know how it works out.
Thanks Jim H
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Re: steering wheel out of alignment

Postby cjbiagi » Fri Nov 28, 2014 10:53 am

You also want to check where the cam bolts are at to see if they are maxed out, this will also enter into the equation of how the bushings need to go. It's a little bit of a guessing game but ideally you want to have some adjustment left in the cam bolts to allow you to fine tune it.
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