Have we seen this before?
Thread Starter
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5th Wheeling
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 37
Likes: 3
Have we seen this before?
My kid has a full size '90 we resurrected from the dead. When we went to get it the tow truck driver drug it out of a parking spot at an oblique angle bending the tie rod all to Hades. The previous owner installed a 4" lift and he swore the steering wheel was straight. We replaced tie rod, drag link and both rod ends (Moog). We also added a 4" drop pitman arm that it didn't have. Put it all together, towed it to a reputable alignment shop had it aligned and bingo the steering wheel is 90 degrees out of phase. The alignment guy was left scratching his head, couldn't explain why the wheel was ****-eyed. I'm suspecting the lift (Procomp). It has the original split Dana 44 front diff. Any suggestions?
Elder User
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 537
Likes: 0
From: LaGrande,Ore
Bent tie rod
"In my opinion" only run away from either the technition and/ or the shop. This is thier job to know and correct, etc. Having played with home made lift kits and after market ones, the alignment guy was always the savior. Your pitman arm may not be indexed correctly or your steering wheel may not be, or both, also tie rods can be adjusted to assist in centering things. There is a procedure ,-- from scratch; center the steering bo
# of turns lock to lock, drag link unhooked, divide in half) , remove and center steering wheel if needed, pitman arm should have "king/ index" spline(s) may be 90* apart, place in appropiate place ( look at other like vehicle in parking lot to help) hook up drag link and adj./ align accordingly. Shop should have do all this at first sign that things were'nt falling into place. Shop would not have to look in parking lot, that was for you if you were attempting to repair. I've done this several times with good success. Only trying to help, good luck OBCB
# of turns lock to lock, drag link unhooked, divide in half) , remove and center steering wheel if needed, pitman arm should have "king/ index" spline(s) may be 90* apart, place in appropiate place ( look at other like vehicle in parking lot to help) hook up drag link and adj./ align accordingly. Shop should have do all this at first sign that things were'nt falling into place. Shop would not have to look in parking lot, that was for you if you were attempting to repair. I've done this several times with good success. Only trying to help, good luck OBCB
Thread Starter
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5th Wheeling
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 37
Likes: 3
As we're finding out the "reputable" shop I've been using for years has had to "economize" and the tech we used to go to has retired. I've tried re-indexing the pitman arm and doing the hokey pokey with the steering box. Counting turns dividing by two etc... But on second inspection it looks like the tie rod/drag link are biased to one side. Too much adjustment on the passengers side and not enough on the drivers side. We're "running" to another shop. Wish we had an alignment rack, the one tool I don't own. Tie rod can't be bent, everything is new. Thanks for the help.
OBCB
