Hey guys. My steering wheel is turned about 45 degrees to the left while the wheels are straight ahead. Is there any way to correct this? I read in the Ford Shop Manual that you cannot just take the steering wheel off, straighten it out, then bolt it back on. Aparently there is a little notch in the steering shaft that matches up with a notch on the steering wheel.

I replaced the steering gear last night. (That was a heck of a job with only one person!) I thought the answer to my steering wheel question would present itself as I worked on the replacement, but no such luck. I did notice that the place where the steering gear shaft meets the pittman arm might be a potential place to start. There are 4 alignment notches where these two pieces meet. I guess I could take it apart and try to move the pittman arm 45 degrees to the right and put it back onto the shaft??

I noticed that there is a big nut on top of the steering gear that looks like it might be for some sort of adjustment. Could that possibly be to align the steering wheel?

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

 

....forgot to mention, it's an 86 2WD 5.0 F-150.

 

hey
i hate to tell you this but sounds like you hooked up the steering box off by 1/4 and that big nut will not do the job.
you must have turned the steering wheel while hookin the box up.

 

A front end alignment will fix it. If your tires are wearing evenly you could adjust the tie rod sleeves to straighten it. Look closely at the threads on the tie rods to figure out wich way to turn them. I'd go 1/2 turn on each and see were that gets you. You'll need to lengthen the left side and shorten the right.