By Blue Gill (Bluegill) on Wednesday, July 04, 2001 - 02:51 pm: Edit

OK, I've adjusted the steering links - the track rod (behind axle) and drag link (in front of axle) - and now the alignment is fine, but the dang steering wheel is crooked (not centered when I'm cruisin straight down the road with damn near perfect alignment, thank you very much). I've done countless "micro-adjustments" to the links, and I can't get it quite perfect. Should I keep on making minute adjustments, or Is there any way to break the steering wheel free and manually realign it and then retighten it?

P.S. Thanks a lot to Ron - I was following your post on alignment from back in January. My "toe" (front to front of front tires) was 49" apart, and my "heel" (rear to rear of front tires) was 49.25" apart. I adjusted so that I had a bit of a "toe out" alignment. Still not perfect handling, but better (need those refabbed radius arms or some extra weight on the front to compensate for the HD springs) . Thanks again.

By Kyle Van Tassel (Kyle) on Wednesday, July 04, 2001 - 03:10 pm: Edit

Adjust the drag link in the front to get the wheel straight you dont have to touch the rear one for this. If its close you just want to turn it a little...

Kyle

By Blue on Wednesday, July 04, 2001 - 03:17 pm: Edit

yeah, I think you're probably right - I was in a hurry to get done so I could hop a shower and go out (very limited baby sitting window), so I ended up giving the track a full twist...too much...try a full twist on the drag...too much...back off the track a bit...not enough...twist the drag again...too much...drink another beer...not enough...you get the picture. I'll go fine tune the drag since our plans for a night out just shit the bed. At least there's more beer.

P.S. Don't you ever take any time off? Or is there truly no rest for the wicked?

By Kyle Van Tassel (Kyle) on Wednesday, July 04, 2001 - 03:44 pm: Edit

That would be correct..


Kyle

By Alex on Wednesday, July 04, 2001 - 04:00 pm: Edit

The tie rod has nothing to do with steer ahead (steering wheel center), just as the drag link has nothing to do with toe.

Adjust your toe to be 0, or slightly toe in. If your wheel is off center, just loosen the clamps on the drag link and start driving. Then pull over and give it a quarter turn. Repeat until perfect.

No danger in driving around with those clamps loosened, BTW.

Alex

By Kyle Van Tassel (Kyle) on Wednesday, July 04, 2001 - 04:02 pm: Edit

Incorrect. THe toe should be set out about 1/16-1/8th...

Kyle

By Alex on Wednesday, July 04, 2001 - 04:29 pm: Edit

That depends on who you ask. My owner's manual reads 0-5mm toe out(or something like that). Every dealer mechaninc I have talked to in this area (several dealerships) as well as every alignment shop I've been to around here (3) says toe in. Matt at Rockware recommended toe in also.

I know my truck tracks noticeably better with the wheels set straight ahead (0 toe out - the actual spec w/o tolerance) or slightly in. YMMV

Alex

By Blue Gill (Bluegill) on Thursday, July 05, 2001 - 04:36 am: Edit

On the way into the office, I was still pulling a little bit to the right (but the damn wheel is finally straight). I'll mess with the track (or tie) rod a bit more to get it just right. I'm currently a fraction of an inch toe out. I'll go for zero toe and see what that gives me.

Alex, I finally ended up leaving the clamps loose and driving around the neighborhood giving drag link minor turns until it was perfect. If I'm not under the Disco in the garage, I'm under it in the street...I get lots of weird looks in my neighborhood ("that's a Range Rover....you can't, like, fix that thing yourself.") BS!

By Kyle Van Tassel (Kyle) on Thursday, July 05, 2001 - 07:04 am: Edit

Alex , its an undefinable world , I will give you that but most AWDs/FWDs use toe out. In the end though its what ever floats your boat... At zero you should be getting some wondering maybe your measurements are a little off? Are you scribing a line on the tire? its the best way to get an exact measurement...


Kyle

By alex on Thursday, July 05, 2001 - 12:51 pm: Edit

I wanted it perfect so I had the toe set at a shop. Watched the guy do it - 0 toe.

I suppose toe in will gradually increase as the ball joints get sloppier over time

Alex

By ButchS on Monday, July 16, 2001 - 07:08 pm: Edit

Adjust the drag link as the manual says. I had to tie a long parachute line around the four wheels. It helps visually if all tires are straight especially the front ones. But of course , i had to jack up the front tires to get my steering wheels centered. My steering is centered but minor adjustment is still needed.

By mike w on Monday, July 16, 2001 - 10:15 pm: Edit

not to sound too stupid but does it really matters if the steering wheel is not completely straight up when the wheels are at center.
as a note, i just put bbms (3") springs om my 94. the steering wheel position has not changed from where it was pror to the upgrade and other than being a little twitchy it seems to track nicely. or does this have nothin to do with what we are talking about or could it be that its 04:00hrs.damn caffine!