Tomorrow I replace lower ball joints and centerlink, any advice?

I thought about just removing the steering wheel and putting it on straight or would that cause some other problem?

No he didnt credit me for the alignment because the alignment was "free" included with buying new tires. And he said "i got it as close as I can" because he said the back was out and the lower ball joints were not perfect. I said cant you compensate the front adjustment for the back being out so it is straight? He said he did that as much as possible. I said how much is it off in the back and he said about 1/4 " It's ok. Im going to take it somewhere else and have them check the alignment. Ill do that with a few shops and see if they jive and find out the truth. Alignment checks are free at many places around here. Then I will know what I am actually dealing with. And if any of them impress me maybe they can finallly get it right.

Anyway. Thanks all for your interest in my thread.

Gary

 

Steering wheel cannot be moved as it is lined up with the steering box in the dead center position. Larry is right , You can turn the tie rod adjusters to achieve a straight steering wheel. If you turn both the adjusters the same amount Toe-In will remain the same.

If your steering wheel is off to the left you need to lengthen the LS adjuster and shorten the RS. If you look at the threads on the tie rod ends you can tell which direction to turn.

If your steering wheel is off to the right you need to shorten the LS adjuster and lengthen the RS.

You can measure the toe with a tape measure from the front of the wheels and compare it to the measurement from the back of the wheels. the difference is your toe-in or toe-out. It helps to have a helper to hold the tape measure and be sure to measure at the same spot.

I have used this method to achieve a straight ahead steering wheel for 40 years and all my wheels are straight. 3/4 to 1 turns equals appx 1/8 of toe adjustment.


Camber can be gotten in to some sort of reality with a plumb bob and string. Its a crude way to measure but it works.

 

Here is the wheel when the car goes straight ahead. He said it was off by 1 degree and within spec. It looks like more than 1 degree. Im thinking about 15 degrees.


The LH tie rod is about equal on inner and outer. The RH is about the same.

 

You want to shorten the LS tie rods and lengthen the RS tie rods. Look at the threads where the tie rods go into the sleeve and turn 1 turn in the direction that will make them shorter or longer. Looking at your wheel you need 1 full turn.

Turning 1 turn will rotate the sleeve on both inner and outer tie rods at the same time.