steering rack replacement, now stg wheel offcenter

[stinkypoop]

Before I swapped out my rack, I centered the front wheels, taped the steering wheel to the dash and pulled out the ignition key, locking the steering wheel in place. Then I made sure not to turn the steering intermediate shaft no2 while swapping out the rack. The new rack came with inner tie rods already assembled inside the boot dust covers. All I had to do was connect the fluid lines and the bolt up the rack in place, then reconnect outer tie rods and stabilizer arm/links.

Now that I have everything back together, somehow the str wheel is not centered when the front wheels are straight ahead. The stg whl is about half a turn off. And taking turns in traffic wont self cancel the turn signal. Since I locked the stg whl in place after removing the ign key, Im thinking the rack was offcenter. If that is the case, how does one determine true middle of the rack? Is that necessary? Did I just somehow get my stg whl turned a bit while disassembly/reassembly?

I see mention in the repair manual of the spiral cable, but I noticed no such cable during disassembly. I did not remove the steering wheel itself.

If I remove the bolt holding the intermediate shaft (rag joint) to the splined post at top of the new rack unit, I doubt there will be enough free play to push it up and turn it (and the steering wheel) to a centered position, then reconnect it....Im also a bit afraid that pushing the rag joint upward again will damage something further up the chain....Or can I simply remove the steering wheel and pad and center the spiral cable, then reinstall the steering wheel? Will that solve my turn signal not cancelling issue?

Any input or observations? Also, I keep seeing references in the pdf repair manual to SR-xx and such - but no linkage to any further pages. Do we have access to an online version of the repair manual that includes those referenced SR sections?

 

[spruce]

I have replaced my own steering rack and had it come out a little off center but when I took it to be aligned by a shop, which is a real good idea after you replace the rack, they straightened it all out.

 

[stinkypoop]

oh sweet! was not looking forward to messing with that anymore. Did you take it to the dealer or just some indie shop?

 

[JayRolla]

oh sweet! was not looking forward to messing with that anymore. Did you take it to the dealer or just some indie shop?

I had this issue, but I was only about a 1/4 turn off. You did not make sure the rack itself was centered before install. Alignment can fix it but its a band aid fix. If you turn all the way you are putting pressure on clock spring and chance of breaking it.

 

[nevada]

Before I swapped out my rack, I centered the front wheels, taped the steering wheel to the dash and pulled out the ignition key, locking the steering wheel in place. Then I made sure not to turn the steering intermediate shaft no2 while swapping out the rack. The new rack came with inner tie rods already assembled inside the boot dust covers. All I had to do was connect the fluid lines and the bolt up the rack in place, then reconnect outer tie rods and stabilizer arm/links.

Now that I have everything back together, somehow the str wheel is not centered when the front wheels are straight ahead. The stg whl is about half a turn off. And taking turns in traffic wont self cancel the turn signal. Since I locked the stg whl in place after removing the ign key, Im thinking the rack was offcenter. If that is the case, how does one determine true middle of the rack? Is that necessary? Did I just somehow get my stg whl turned a bit while disassembly/reassembly?

I see mention in the repair manual of the spiral cable, but I noticed no such cable during disassembly. I did not remove the steering wheel itself.

If I remove the bolt holding the intermediate shaft (rag joint) to the splined post at top of the new rack unit, I doubt there will be enough free play to push it up and turn it (and the steering wheel) to a centered position, then reconnect it....Im also a bit afraid that pushing the rag joint upward again will damage something further up the chain....Or can I simply remove the steering wheel and pad and center the spiral cable, then reinstall the steering wheel? Will that solve my turn signal not cancelling issue?

Any input or observations? Also, I keep seeing references in the pdf repair manual to SR-xx and such - but no linkage to any further pages. Do we have access to an online version of the repair manual that includes those referenced SR sections?

i have changed many gear boxes, and racks over the years. its very important to center them prior to install.

you MAY be able to get it centered with an alignment. it depends on how far off center it is. ideally, it would be best to center the rack first, then have it aligned.

 

[stinkypoop]

OK, so how do you go about centering the rack? I can see I'll have to disconnect the outer tie rods and steering rag joint assy, but then what? I mean, is it just a visual centering? Push on one side until both boots are extended the same amount of inches? That sort of thing?

 

[JayRolla]

OK, so how do you go about centering the rack? I can see I'll have to disconnect the outer tie rods and steering rag joint assy, but then what? I mean, is it just a visual centering? Push on one side until both boots are extended the same amount of inches? That sort of thing?

I would pull the boots off and then make sure both ITRE's are measured equal. Have someone hold steering straight when you reinstall the the steering column at the rack.

 

[nevada]

OK, so how do you go about centering the rack? I can see I'll have to disconnect the outer tie rods and steering rag joint assy, but then what? I mean, is it just a visual centering? Push on one side until both boots are extended the same amount of inches? That sort of thing?

disconnect it from the column. then rotate the rack(via the splined connection) all the way one direction, then all the way the other. count the turns, then rotate it back until the amount of turns are equal on each side.

usually they are about 3-3.25 turns. so typically 1.5-1.75 turns from either direction will get you centered.

the outers can stay connected, they will not matter for centering the rack. you don't have to mess with the bellows either.

after centering it, its still likely the steering wheel will be slightly off. this is where the alignment comes in.

 

[stinkypoop]

OK, that sounds plausible and doable....thx Nevada.

Do I also need to center the steering wheel itself somehow as well, to get the turn signal to self-cancel after turns? There was mention of a clock spring - assuming that is part of the steering wheel assembly? Ive never turned the steering wheel when disconnected from the rack - does it have some internal limit or stop outside of the rack stops? Or does it turn freely and unlimited once seperated from the rack splined connection? Nothing to worry about there?

 

[camofreak]

Shoot, didnt realize there was this much work involved. Mines been off center for awhile now.

 

[stinkypoop]

Wait.....thinking about this more.....if I simply disconnect the entire rack assembly from the steering column, but leave it connected to the tie rods and wheel hubs/spindles - how will I know when Ive reached a rotational limit on either side? The wheel spindle assembly will stop at a certain point in the turn, but that doesnt mean Ive reached the outer limit of the rack, right? I mean to say, if the rack was offcenter when I connected everything, wont it stay offcenter despite my moving the linkage side to side? Or are you saying move things side to side, counting turns and then disconnect the wheel hubs from the outer tie rods, then move the rack and inners half the turns, then reconnect the outers? That would make more sense, but Im not the smartest apple in the basket, so let me know....

 

[nevada]

OK, that sounds plausible and doable....thx Nevada.

Do I also need to center the steering wheel itself somehow as well, to get the turn signal to self-cancel after turns? There was mention of a clock spring - assuming that is part of the steering wheel assembly? Ive never turned the steering wheel when disconnected from the rack - does it have some internal limit or stop outside of the rack stops? Or does it turn freely and unlimited once seperated from the rack splined connection? Nothing to worry about there?

i would set it back to center now. though, that may be difficult. ideally it needs to go back to where you had it the first time, when you taped it to the dash.

likely, it will need to turn to its closest position back center.

yes, once disconnected from the rack it will turn freely. its important to not let that happen, as there is a clock spring inside that will be damaged if its turned too far either direction.

 

[nevada]

Wait.....thinking about this more.....if I simply disconnect the entire rack assembly from the steering column, but leave it connected to the tie rods and wheel hubs/spindles - how will I know when Ive reached a rotational limit on either side? The wheel spindle assembly will stop at a certain point in the turn, but that doesnt mean Ive reached the outer limit of the rack, right? I mean to say, if the rack was offcenter when I connected everything, wont it stay offcenter despite my moving the linkage side to side? Or are you saying move things side to side, counting turns and then disconnect the wheel hubs from the outer tie rods, then move the rack and inners half the turns, then reconnect the outers? That would make more sense, but Im not the smartest apple in the basket, so let me know....

sorry, I misread/misunderstood earlier. I was thinking you were meaning to disconnected the outers from the inners. yes, pop the TRE's off the knuckles.

 

[stinkypoop]

Is the clock spring visible if I take the SRS/horn pad off the stg wheel? I want to verify its not wound too much to one side....Now that Ive test driven it after the rack swap I cant say for sure where the wheel is in relation to before the repair....

Also - did anyone else have enough slack in the intermediate shaft to be able to disconnect it from the rack and raise it above the spined shaft from the rack? Without unbolting the rack completely....? I dont want to have to do that again....

 

[stinkypoop]

Here are the relevant pages from the manual - can anyone identify the clock spring? Im seeing 5 tension springs....

 

[stinkypoop]

Ive verified the rack bellows are extended an equal 6 inches on either side, with wheels straight forward. Im willing to drop the OTRs off each spindle, in order to move the rack back and forth, counting turns of the splined shaft, as navada suggested. However, the more I think about this, the less Im sure this will gain. The rack might have been centered at the factory and it certainly appears that way now, with both ITR and OTR extended the same distance from the inboard edge of each bellow. I think the wheels and associated linkage are fine, which is opposite of what I thought was wrong initially.

Now Im thinking if I just get the rag joint disconnected from the splined shaft at the top of the rack, and reposition so that the steering wheel itself is straight, I wonder if that will take care of things.....

Ok, my beer is boiling, so I gotta go back and add hops....