Steering wheel adjustment

[JC87HB]

OK guys.. when my wheels are straight... my steering wheel is cocked to the right.. i am going to try and re index it.. there is bolt that keeps the upper half of the shaft on the lower half of the splined shaft... after loosening the nut.. how to i get it off?!?

[Rev_D21]

You sure an alignment might not be what is needed?

[JC87HB]

I re did the upper arms cause of my wreck there was a bent upper arm.. well i still had the right tire cocked out.. well i just pulled it in cause for some reason my tie rod adjusts were in just a few threads... and the sleeve was loose... so i replaced it and pressed it and pulled the tire in.. i just want the wheel straightened.. the wheel has been off center for awhile now..even b4 the crash

[JC87HB]

you got any advice rev??

[Rev_D21]

Well that can be corrected by having the tie rods adjusted for proper toe-in. The alignment requires the wheel be set straight and locked into position then the tie rods are adjusted to match the straightness of the wheel.

[JC87HB]

yah... well i have little room on the left tire to adjust it in... and when the wheel is straight the left tire bows out.. so i figured make the left straight toe in the right tire and just re index the wheel... everything looks centered....

[rizzobc]

hey just do like I did. Just pop off the steering wheel and make it straight...LOL I don't know if it is the right way to do it, but it worked...just a thought

[JC87HB]

thats what im about to do man.. how hard was it to pop yours off?!

[RT22]

just remove horn cover remove nut and bang on back of wheel with your hands mine popped off pretty easy. if not a puller may be needed. drive in a flat parking lot to get an idea where the wheel is off, mark so you move it just enough to make straight. DO NOT use roads as they have built in slope for drainage.

[rizzobc]

just remove horn cover remove nut and bang on back of wheel with your hands mine popped off pretty easy. if not a puller may be needed. drive in a flat parking lot to get an idea where the wheel is off, mark so you move it just enough to make straight. DO NOT use roads as they have built in slope for drainage.

Yeah, what he said...I had to use a puller...I have an '87 also and my steering wheel had never been off...the puller is the easiest way...it was like a half a turn and it popped right off...

[JC87HB]

well my problem lies in the fact that the two screws in the back wont come off =(

[Rev_D21]

Loosen the center nut but leave it on the end of the spindle. Grab both end of the wheel at 3o'clock and 9o'clock then wiggle the wheel off the spindle. The reason you leave the nut on is so you don't eat the steering wheel when it pops loose from the spindle.

[C-Kwik]

Keep in mind that you will be limited to the angles the splines allow. So in the ned, it may still be crooked. You may still be able to center the wheel with an alignment. Small adjustments have bigger effects at the steering wheel.

[RT22]

splines are very small so he should be able to align it almost perfectly

[C-Kwik]

Size of splines is irrelevant. The number of them is. If there were 36 splines, adjusting one tooth would be a variation of 10 degrees. 72 splines would adjust the wheel 5 degrees for every spline. On a 14 inch steering wheel (the OE wheel is probably bigger), 5 degrees is about 0.61 inches of movement. Might get him close, or it might not. Depends on how off he is and how straight he wants it. And of course how many splines there actually are. Its certainly worth trying, but it may not be to his satisfaction and he may still have enough adjustement in the tie-rods to center it.

[rizzobc]

Size of splines is irrelevant. The number of them is. If there were 36 splines, adjusting one tooth would be a variation of 10 degrees. 72 splines would adjust the wheel 5 degrees for every spline. On a 14 inch steering wheel (the OE wheel is probably bigger), 5 degrees is about 0.61 inches of movement. Might get him close, or it might not. Depends on how off he is and how straight he wants it. And of course how many splines there actually are. Its certainly worth trying, but it may not be to his satisfaction and he may still have enough adjustement in the tie-rods to center it.

I like this guy... oh yeah and he has a really good point!

[RT22]

size of splines is proportional to the amount, by having smaller ones you get more in the same area. Again i have actually done this and it is easy to adjust it in small amounts. if that does not get it perfect then an alignment shop may be able to make the final small adjustment with the actual suspension and steering parts.

[rizzobc]

Well yeah thats what we said... It was just funny that he went into such detail...Its ok everyones is correct in this case

[C-Kwik]

size of splines is proportional to the amount, by having smaller ones you get more in the same area. Again i have actually done this and it is easy to adjust it in small amounts. if that does not get it perfect then an alignment shop may be able to make the final small adjustment with the actual suspension and steering parts.

I'm not saying he can't get it close. Or if lucky that he might get it spot on visually. But that he should be forewarned that it may not be a perfect adjustment. And what one person perceives as perfect or almost perfect or good enough varies. I'm just providing as much objectivity as I can.

That said, going back to the technical aspect, smaller splines in that of itself means nothing. A given spine size will have more on a larger diameter shaft than it would a smaller one. Without qualifying that aspect of it, it again comes down to subjectivity. A given number of splines will offer the same adjustment no matter what since it will always be related to the number of degrees whether its a small shaft or a big one.

[RT22]

I got you, yeah get it as close as possible and let the front end guys get it spot on and aligned properly.