rack and pinion not centered correct

[ocesaulo]

Dear Forum,

I replaced my old busted rack and pinion on my 90 camry with a refurbished one. When I went to get an alignment, they said they could not do it because the rack was NOT centered correctly. I could definitely see something was odd when I drove to the shop and the steering wheel was weird. Also there was a strong pull to the left. The guy in the alignment shop said something about the shorter end being of the rack being to the left.
I was wondering what I did not do exactly that its not centered, and what would be the procedure to centered it? Do I have to disconnect the rack from the steering column again?

Thanks!
Aloha,
Saulo

[scarney1988]

Did you center the wheel before you started?
Did you lock the wheel or use some type of wheel holder?
Was the rack centered when you installed it?

Basically the best thing to do is center the steering wheel at the middle of its travel.

Disconnect the intermediate shaft from the steering rack or back of the steering wheel.

Center the wheels (as best you can by eye) to the middle of its travel.

Reconnect what ever was disconnected

Grab some road sodas and get to an alignment shop

Worst case scenario the clockspring will break. However, you should be okay.

For futur reference, if you do not have a steering wheel locker or it will not lock with the key out: Center the wheel and then put the seat belt through the steering wheel and buckle it in. It will atleast keep it close.

Good Luck
Sean

[ocesaulo]

Thanks scarney1988,

Did you center the wheel before you started?
A: Yes.
Did you lock the wheel or use some type of wheel holder?
A: No...
Was the rack centered when you installed it?
A: What you mean the rack being centered? I noticed that the inner rods of the driver side was longer than the passenger side, but mechanic said that was ok because the rack woud shift those inner rods to fit...

When you say: Disconnect the intermediate shaft from the steering rack or back of the steering wheel.
You mean disconnect the rack and pinion uni joint from the steering shaft?
Sorry I'm a total begginner thats why I got myself into this...

[scarney1988]

Easiest way to explain it is, disconnect where the steering columg meets up with the steering rack. Basically you want to disconnect the steering wheel from the rack. Then point wheels straight ahead ( front end will obviously have to be lifted off the ground).

If you know direction the wheel is off you could disconnect as stated above, rotate the wheel 1 full or a 1/2 turn to compensate.

Its all sort of an inexact science to get the wheels and steering wheel relatively close. That way your alignment can be a sucess.

Good luck

[white90dx]

There are multiple things that all need to be aligned...

Your goal when you are done is to have the outer tie rod adjustment in about the same place on both sides, though don't start there.

With the front end off the ground, spin the steering wheel all the way lock to lock. Note where the steering wheel ends at both sides of the travel. Your first goal is to adjust the wheel (at the intermediate shaft union) so that the left to right travel of the wheel at full lock matches left to right.

After that's done, you can adjust the tie rods to get the wheels reasonably close to straight (with the wheel centered) and take it for an alignment.

-Charlie

[Sturdavj]

To center my tires before taking it to a shop, I used a measuring tape.

I measured center-to-center on the front of tire, repeated the same process on the rear of the tire. Adjusted the tie rod ends to get both measurements as close/match as possible.

The shop centered the steering wheel & took care of the rest.

[white90dx]

Originally Posted by Sturdavj

The shop centered the steering wheel & took care of the rest.

You still want to make sure that your wheel travel at each end of the rack is even, but it's ok if it is only close.

-Charlie