New Pitman and Idler arms - Steering wheel now crooked, alignment, or move pitman?

[nckwltn]

So I put on a new pitman arm and idler arm yesterday. Tie rod ends were replaced about 35k and 4-5 years ago.

The alignment marks on the pitman arm to steering box are spot on, but my steering wheel needs to be turned to about the 1-2 o'clock position for the rig to drive in a straight line. I don't have any sense of the montero being pulled in one direction or another when going down the road, indicating to me that the alignment is probably good.

So should I take it in for an alignment for them to straighten out the steering wheel, or should I pull the pitman arm and move it over a spline or two so that the steering wheel is straight(er) when driving straight?

If I do go in for an alignment, I'm thinking about replacing the tie rod ends as well, just to get that out of the way. The steering isn't too loose, but I do get a clunk when turning left.

Ball joints were also replaced around the same time as the tie rod ends, and I can't detected any movement of the wheels when grabbing at 12 & 6.

Thoughts?


'99 Montero - 127k miles

 

[MonteroLTD]

It's recommended that you check your alignment once a year. I'd do it if I were you. Have the guys go over the entire front and rear suspension for peace of mind. If everything checks out, just have the steer ahead adjusted and you're good.

 

[jlocster]

I'd double check that the splines are lined up exactly per the old pitman arm...one or two splines off and it would throw your steering wheel off about as much as you say yours is.

 

[nckwltn]

I'd double check that the splines are lined up exactly per the old pitman arm...one or two splines off and it would throw your steering wheel off about as much as you say yours is.

That is something I should do... I was able to drive it up on ramps and double check the alignment markings, should be easily able to compare old arm to new... I'm guessing they markings aren't in the same position from one arm to the other, because I can't think of any other reason why the steering wheel would have turned.

 

[TheMole]

Just replaced my pitman arm and am having the same crooked steering wheel issue. Did you ever get this resolved?

 

[nckwltn]

Just replaced my pitman arm and am having the same crooked steering wheel issue. Did you ever get this resolved?

I took it in for an alignment and asked them to align it with the steering wheel set straight.

One of the problems I had was that the new pitman arm didn't go onto the shaft as far as the old one, which pushed the alignment out a little.

 

[TheMole]

Hey thanks for the follow up! Gonna have my tires installed and bring it in for an alignment later this week. Hope it fixes it and will report back.

 

[Toasty]

The Pitman arm should have 1 double spline not allowing you to misclock it, I've seen some that don't and have a line instead just pay attention.
Remove retaining bolt from steering shaft, pull shaft off of steering gear with the wheels pointed 0 degrees forward, turn steering wheel to center and reattach shaft to gear. Note; DO NOT ALLOW STEERING WHEEL TO SPIN AROUND!!!! This will mess up the clock spring in the wheel and you'll have issues. It's hard to mess up, just don't spin it like an arcade game and you'll be fine.

 

[TheMole]

Thanks Toasty sounds pretty straight forward. I had a shop take care of the installation this time around so maybe I'll bring it back to them for adjustment. My oem jack doesn't lift my car off the ground anymore so can't work on it myself at the moment.

edit: Actually I might not need a jack. I should be able to just put it on some ramps and unbolt the the front swaybar at the frame to allow the 32mm socket/ratchet to fit over the retaining bolt. I was also thinking if the wheels are pointed straight, can't I just move the remove the steering wheel and rotate it until its straight? Should work right?

 

[nckwltn]

you can also use some wood blocking between the jack and the car to get a little more height out of the lift on the jack.... assuming the jack isn't broken and you're not over the weight rating on the jack

 

[Toasty]

Thanks Toasty sounds pretty straight forward. I had a shop take care of the installation this time around so maybe I'll bring it back to them for adjustment. My oem jack doesn't lift my car off the ground anymore so can't work on it myself at the moment.

edit: Actually I might not need a jack. I should be able to just put it on some ramps and unbolt the the front swaybar at the frame to allow the 32mm socket/ratchet to fit over the retaining bolt. I was also thinking if the wheels are pointed straight, can't I just move the remove the steering wheel and rotate it until its straight? Should work right?

Having just pulled a steering wheel today i say it's a hundred times easier to disconnect the steering shaft at the steering gear and you're less likely to break something. Seriously it'll take you 5 minutes and the only thing you need is a 12mm wrench. But to answer your question, yes you could just remove and rotate the steering wheel but then the orientation of the clock spring won't match the wheel (if it matters). You will need a torx bit, a 17mm socket, a philips screwdriver and probably a steering wheel puller to do that job which may or may not be a good idea. The first one i did i broke the SRS wheel thingy which i'm sure is an expensive part, luckily for me i learned the hard way on a junkyard truck.

 

[TheMole]

I've removed steering wheels in the past so I just ended up doing that earlier today. After disconnecting the negative battery cable I undid the 2 torx screws on the sides for the airbag and used a 17mm socket for the nut (29ft/lbs) holding the steering wheel to the shaft as you described. I didn't have to unplug the airbag harness as there was enough room to get to the center nut holding the steering wheel. To remove the steering wheel, I sprayed a small amount of penetrating oil into the splines and rocked it back and forth in multiple places which did the trick after a few minutes.

Not too familiar which the steering system of this car yet, but I am definitely curious about how to disconnect the steering shaft at the steering gear. I thought you meant to undo the pitman nut earlier.

Attaching pics of the steering gear for reference.

 

[Toasty]

Remove bolt #1 in the first breakdown, pull the steering shaft away from the gearbox, rotate to align center, push shaft back on gearbox and tighten bolt.

 

[nckwltn]

if you were like me, try this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clockspring

A good example of a name that doesn't really describe what it does.

 

[TheMole]

Remove bolt #1 in the first breakdown, pull the steering shaft away from the gearbox, rotate to align center, push shaft back on gearbox and tighten bolt.

Thanks that looks super easy. Will definitely give it a shot next time.