Alignment question

[Scout1067]

I replaced my stock springs with a BDS 2.5" kit. After the new suspension was in I had a local shop do an alignment check on it because the steering wheel was no longer straight. He put it up on the machine and said the measurements came out good with no adjustments needed but the steering wheel is still crooked. It tracks nice and straight while driving whether on a trail or on the road.
My question is: Is there a Jesus nut in the center of the steering wheel that I can pull to adjust the steering wheel back to it being straight?

 

[Kane]

The drag link from the steering pitman arm to the passenger side steering knuckle needs to be adjusted to be longer. This will straighten out the wheel for you. There are two clamps holding a coupler in place. loosen the clamps and turn the coupler to make the adjustment.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

The drag link from the steering pitman arm to the passenger side steering knuckle needs to be adjusted to be longer. This will straighten out the wheel for you. There are two clamps holding a coupler in place. loosen the clamps and turn the coupler to make the adjustment.

This-And only turn it a 1/4 turn at a time. Then go for a test drive after you tighten the clamps up.
LG

 

[Scout1067]

The drag link from the steering pitman arm to the passenger side steering knuckle needs to be adjusted to be longer. This will straighten out the wheel for you. There are two clamps holding a coupler in place. loosen the clamps and turn the coupler to make the adjustment.

Won't this also change the alignment? The wheels are in alignment already. I am trying to understand this here

 

[Lumpy Grits]

No-It's how the steering wheel is centered by design.
LG

 

[Scout1067]

No-It's how the steering wheel is centered by design.
LG

Ah, ok. I planned on doing an oil change and installing a new battery tray next week so i will do that too while I am at it.

Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

Lots of good info here-Just takes a bit of 'digging' is all.
Jeep® 1982 TSM online

LG

 

[Kane]

Adjust it here on the circled area and it will only move your steering wheel position. The one with the X's will affect toe, do not touch that.

 

[Scout1067]

When adjusting the connecting rod do the wheels need to be on or off the ground or does it not make a difference whether I have it lifted or not?

Lots of good info here-Just takes a bit of 'digging' is all.
Jeep® 1982 TSM online

LG

I downloaded both the 76 and 82 TSM from Ol'Jeep Collins' page. I am coming to find out that the 76 Manual is more useful for my CJ for a lot of things because apparently they started changing a lot of stuff starting with the 82 model year, especially having to do with exhaust and fuel line things.

 

[jp360cj]

When adjusting the connecting rod do the wheels need to be on or off the ground or does it not make a difference whether I have it lifted or not?

For just the drag link, I've done it with the wheels on the ground and the steering wheel unlocked so it can turn.

 

[mriplaybass]

You can also take 2 pieces of smooth plate steel, 1/8" or thicker, big enough for the tire to set on, 12" x 12" is big enough and spread some grease between the plates. This lets the wheels turn very freely. I have actually heard of people using smooth pieces of plywood and having fairly good results.

 

[Scout1067]

For just the drag link, I've done it with the wheels on the ground and the steering wheel unlocked so it can turn.

The TSM says that the steering wheel should be centered and strapped down, then make the adjustment until the tires are straight again(81 TSM page 2m-5). That seems backwards to me as I think it makes more sense to have the wheels straight and adjust the steering wheel until it is where I want it.

 

[mriplaybass]

When I was much younger, I worked as a front end mechanic. The way that we would straighten a steering wheel was to first of all set the steering wheel straight and secure it so that it can't move. Then we would adjust each tie rod and equal number of turns (thereby not changing the toe in) until the wheels pointed straight. You can adjust it at the pitman arm as Kane said, but whichever method you choose make sure that you still have plenty of thread engagement at the adjuster sleeve to prevent stripping the threads and loosing control of the Jeep.

 

[Kane]

The tie rod ends are left hand thread on one side and right hand on the other so that method would not work. The wheel can only be adjusted with the drag link.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[mriplaybass]

Precisely. The tie rods are left and right hand threads. You turn the steering wheel straight, then straighten the wheels one at a time counting the number of turns on one tie rod end, then take the same number of turns on the other tie rod. One side becomes longer and the other becomes shorter. As I said, I worked as a front end mechanic doing alignments for several years using Hunter alignment equipment, and that's how we did it. Can't say I really understood why I was trained that way since adjusting at the drag link is easier, I'm just pointing out that there is another way to do it if you start running out of threads on the drag link adjustment.

 

[mriplaybass]

Seems once again, I need to retract something I said! On the CJ's, the master link only adjusts toe, and cannot be used to straighten the steering wheel since turning it will change the toe in. However, on the older vehicles that I used to align back in the early 70's, so 50's thru 60's vehicles, the tie rod ends were attached to either side via an adjustment sleeve. This was what I was thinking of in my above post. These types of steering linkages did allow for straightening of the steering wheel via the tie rod end adjustment sleeve. Good catch Kane!

 

[Scout1067]

Well, I should have it in the shop next Monday so i will let y'all know how it works out. Thanks for all the tips.