Steering wheel issue/alignment

[surfbeetle]

Merry Christmas all! Yesterday my teenage daughter drove my 2016 4x4 ram and some jerk backed into the driver’s side front tire in a parking lot and took off, basically hit and run. The truck looked okay and we thought there was no damage. Well today we noticed the steering wheel is cocked about 45° to the left when we go straight and it’s pulling slightly to the right. It’s not pulling bad. A few years ago we had the steering do this and it was some adjustment screw for the steering column separate from the actual alignment, so I was told by the dealership. Where would I find that adjustment and how hard is it to adjust? Thank you.

 

[Alan Reagan]

The above link is how to align the steering wheel. However, this will not align the front end. If the truck is pulling to the right, the wheel alignment may need to be set again. The above adjustment is just for centering the the steering wheel.

 

[lpennock]

You should have a full alignment done as well as an inspection of all the steering components. When getting the alignment done have them use the Thuren Specs, your tires will thank you as Ram Specs allows too much toe. https://thuren-fabrication.myshopify.com/pages/2014-2022-ram-2500-alignment

 

[AH64ID]

I suspect something got bent, and would take it in for a full inspection/ alignment.

 

[Jim W]

On another site but not a Ram truck. A poster asked where he could get a new tire and rim for his car. The car it a curb and damage both of them to where they needed to be replaced. It was suggested by several poster that he should have the vehicle inspected. After taking the car to a repair shop, they found close to $10,000 in damages to his car.

Now I know your truck is not the same, but a lot of damage can be done to any modern vehicle today especially the steering and suspension when hit.

My wife's car a 2021 Santa Fe was scraped along the entire side of the RH side by something when she was parked at a public parking lot. No visible body damage other than the paint being scraped in various places will $7,000 later the car has been repaired.

 

[bcbender]

Tie rod and or drag link can bend easily when impacted,.. I was hit on the tire of my 04 and it did 12k in damage (not the same as the car was doing 40+ mph) but I drove it home, steering wheel was cocked and the drag link (between steering box and axle) was bent severely I also had a broken wheel and bent axle but the steering components did bend and was visible on inspection. It doesn't take much to make it pull or knock it out of whack.

 

[Cummins12V98]

"Tie rod and or drag link can bend easily when impacted"

YEP!!! I was driving my friends DRW 73 Ford and a gal hit the front right tire and YES parts were bent and I also had an offset steering wheel after impact.

 

[petersonj]

Two others things I would I recommend to check:

* If enough force was present to bend a steering linkage, then the left front wheel could be bent as well. Have the wheel / tire removed and spin balanced. A bent wheel will readily show itself.

* Since the vehicle was parked, this would mean that the steering wheel would be in a locked condition. It is possible for the force of the impact to have transferred energy through the steering gear box and up to the steering lock mechanism. Probably more likely that the steering gear box would have absorbed most of the energy; however, still worth checking out.

A good alignment / repair shop will find and replace any damaged part. They will also ensure that the steering box is re-centered first and then the steering wheel re-centered in that order. This step is important.

- John

 

[surfbeetle]

Thank you all for the feedback. I got under the truck today and inspected everything. The drag link has apparently been welded as a result of a recall a few years ago which I had forgotten about. Also the drag link bar has a bend on the passenger side but is that normal? To me it looks normal because it comes from the passenger side level and then angles up to the pitman arm at the steering box. I couldn’t find any obvious signs of damage. The thought of a damaged wheel crossed my mind so I rotated the wheels front to back.

When going slow on my driveway (it’s long) the steering wheel is straight up and the truck goes straight. When I am going down the road at 50 mph, it pulls right and the steering wheel must be turned left 20° or so to go straight. So yes I definitely need to take it in for an alignment.

 

[AH64ID]

To knock the wheel that far off something either bent or was damaged, you can’t have move the wheel that far without loosening the steering adjutant points without any sort of damage.

 

[petersonj]

Most steering linkages have various bends incorporated in them to clear other components under the truck during full steering and full suspension travel. It would very difficult to sea a "new" bend on any given steering linkage.

- John