STEERING WHEEL OUT OF WHACK....

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BOTTOM LINE... somebody #ad
was driving the beast when they shouldn't have... ended up with a blowout on the front-drivers side wheel... three foot drainage ditch... and now the Steering Wheel is a full Quarter-turn to the right (clockwise) versus stock... now that new wheels and tires are mounted (see sig)... please advise... do I have to go to the dealership to get steering wheel re-aligned or is it possible to adjust myself without screwing up the airbag???

Please advise... wife is getting suspicious... #ad


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Rob's 98 Ram2500 SLT RegCab 4X4 12-valve Cummins, Automatic, 4. 10 Axle w/ Lim-Slip, Trailer Tow Pack, 285/75R6 BFG All Terrains on 16x8 Alcoa Aluminums... Silencer Ring disappeared; TC lockup switch, CAT removal, and decent paint next... . 54,000 miles; Wife's 99 Ram1500 SLT QC 4X4 w/360 eng, Automatic, Trailer Tow Pack; STOCKER! 43,000 miles - both daily drivers. If your STROKIN, your CHOKIN... on CUMMINS smoke!!!

 

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Yes yuppie you need to get the front end checked. You can make the steering wheel adjustment yourself,but you won'tknow if anything else is bent. Your best bet is to play it safe and have it checked.

 

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Yuppie:
IMHO, you should leave this one to the dealer or a really good alignment shop. After the shot that front-end took, you may have other problems than a misaligned steering wheel. Good Luck!!

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'96 2500 x-cab, lotsa chrome, nerf bars, line-x, soft cover, no silencer ring, love to hear 'em bang

 

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Mine was out 1/4 turn just from getting new tires, no crash involved. The fix is simple. On your front end, find the linkage that goes from your steering box to the knuckle. You'll see an adjustment sleeve with two fasteners clamping it down. Loosen them, and make an adjustment by turning the sleeve either way depending on which way yours is out. Take it for a ride and see how you did, then re-adjust as necessary. Finally when you are satisfied, re-tighten the fasteners that hold the sleeve in place.

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520 Rear Wheel H. P. and 800+ ft/lbs Torque = 15. 5 sec @ 97 mph with the rear wheels spinning in 5th gear going through the traps in the quarter mile. No slicks here, pal, no fancy auto transmission, just the truck in full street trim, 7400 lbs. of Auto Wurks Diesel/BD Performance raging, fire-breathing DIESEL POWER

 

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Thanks DieselB59: I'll make the adjustment this weekend. I have been driving the truck since the blowout... looks like the front left driver chrome wheel took the brunt of the hit... however, after visual inspection and driving the truck about 500 miles, I deduced that there was no significant damage... just that the steering wheel needs readjusting. (What a great excuse for Aluminum Wheels and fatter tires... #ad
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[This message has been edited by Yuppie Redneck (edited 10-18-2000). ]

 

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Yuppie Redneck,
The only way that the steering wheel will move a 1/4 turn is if the drag link or something else got bent in the ditch escapade. You can adjust the draglink to straighten out the wheel but you really should take a closer look at the steering linkage... .

Brian

 

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Thanks Brian, I will...

 

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The info about just needing to adjust your draglink is incorrect. There is absolutly no way for your steering wheel to move unless something gets bent. The steering wheel cannot move either from putting on a new set of tires unless of course the mechanic was messing with something to try to get an alignment out of you. Point is donot just adjust the drag link although that will straighten your steering wheel that will not solve your problem, something got bent.....

 

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Turbo... thanks for the heads up... but I am going to troubleshoot with my Haynes manual before I do anything... just needed to wait for the weekend... as of now not noticing any sway or jerking or pulling... really scratching my head on this one... suprised my airbag didn't go off on that one. Thanks again. .

YR

[This message has been edited by Yuppie Redneck (edited 10-22-2000). ]