aggravation

After completing the motor mount and pan gasket job I noticed my steering wheel was now a few degrees left of center when the wheels are tracking straight.
I just never got around to fixing it but now it has bugged me too much and I want to fix it.
I don't have a clue how the whole steering geometry/suspension linkage works together so I hoped maybe someone else has done the same thing and knows what I probably screwed up. I never disconnected the steering universal linkage thing, it stayed connected with the rack just hanging there while I worked.

I followed John Pirtles write up to do the job and struggled like hell to get the cross piece back in place and the upper A arms reattached since I was doing the job alone. Don't know if that bit of info leads you toward a likely suspect or not but there it is...

Thanks!

SeanR

You need to get it realligned after a mm/pg job.

What has happened is the placement of the lower A-arms and rack is different and has thrown the alignment out of wack. Hence the reason to get it realigned.

Jadz928

Good call, Sean.

Mako 928

Check to see that the rack is centered. On the steering rack there is a plastic plug that unscrews. There is a dimple in the rack turn the wheel until it is centered in the hole. The steering wheel should be back to center since you did not move anything W/ the rack. This has to be correct before getting an alignment.

dr bob

If you disconnected the steering shaft from the rack, it's quite likely that you missed by a spline when you reconnected the coupling. There's a relief in the shaft where the clamp bolt passes the shaft in the coupling, and there are two and maybe three positions that still allow the clamp bolt to pass through. I make a mark on the shaft that lines up with the split in the clamp so I can get it back where it was.

Cure for this is to drop the bottom plate again, drop the rack down some to allow you to reconnect the steering shaft as it was. In the ideal world, the rack is centered when the wheel is centered, so the plug out and the pointed rack centering bolt is a great idea as part of any alignment. Still, if you just want to make it as it was before your work, just get the splines lined up correctly in the steering shaft coupler.

devilinblack

I'm with Dr. Bob about the shaft being in one tooth off, that's just what I did. Wouldn't the easiest solution be to pop off the steering wheel and rotate it one or two teeth to center? Assuming of course that the alignment has been done and that the rack is centered. Just sounds a lot easier than lowering the rack and rotating the shaft.

SharkSkin

The steering wheel has a different number of splines than the u-joint at the rack. You need to reposition the wheel and/or u-joint with the centering bolt in place, then get it aligned with the centering bolt in place.

SeanR

You still need to get an alignment even if you do all of these things. Trust me, my wife has made me pay for not getting hers done in time.

aggravation

From the wheel all the way to the rack nothing was disconnected. I lowered the rack to get it out of the way but that's all that was done to it.
With that in mind does the centering bolt still come into play or can I assume it is simply an alignment problem?

SharkSkin

Something's off a little, didn't go back together in exactly the same position. that's why it needs an alignment.

Rob Edwards

How did you drop the rack enough to get to the lower motor mount bolts without undoing the steering universal? You must have just disconnected the PS lines and then it'll drop enough? That would be interesting since I recall getting the bolt back through the universal as a colossal PITA.

Dwayne

Craig,
I removed and replaced my MM like you - nothing on the steering linkage was disconnected and afterward, the steering wheel was off. Sean is right, when you unbolt the lower control arm, it's very likely you did not position it exactly in the same spot it was originally. I did not mark mine when I removed the bolts so I could not tell exactly where the control arm should go. When you prepare to tighten down the control arm, you will notice it has plenty of margin to move left/right and forward/backward. You have to carefully mark the control arms before removing them if you want to get it back exactly as before. I got my car aligned afterward to get the wheel right. I also brought the Porsche centering bolt for the rack and let the alignment tech use it to get the rack perfectly centered and aligned.

You can always confirm the steering wheel and rack are synched up correctly by using the centering bolt on the rack then checking the steering wheel to confirm that the steering wheel is perfectly centered as well. It's another way of confirming that the lower control arms are probably the issue and an alignment will take care of the problem.

RyanPerrella

you shouldn't need an alignment, you can adjust the wheel by removing it and repositioning it.

Think about it, you have only played with the link from the steering rack input to the steering shaft that connects to the wheel. That connection is off a couple teeth. You can compensate for it by driving the car straight, parking it (with crooked wheel), pull the wheel and then readjust the wheel position and tighten the nut and your all set.

Same thing happened with my car.

However, if you now try and compensate to adjust the rack via the tie rod ends to straighten the wheel, you will no longer have full turn to one side and too much to the other. That would be the incorrect way to fix this relatively small and common problem.

Just remove the wheel and replace it in the correct position with the front wheels fixed straight ahead.

SharkStavanger

Hi Dwayne.

I did the MM and gasket-job last winter.

I followed the instructions in this link: http://members.rennlist.com/pirtle/svc_mm.html

When I was finish with the job I had the same probl as you with steering wheel.

Then I loosened all the bolts for the steeringrack and retighten them in the same order as in the instruction, and the alignement became all OK again.

Best Regards from Norway

Kjetil

SharkSkin

Since the crossmember was removed, the a-arms were dangling and the car needs an alignment to ensure toe, caster and camber are correct.