Steering Wheel Centering

[CryogenicZJ]

I just lifted my Grand Cherokee and now the steering wheel is off center and the front alignment is just slightly towed in. Can someone explain how to get it close so that I can drive it until Monday night when I plan on getting it done at a shop.

 

[Caleb]

it should be fine till monday...there will be accelerated wear on the tires but not bad enough to really matter in that short of time...you also need to get your draglink and tierod in line in order to get the steering wheel straight along with an alignment...

 

[CryogenicZJ]

Will the shop get the drag link stuff lined up for me when they do the alignment??

 

[Caleb]

no they wont...that is why you need either a drop pitman arm or high steer...it helps to eliminate bump steer and get your tires straight again...they can kinda get your wheel straight again by adjusting the drag link but in order to get it same as stock essentially(depending on how high of a lift you put on) you may need a longer drag link...if you just did a small lift then they should be able to get it pretty close but if you did a big lift then they may not be able to...

 

[CryogenicZJ]

I checked both Rubicon Express and Tuff Country and neither list a drop pitman for the ZJ.........I called my buddy from Tuff Country and he said I don't need to do that to the ZJ!! It should be corrected with a normal alignment and thrust.

 

[Caleb]

now thats not true...just think about it, your box is getting further away from your axle as you lift it higher meaning your drag link need to either be longer or you need to drop the pivit point(pitman arm) down to compensate for the extra lift...that is part of the reason I dont use Tuff Country anymore...no offense to your friend, but their Tech Support sucks...like I mentioned before, if you did a small enough lift you may be able to adjust the tie rod ends out enough on the drag link to compensate for it but I'm not positive how much you can adjust them out on a ZJ...it shouldn;t be a problem finding a pitman arm though...as far as I know the ZJ box is the same as any other Jeep...its just a saginaw style box and so you can use a pitman arm from a cherokee or a wrangler, it might take a little fab time but not much...

 

[Wanker Delux]

well.. if you don't change the length of your draglink and/or pitman arm, the only bad thing (after proper alignment and such) is that you can't turn the wheels as far in one direction, and a little further in the other. I know some people are sticklers when it comes to steering, but IMHO, its not that big of a deal unless you are talking a pretty serious lift (say 4+ inches or so).

 

[CryogenicZJ]

here's my question........can I remove the wheel, and put it back on so that it's strait??? or has my steering already been altered so that it steers more in one direction than the other since the wheel is 90 off when the tires are centered?

 

[Caleb]

the steering shaft has an indexed part that will only align one way...and yes it is out of whack so you wouldn;t steer properly if you did that...

 

[crimsonride]

Originally posted by CryogenicZJ
here's my question........can I remove the wheel, and put it back on so that it's strait??? or has my steering already been altered so that it steers more in one direction than the other since the wheel is 90 off when the tires are centered?

Noooo way, that's wacked. There's an adjustment sleeve on the drag link just below the steering box. You can turn that with a pipe wrench to thread it in and out. That will adjust the direction of the tires comparted to the wheel.
The reason the Tuff guys tell you you don't need a drop pitman arm is because with the unibody jeeps you can get away without them. Adding one reduces the hard angles on the joints but can cause cracks to form in the unibody. Since pitman arms can cause cracks in the unibody, Tuff won't recomend one to you less you blame them for the damage. Still I think one would be nice. If you're more than 6 inches. I think you can get them from Mepco and I know you can get them from Skyjacker and Old Man Emu.
Tuff Country doesn't do so well with jeeps like they do with Ford kits, they haven't goine into that area.
Who's your buddy there?

 

[CryogenicZJ]

My buddy is the big man Shawn.....himself!!! I have corrected the steering problem and even added a 2 inch Tera BB since then. All is working out great. Thanks for your responce on the matter.

-Paul