steering wheel splines?

[haywire4130]

hello all, just wondering if the steering wheel can be indexed to a different spot or if there is a keyway or double spline that makes it only go on one way? (haven't had time to pull it apart yet to look) my car had manual steering from the previous owner and i switched it back to power when i built it. now the wheel is 90 degrees off do i have to go see my friendly alignment shop or can i just reposition it? thanks!

 

[pacecarta]

the box is indexed by the groove that the intermediate shaft through bolt has to slide into
the intermediate shaft is indexed to the colomn and can only go one way

the steering wheel can move a spline or two.. thats it .. because of the horn wire contact socket on the cancelling cam

the steering shaft (under the horn cap) has a slot to index straight up , with that index mark straight up and column locked the wheels should be pointing straight forward , and steering wheel should be correct
if not look to see if the pitman arm is pointing parallel with the frame
if pitman isnt straight and the index at steering wheel is straight up then the pitman is on wrong
if pitman is straight and wheels arent you could have a good alignment but "the tech" never centered the wheel (and i use the term "tech" sarcastically as most are retarded and should go back to pumping gas as all they seem to know is toe in )
does it drive straight other than the steering wheel position?
if it does you may not need an alignment just a wheel centering and could give it a try yourself
loosen and adjust (twist) the tie rod sleeves , turn one sleeve pulling tie rods in (take note of how many turns) and do the same turns out with the sleeve on the other side , once the wheels are pointing straight tighten the sleeve clamps

 

[chopped39]

sounds like the pitman arm is on wrong

 

[charlief1]

sounds like the pitman arm is on wrong

Pitman arm is also spline located so that wouldn't be the issue. Look at the tie rods and see if they're adjusted about the same legnth or not. You may need to have the toe adjusted properly.

 

[haywire4130]

i should have added that i bought a used steering box with a pitman arm already on it... the wheel was straight with the manual box and is now 90 degrees off with the power box. the pitman arm can be indexed!? i would have lost money on that!... yes, the car goes straight as an arrow, that's why i didn't want to go messing with the tie rods. i will try indexing the pitman arm a spline or 2 next time i'm under the car and yes, i know exactly what you mean about "techs" at alignment shops, all they want to do is "set the toe and go" hahaha, i have an ace front end guy on speed dial who took the time to set caster camber and toe on my GN, looked like a miserable job reaching around the downpipe to install/remove shims! thanks fellas

 

[chopped39]

Like stated above .Make sure pitman arm is parallel with frame with steering wheel straight. Center wheel and turn all the way to the right and back to center and then all the way to the left. There should be the same amount of turns from center to lock if not its the pitman arm or box

 

[haywire4130]

update: turns out the previous owner did in fact index the wheel about 90 degrees when they changed the steering box. the steering shaft at the wheel is splined-only and is infinitely moveable, the only limiting factor is the socket for the horn wire. they had hogged out one of the threaded holes where the puller screws into for clearance. all i had to do was pop it off and line up the marks and it's nice and straight. figured i'd pass on the info in case it can help someone

 

[novaderrik]

update: turns out the previous owner did in fact index the wheel about 90 degrees when they changed the steering box. the steering shaft at the wheel is splined-only and is infinitely moveable, the only limiting factor is the socket for the horn wire. they had hogged out one of the threaded holes where the puller screws into for clearance. all i had to do was pop it off and line up the marks and it's nice and straight. figured i'd pass on the info in case it can help someone

yes, you can put the wheel on wherever you want it, but if the alignment line that is scribed into the end of the shaft isn't pointed straight up when the wheels are straight, then you've got something out of whack somewhere.
i'd bet that it's in the tie rods. measure both tie rod assemblies- they should be pretty close to the same length. if one is longer than the other, then you need to shorten that one half the difference and make the other one longer by the same amount..
if they are the same length but the steering isn't centered, then something is bent- frame, Pitman arm, etc..

 

[pacecarta]

he just told you what they did
the canceling cam is splined in such a way that it can be installed only one way
apparently the prev owner had isssues with his install of the manual box that box pitman position was off , and to fix the offset steering wheel the prev owner created a new hole for the horn contact on the steering wheel base allowing it to be installed further off of the index spline on the shaft than you would normally expect ,