Only one tie rod can be adjusted

[Cubey]

My steering wheel is way off center, at about 2'o'clock but the steering feels tight. It's rather tiring to drive that way and I'd like to fix it.

However, upon inspecting my tie rods, there is only one adjustment sleeve, on the left side. The right side has none! The single sleeve on the left side adjusts the toe for both sides at once due to how the linkage is tied together, so it seems.

Yes, they freaken make "ones that are both the inner and outer right tie rods as a single piece, nonadjustable. Supposed to be a time saver, so you only adjust one instead of two?

Am I screwed until I replace right side tie rods with the "3 piece" design? (two rods + sleeve)

This is the style it has. Left side in the pic is where it connects to the steering knuckle for the right side. The far right side goes to the pitman arm, and the hole near the right side is for the inner left tie rod.

You must be registered for see images attach

My right side tie rod at the wheel, no adjustment sleeve like the pic above.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Hagan]

What about recentering the steering wheel?

 

[dgr]

If you want to be technical, that's a drag link. Guys at the parts store might try to give you the wrong parts.

That seems to be a problematic design. Any change in static spring height and your steering wheel is off center. I think you're out of luck unless your steering wheel is a tooth off. Is that possible? I need to take my wheel off soon and check that.

Then again, I came home on a flatbed after the threads in an adjusting sleeve gave out. Thankfully it was doing a three (seven) point turn on a city street and not moving with any speed. I guess that's why they call that one piece a problem solver.

Is there enough room for a sleeve between the tie rod hole and the pitman arm? That's where the adjuster needs to be to adjust the steering wheel. Outboard of that will mess with the toe. I took a look at rock auto and all they show is the one piece design.

 

[franklin2]

If it drives ok, I would just pull the steering wheel and put it back on the splines in the right place. On another forum there was a "Ford Engineer" who said you can't do that because the splines are keyed. But I have done it several times on these trucks, don't know about your van.

 

[chillman88]

If it drives ok, I would just pull the steering wheel and put it back on the splines in the right place. On another forum there was a "Ford Engineer" who said you can't do that because the splines are keyed. But I have done it several times on these trucks, don't know about your van.

They have a flat spot on the splines that matches up with a flat spot on the wheel. So yes technically they are "keyed" but likewise I have pulled them and put them back on "straight".

So @Cubey, you adjust toe on the driver's side at the knuckle and that's the only adjustment available? That's terrible.

 

[Thewespaul]

It’s probably off because your front springs are worn, like having an extra load on all the time it’s affecting your alignment. I would fix the cause of the problem before bandaiding it.

 

[Cubey]

So @Cubey, you adjust toe on the driver's side at the knuckle and that's the only adjustment available? That's terrible.

Exactly. Here is a a full shot I took this morning.

You must be registered for see images attach

It’s probably off because your front springs are worn, like having an extra load on all the time it’s affecting your alignment. I would fix the cause of the problem before bandaiding it.

I'm guessing you meant shocks? It's interesting that they could cause that problem.

I think I will "band aid" it for the time being (until I replace the shocks) by just pulling the steering wheel and recentering it. It'll sure make the next 800-1000 miles a lot more pleasant to drive. I'll mark it with a sharpie before pulling it so I can be sure to put it back exactly how it is currently. That's easy to change back later, no wheel alignment needed.

 

[chillman88]

I'm guessing you meant shocks? It's interesting that they could cause that problem.

Nope, he meant springs. As they age they sag, thus shortening the distance from the knuckle to the steering gear. New springs should in theory raise the front end up back to factory ride height, thus restoring the original distance between the knuckle and gearbox.

 

[retiredinhomer]

How is the tire wear? Does it drive straight down the road? Oh yeah where are you now. I am in Mesa Az. If close I can look at it. Your steering wheel needs to be close to on center. When you turn the wheel off center you start applying power steering power.

 

[Cubey]

Nope, he meant springs. As they age they sag, thus shortening the distance from the knuckle to the steering gear. New springs should in theory raise the front end up back to factory ride height, thus restoring the original distance between the knuckle and gearbox.

Well, my shocks are shot too. Likely the originals. I replaced the rears back in May because it was a lot more of a problem on bumps with bouncing. I put Monroe Magnum RV's because they were affordable and mid/upper range for the application.

A week or so ago, I ordered new Bilsteins for the front (I mentioned that to him in PM) but I can't get to them for at least a month, since I had them shipped to my mom's house. My 3 ton floor jack & jack stands are there and she has a paved driveway I can work in.

On a 78 Dodge 1 ton van (Class B motorhome) I did a full front end rebuild on, I bought new (Moog?) springs and when compared to the old side by side, they were SHORTER, so I ended up putting the originals back.

Moog for the RV are about $150 a pair, for "variable rate" springs.

Here are some AC Delco for only $80 though...
https://www.amazon.com/ACDelco-45H1...000C9RTA8/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

My rear springs are in rough shape too as I mentioned in another thread a while back. I'm afraid that if I do the front springs only, it might cause more problems for the rear since it already looks like it's sagging. If I raise up the front, the rear will be even more sagged. Rear springs are gonna be nearly $1,500. It has those measly 4 leaf (3" wide) packs right now that seem grossly undersized to me. New beefy HD 10 leaf ones cost about $750/pair with shipping Plus it might need shackles, U-bolts, and bushings if the leafs don't come with them. I'd probably have to outsource it to a shop, so that's probably another $500 minimum.

I mean, I could probably do it, but I'd be really nervous about messing it, having to totally disconnect the axle on one side at a time to get it apart. I suspect a lot can go wrong trying to do that with jack stands and just a floor jack, and only one person working on it.

Yeah, a good spring shop might be able to repair them and add leafs for a lot less money. I still need to get to one and have them look at it. I have to go to a big city for that though. Where my mom lives, you're lucky if you can find a mechanic that can even spell "timing belts" right.

You must be registered for see images attach

I'm guessing the sign painter they hired painted it exactly how it was written on the work order. That's usually how it works, anything you want printed gets written exactly as you write it, typos and all.

When my mom's old 2003 Ford Taurus factory trans cooler sprang a leak a couple years ago, the best transmission shop in town (not the wall above) was too dense to bypass it and only use the big aftermarket trans cooler I put on the car for occasional, light towing when I owned it. It never even occurred to them until I mentioned it. They wanted to put a new $300 OEM one.

I guess since money is still tight right now, the best thing I can do is pull the steering wheel to center it that way, throw on the new front shocks in about 6 weeks, and leave all springs alone for a while. It might shorten the light of the shocks but that's how it is.

It's that or buy some cheap throwaway shocks ("Monroe 32075 Monro-Matic Plus" are $17/each online) as a band aid and save the expensive ones for later, because I know darn well it needs front shocks. Cheap shocks would probably still be better than the 35 year old, totally worn out shocks. They may not last more than a year, but by then I can hopefully afford to do all the springs at once.

 

[ifrythings]

I think I will "band aid" it for the time being (until I replace the shocks) by just pulling the steering wheel and recentering it. It'll sure make the next 800-1000 miles a lot more pleasant to drive. I'll mark it with a sharpie before pulling it so I can be sure to put it back exactly how it is currently. That's easy to change back later, no wheel alignment needed.

I highly advise NOT moving the steering wheel as it will throw out the turn signal canceling position and you’ll be lucky to get the steering wheel off again ever!

If you only have one adjustment that effects toe then I would be looking at worn out springs, front end bushings and bent steering linkages before band aid fixing.

 

[Cubey]

How is the tire wear? Does it drive straight down the road? Oh yeah where are you now. I am in Mesa Az. If close I can look at it. Your steering wheel needs to be close to on center. When you turn the wheel off center you start applying power steering power.

They look ok but I haven't measured them. They are el cheapo off brand tires but they were about $90 each with tax and since I needed 6, they were what I got.

The worn out front shocks make it feel a little loose when you hit a bump or get blasted with wind from the side since it lacks the shock absorbing, but the steering itself is tight, no slop like my F250 where it has a massive dead zone in the middle from the worn out gearbox. I did a full front end rebuild on the F250 (shocks, ball joints, all tie rods, but not springs) and with it, the gearbox is the weak point. Plus it has the dreaded title steering column slop. The RV doesn't have that either.

It seems to drive straight down the road yes, but it's highly distracting to have the steering wheel turned to 2 o'clock. My brain sometimes fights with itself over that: "Straighten the steering wheel. No, don't!"

Nope, I'm in West Texas right now. I thought about going to AZ but decided against it right now.

 

[Cubey]

I highly advise NOT moving the steering wheel as it will throw out the turn signal canceling position and you’ll be lucky to get the steering wheel off again ever!

If you only have one adjustment that effects toe then I would be looking at worn out springs, front end bushings and bent steering linkages before band aid fixing.

Ahh.... I was wondering about that. Okay, I won't then. Thanks for the warning.

 

[Selahdoor]

My steering wheel is way off center, at about 2'o'clock but the steering feels tight. It's rather tiring to drive that way and I'd like to fix it.

However, upon inspecting my tie rods, there is only one adjustment sleeve, on the left side. The right side has none! The single sleeve on the left side adjusts the toe for both sides at once due to how the linkage is tied together, so it seems.

Yes, they freaken make "ones that are both the inner and outer right tie rods as a single piece, nonadjustable. Supposed to be a time saver, so you only adjust one instead of two?

Am I screwed until I replace right side tie rods with the "3 piece" design? (two rods + sleeve)

This is the style it has. Left side in the pic is where it connects to the steering knuckle for the right side. The far right side goes to the pitman arm, and the hole near the right side is for the inner left tie rod.

You must be registered for see images attach

My right side tie rod at the wheel, no adjustment sleeve like the pic above.

You must be registered for see images attach

Meh. Duct tape and a coat hanger will fix that!

They have a flat spot on the splines that matches up with a flat spot on the wheel. So yes technically they are "keyed" but likewise I have pulled them and put them back on "straight".

That's why God invented the dremel tool...

It’s probably off because your front springs are worn, like having an extra load on all the time it’s affecting your alignment. I would fix the cause of the problem before bandaiding it.

Well, there goes my duct tape and coat hanger idea!

 

[Clb]

Dumb question time

(space saved for later)....

Have you done the diagnosis steps yet?

Clocked the steering BOX, with everything (tie rods, drag link, pitman arm ect disconected?
Look for an alignment mark on the steering shaft (the part the pitman splines onto with a nut)..

Verified nothing is bent?

Checked the rag joint (or whatever an e series used)?

Checked the steering wheel ?

What wes said!

Ford cheaped out hoping one would destroy the joint when separating it to readjust toe!

For fun, rig on flat ground, wheels (tires) pointing straight ahead(not steering wheel), jack up both front framerails on flat ground equally, say 3" .
Then eyeball the steering wheel and report back!?