Tie rod insanity

[rmcswain]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum and I don't know if this question has already been asked and answered.

I have a 1994 K1500. Steering and front suspension wise, I replaced everything but the center link, gear box, A arms and sway bar on the front end. When I align the steering wheel so that it is centered with about 1 1/2 turns right and left to the stops (for the purpose of setting toe until my alignment appt.), I discovered that my passenger side tie rod is bottomed out and I still need it to be at least a half inch shorter straighten the steering wheel and have acceptable toe. To my knowledge, all 4 tie rods are the same length. On the driver's side, the tie rods are adjusted quite far out. I believe that the steering wheel is indexed by the white plastic horn plug. So you can only adjust the steering wheel in 180 degree increments by separating the intermediate column and the column. I'm only off by about 20 degrees on the steering wheel. Does anyone have an idea what the issue might be? I would like to solve this before I go to my mechanic to save some money. There is no evidence of any major accident. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

 

[98_k1500]

That would only help if 1/2 way between locks the wheel is upside down.

 

[Steve's Chevy]

My truck is a 2wd and i had a fabtech 7.5" lift installed and I had the problem of my pass side tie rods being to long I cut them down 1/2" per rod and that gave me plenty of adjustment....


Still had front end issues so I grabbed a beer and layed under the truck until I found the problem... I replaced everything under the front end including new upper and lower control arms when they installed the new lift.... after a few beers I realized they installed the center link in backwards.... I flipped it around bought new tie rods and had it aligned... I actually had the truck at the alignment shop 6 times before I found the problem, and they call themselves the tire pros they are not

 

[Keepinitoldskool]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum and I don't know if this question has already been asked and answered.

I have a 1994 K1500. Steering and front suspension wise, I replaced everything but the center link, gear box, A arms and sway bar on the front end. When I align the steering wheel so that it is centered with about 1 1/2 turns right and left to the stops (for the purpose of setting toe until my alignment appt.), I discovered that my passenger side tie rod is bottomed out and I still need it to be at least a half inch shorter straighten the steering wheel and have acceptable toe. To my knowledge, all 4 tie rods are the same length. On the driver's side, the tie rods are adjusted quite far out. I believe that the steering wheel is indexed by the white plastic horn plug. So you can only adjust the steering wheel in 180 degree increments by separating the intermediate column and the column. I'm only off by about 20 degrees on the steering wheel. Does anyone have an idea what the issue might be? I would like to solve this before I go to my mechanic to save some money. There is no evidence of any major accident. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

Did you disconnect the steering shafts from the gear box? If you did and you happen to move it there is your problem. You need to get that gear box centered so that the pitman arm is in the middle of its travel.

 

[rmcswain]

Steve and 98,

Thanks for the input. You are right, It only works if the wheel is upside down. I had not even considered the center link because I never changed it. Could be the previous folks replaced it backward. I talked it out with my mechanic yesterday and we think that someone had this apart before and the index between the gear box and the intermediate column is 360 degrees out. If we are correct, I need to center the wheel, separate the column and the intermediate column, start the truck and turn the intermediate one rotation to the driver's side, reconnect the columns and reset the toe. If that doesn't work, I will look at the center link next. I didn't replace it last year. If it is backward, I will replace it now. I will let you know how it goes.

 

[rmcswain]

Oldschool,

Yep, you are correct! That is what I plan on doing if the four straight days of rain ever gives me a break.

 

[rmcswain]

Well, the pitman arm is pointing straight toward the back of the truck, so I can't adjust that. I believe that only leaves the center link. When I look at my truck the connection between the cente link and the passenger tie rod is right under the frame. On the driver's side, it is 2-3 inches inside the frame. Does anyone know if this is a backward installation?

 

[Keepinitoldskool]

So with the steering wheel centered in its travel the pitman arm is pointed straight towards the rear of the truck?

 

[rmcswain]

Yes. That is correct. All of the pictures and diagrams that I can find seem to show the longer end of the drag link on the driver's side of the truck. Mine seems to be on the passenger side, but it was too wet today to lay under it and measure.

 

[1997chevydriver]

What side are your inner tie rod ends on? Front side of center link or rear side?