well yestarday i replaced both outter tie rods. they had the original ones on it from 1991...which were shot to ****.

on the driver side i counted 18 turns on removal and 18 turns for install...for the passenger side i only counted 16 on removal and 16 on install...now my steering wheel is a smidgin to the the right when im going straight...will an alignment fix this? or do i need to run the tie rod less/more on which side... any help would be appreciated...

 

Alignment!!!

 

yeah an alignment is recommended for sho!!! but if I were you I'd just turn the other rod to even it out and do a DIY toe inspection

 

when youve replaced BOTH tie rods (or whole steering rack), you MUST get an alignment because youve totally lost any reference of center, unless you could reference to the rear tires (but its not worth telling you how compared to getting a real alignment). if you just changed one tie rod, you can use the other side and steering wheel as reference for what is straight to get where you were before, but you cant do that anymore.

 

you need to realign as all have said. you will always have to realign when you remove those, i mean you can get it pretty close by measuring the gap but it's still best to get religned.

 

Yeah - you need an alignment. I did the same thing and alignement is completely necessary. When ever you tear down something in the suspension you should get it aligned afterwards.

When I replaced both of my tie rods, I was able to eyeball it pretty well to drive on until I was able to take it in. With the steering wheel set straight, I took a 2X4 and placed it against the front wheel to the back wheel. At first, the 2X4 smacked the side of the car showing me that the wheel was toed out. Then I jacked it up and adjusted, lowed it back down, and retested until I got it pretty straight in line with the rear tire. Take it for a drive and recheck. Worked pretty well for me and I didn't get any noticable tire wear for the couple weeks I drove on it.

 

do you think it will be fine for the time being? i still have DA knuckles i want to rebuild, and balljoints and possibly get new inners...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by crxgator &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">do you think it will be fine for the time being? i still have DA knuckles i want to rebuild, and balljoints and possibly get new inners... </TD></TR></TABLE>

You could get the lifetime alignment from Firestone. If you plan to keep that particular car for awhile, it will pay for itself - especially if you plan to make more changes later.

 

keep adjusting the side it's pulling on and drive it to check. it's time consuming but you can probably prevent any major wear on the tires

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by milk &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

You could get the lifetime alignment from Firestone. If you plan to keep that particular car for awhile, it will pay for itself - especially if you plan to make more changes later.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Listen to the man. I got a lifetime alignement from DTC and it has already paid for itself and some.

 

well the thing is, its not pulling really, just the steering wheel is off centered...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by crxgator &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">well the thing is, its not pulling really, just the steering wheel is off centered...</TD></TR></TABLE>

thats because its really the toe angle that sounds off. Caster is the one angle that will make a car pull the most. But you'll still want to correct it as it'll prob affect tire wear and handling

 

ok, so which side should i adjust? and should i make it come out or in? the steering wheel turns to the right the slightest bit when im driving straight and when i left my hands off the wheel it stays straight and that angle...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by crxgator &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ok, so which side should i adjust? and should i make it come out or in? the steering wheel turns to the right the slightest bit when im driving straight and when i left my hands off the wheel it stays straight and that angle...</TD></TR></TABLE>

I don't it matters which side really. But you said the driver side had 18 while the pass had 16 turns right? well you could probably back out the passenger side which would turn the rack to the driver side. Did that make sense at all?

It made sense in my head but after I typed it, it looks all fucked up?

 

so make it 15* turns on the passenger side instead of 16 is what i gattered from your sentence...

*15 just being a number representing any number smaller than 16...

 

Youll need an alignment, always and forever.

If you wanted to DIY, you should have marked your inners with whiteout, it wont go back on perfect and **** will be off but it will be close.

 

ok, but at this present time im not paying for an alignment when i have to get it again after i rebuild a set of DA knuckles...

so do i:

a: make the driverside 19 turns
b: make the passenger side 15 turns