Ok, so today I decided to play in the mud and after having some fun I fell into some deep ruts that someone with a lot bigger tires than I had made. Needless to say I bottomed out almost instantly and while trying to get out I was turing the front wheels back and forth looking for traction on the walls.

After getting yanked out by a Dodge Ram and washed the cow pattie smelling mud off my Jeep I noticed my steering wheel was no longer straight. :sad: The only thing that looked out of place is the steering bar going from the driver side to the pasenger side has a slight bend in it.

Can anyone tell me if this normally has a small bend in it or did I do it today? Any other suggestions on what I messed up?

Thanks for any help.

 

bummer dude... I'll go check my Jeep. I don't think it has a bend, but I'll go check. Straightening the steering wheel is pretty easy...normally. Read step 51. of this writeup.

 

Hmmm, got any pics? Your alignment/steering wheel position shouldn't just go out of whack and if it is, something most likely is bent.

 

Yeah I hit a big piece of wood in the road with the driver front tire in mine a week ago (a huge piece of a cut up oak tree.) It almost brought me to a stop, and after I backed up and continued on, my steering wheel was crooked, and I had a nice vibration in the driver front after that (mostly between 40-50MPH). I took it to get an alignment, but that did no good for the vibration. I also took my rear wheel/tire and moved it to the front but that did no good either. I dropped it off Friday so someone could look at the suspension and figure out what is wrong. I'm sure something is bent, but everything in the suspension has a bend in it to start with so it's hard to tell.

 

Both your drag link and your tie rod have bends in them from the factory. They are there so that both clear various parts on your front axle when you turn (both move closer to the axle when truned). You may have bent something slightly, but I would not worry. You probably just need to center things back up. I have done this many times myself. Use a tape measure to check your toe-in first (should be 0"-1/8"), then re-center your steering wheel. Good luck.

 

Thanks for all the responses. I will try and get a picture of it tomorrow in the day light. I think I am fairly lucky because I don't have any vibration or pull one way or another. Just the steering wheel doesn't line up. It looks pretty simple to adjust from the write up you posted for me so I am sure I can handle that at home.

Renegade, what is the best way to check the toe-in? I am thinking a level against the wheel/tire?

Thanks again all!

 

Here is a picture:

 

Looks like mine:

 

I use a tape measure to a common tread/sidewall area between the leading (front) edges of the front tires, then compare that measurement to the trailing (back) edges of the front tires. Try to do it even with the front axle if possible, but just make sure that you use common points on the tires to compare. I have used this method with Jeeps for over 18 years and have never had any steering/tire wear problems. Good luck.