I was in an accident with a forklift (dont ask) and now my front end is off a little. I have a stubby bumper so the forklift hit my drivers side tire dead on pretty hard. Since then my steering wheel has been off to the left about a 1/4 turn and my ESP/ABS light is on. Everything drives and steers fine but when I turn hard left my DS tire rubs the frame. I have looked everything over and the only thing that looks off, bent mabye, is the drag link. Could that be the problem? I have been thinking about recentering my steering wheel but dont want to take the chance off messing anything up if the drag link is bent. I just want my steering wheel straight what do you think? All help is appreciated.

 

Might have just knocked your tow out. Possibly the tie rod, since the drag link bolts to the passenger side. I would take it to an alignment shop.

 

It might just be that your draglink needs to be adjusted. Use the adjuster sleeve to adjust your steering wheel until its centered. Sometimes it takes a few tries. What I did was adjust it once, drive around the block, and then when I was pulling in my driveway I let the Jeep sort of center itself and then I adjusted again based on that.

The other poster's suggestion to take it to an alignment shop might be in order too. I just know that the steering wheel seems to get knocked off center fairly easily.

 

Wranglerguy is correct get it to an alignment shop, you need to see if anything else is bent. Such as the front axle and or the axle housing.

 

Could be several things- the bad thing about a fork lift it's so darned heavy. Damage can travel in a suspension hit with a hard lick . Center your steering wheel. Now get out and walk in front of the jeep and look at both wheels from the front. One wheel will be off. Now look at the tie rod end on that side. Look at the steering knuckle on that side. Now move to the drag link, if it's bent then usually both front wheels are toed in. Many times you can adjust the suspension in an alignment but you can still wind up with turning issues. If your sector shaft splines are bent in your steering box the steering will be pre-loaded to one side. In other words the jeep will turn sharper one way than the other. The steering knuckle is the part your brake caliper is bolted to. Measure from the tie rod end to the inner wheel edge, it should match from side to side. Any cast-iron suspension part will ''show'' if it is bent. The cast iron will show a ''stretch mark'' in the color of the iron. Look for marks...Just a few suggestions. Best of luck!!!

 

Naa... Recenter your steering wheel and keep an eye on your tread for a week or two. I drove for months on a bent tie rod and draq link. It will continually get worse if that is the case, but it could take a very long time. An alignment shop can tell you if it is out of alignment, but I doubt they could tell a subtle bend in a drag link. Tie rod is easier. Recenter and watch is my opinion...