A year back i got a fast ratio steering box from a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Swap was find but the steering wheel was off around a 1/4 turn. The rag joint to steering column did not seem to have any adjustability and the steering arm detents were not adjustable without a readjustment of the Tie-rods. Was the adjustment of the tie-rods the next move...? I kinda gave up and put the original box back in.

I was going to rebuild the front suspension this spring (I have all the parts ready etc). If the tie-rod adjustment is the answer, then I can do this during the rebuild (although I'm not sure how to keep the alignment close to present).

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Yes, centering the steering wheel normally requires adjustment of the tie-rods. But you do want to get the rag-joint installed so that the steering wheel center is at least close to the center of the L & R stops in the box. Fine-tune the centering of the wheel spindles to the steering wheel w/ the tie-rods. There is no way to preserve alignment if you are replacing all the A-arms.

 

Start by jacking up the front end and centering the steering box by counting the turns from stop-to-stop then coming back exactly half as many turns. This should be straight ahead. The steering wheel should be centered with the box in this position, so if it isn't figure out what is not correctly clocked in the steering column. Once that is correct, put the weight back on the front suspension and look at the front wheels. If they are turned to one side or the other, shorten the tie rod on the side pointed outboard and lengthen the one on the other side by the same amount.