>My steering wheel is very slightly (a few degrees at most) off center >when
>going straight. Its not the steering wheel itself, I believe, because >the
>turn signal (excuse me, trafficator) reset occurs in the "right" place,
>that is to say I have to oversteer slightly to get the reset action. >Thus,
>I believe the misalignment is below the uppermost piece of the column.
>Where is the best place to adjust this?
On the TR6, there are several places to "center" the steering wheel.
The first thing that should be done is have the front end aligned by a
"GOOD" mechanic. Since the tie rod ends have probably been replaced at
some point, you need to make sure the distance from the center of the
tie rod end to the steering rack is the same. Also, the steering rack
rubber mounts come into play. Once the rack is centered, there are two
splined universal joints (more than likely they haven't been re-aligned)
that can affect the centering of the steering wheel. Also, the rubber
coupler, if it is worn, might affect the centering.
I rebuilt the front end of my 74 TR6 a couple of years ago (replaced
everything that could wear out),and added a TR4 solid rack mount. After
replacing all the parts, I adjusted the tie rod ends so the threaded
part sticking out was even on both sides, and then did a "shade tree
front end alignment". Once that was done, I centered the turn signal cam
using the splines on the universal joints under the hood, and then
centered the steering wheel. Then I took the car to E.G. Bradley, and
had them align the front end. During the alignment, they can fine tune
the steering wheel centering at the tie rod end if you have all the
coarse adjustments done.
Please note that worn tires, worn parts, bent frames ect. can also
affect the centering.
Chuck Poulin
74 TR6
65 Galaxie 500 with an upside down steering wheel
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