I have an early '69. I recently had my steering box rebuilt and reinstalled it along with a new rag joint. As I recall, the rag joint was keyed to the box so it could go on only one way. The end result is that my steering wheel is off 90 degrees. I took the car for a front-end alignment thinking they could also straighten out the steering wheel but the alignment shop wouldn't do anything with the wheel but did indicate that it should be done before the alignment - which makes sense to me. I'm not quite sure why the wheel ended up 90 degress off from before I do believe the old rag joint was a bit different. Is the proper way to fix the steering wheel alignment to pull it and replace it in the proper position? Thanks.
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Jack Ottofaro -
Re: aligning steering wheel
Jack------
On an early 1969, assuming the steering box is original to the car, the steering worm shaft (i.e. the input shaft) is not splined or keyed in any way. It's a completely round, splined shaft just like 63-68. So, it is possible to get this "off" with respect to the steering shaft and wheel.In Appreciation of John Hinckley -
Re: aligning steering wheel
Thanks for the input Joe. Were later ones keyed? Assuming mine is not keyed, would it be better to fix the problem at the steering box rather than pulling the steering wheel?Jack OttofaroComment
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Re: aligning steering wheel
IIRC, the later shafts were indexed with a flat on one section. Therefore, there was a right way and wrong way to put the rag joint and shaft together.
GaryComment
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Re: aligning steering wheel
It's better to index the steering box precisely, and then attach the steering wheel/column to suit.Comment
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Re: aligning steering wheel
Jack,
Mike is correct. The first thing that has to be "clocked" correctly is the steering gear. There is a center position or straight ahead position (also called the high spot) designed into these units and the gear should be in this exact position when the wheels are pointed straight ahead. There is (or should be) a hash mark on the rear end of the steering gear worm shaft that is supposed to be at the 12:00 O'Clock position when the steering wheel is in the straight ahead position. There is also another hash mark at the upper end of the steering column shaft that should be at the 12:00 O'Clock position to match the steering gear shaft. Once these two items are in agreement, the front wheel toe setting can be done.
MichaelComment
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Re: aligning steering wheel
Jack,
The alignment procedures utilized by the alignment personel should include having the steering wheel straight ahead and held by a spring loaded device. Now, if you don't have the steering box, shaft and steering wheel aligned you can never get a good alignment job. Your Corvette will always wander all over the road especially with a rutted road.
This is a very important step and cannot be overlooked.
Sit in the car and drive the steering wheel from lock to lock and divide in half to find the approximate high point. Remove the rag joint and find the hash mark on the steering gear shaft. Now point it a 12 o'clock and then find the hash mark on the steering shaft after pulling the horn button. Take the rag joint and put the split at 12 o'clock and attach to the steering gear shaft. The hash mark on the shaft behind the horn button should be at 12 o"clock. If not slide the shaft from the upper rag joint and align properly. If the steering wheel is not properly centered you must pull the hub and align it properly.
This procedure will assure that the alignment shop has somewhere to start and is not aligning your Corvette off the center gear of the steering gear box.
Mike and Michael are both correct in their posts but I thought it was such an important point about enjoying your Corvette, I would interject an alignment procedure to follow.
Regards,
JRComment
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Re: aligning steering wheel
Thanks everyone for the excellent and detailed help! I don't usually respond with just a "thanks" but I want to make sure everyone knows I do appreciate the great guidance I get here. I'm going back to square 1 to be sure everything is correct...Jack OttofaroComment
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