Rag joint

[Duffyjr]

Bit of info, truck has 76k (see sig) on it and tires are new Cooper AT3's with 5300 miles on them. Had truck aligned and some front end work done soon (100 miles) after the tires were new, I just didn't want the tire dealer doing the work. I don't put a lot of miles on this truck so the new tires and alignment was about 2.5 years ago.

I noticed the outer edges on the front tires were cupping, there was also a lot of play in the steering wheel but no pulling to either side and drove just fine. So I took it in to my mech to have the tires balanced, rotated, check out the front end and do an alignment.

I got the truck back and he said the front end was solid and only needed a new rag joint. Here's the deal, he did the balance, rotate and alignment but had to order the rag joint. So I picked up the truck and everything was fine. Took the truck back yesterday to have the rag joint installed. Picked up the truck and noticed right away there was much less play but now my steering wheel is not right and to tell you the truth, it bugs me. All else seems fine, goes straight down the road, no vibration at highway speeds, just the steering wheel is not centered, it's about 3 inches to the right, if I hold it were it's suppose to be it steers to the left, and not just a little bit.

Am I being to anal wanting to take it back and have them fix the wheel?

Also after doing a little research on this I'm not sure how just replacing the rag joint could do this, from what I've read it can only go on one way due to flat spots on the shaft and rag joint. So this leads me to think they should of replaced the rag joint before doing the alignment.

Any thoughts on this.

 

[555]

Originally Posted By: Duffyjr
Bit of info, truck has 76k (see sig) on it and tires are new Cooper AT3's with 5300 miles on them. Had truck aligned and some front end work done soon (100 miles) after the tires were new, I just didn't want the tire dealer doing the work. I don't put a lot of miles on this truck so the new tires and alignment was about 2.5 years ago.

I noticed the outer edges on the front tires were cupping, there was also a lot of play in the steering wheel but no pulling to either side and drove just fine. So I took it in to my mech to have the tires balanced, rotated, check out the front end and do an alignment.

I got the truck back and he said the front end was solid and only needed a new rag joint. Here's the deal, he did the balance, rotate and alignment but had to order the rag joint. So I picked up the truck and everything was fine. Took the truck back yesterday to have the rag joint installed. Picked up the truck and noticed right away there was much less play but now my steering wheel is not right and to tell you the truth, it bugs me. All else seems fine, goes straight down the road, no vibration at highway speeds, just the steering wheel is not centered, it's about 3 inches to the right, if I hold it were it's suppose to be it steers to the left, and not just a little bit.

Am I being to anal wanting to take it back and have them fix the wheel?

Also after doing a little research on this I'm not sure how just replacing the rag joint could do this, from what I've read it can only go on one way due to flat spots on the shaft and rag joint. So this leads me to think they should of replaced the rag joint before doing the alignment.

Any thoughts on this.


They should have done it at the shop. Absolutely take it back. I've been in your situation, sucks to have a misaligned steering wheel.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Sounds like the column may have been installed one spline off if it's off by that much.

 

[Nick1994]

The rag joint had play in it when you last had it aligned, so the "center" of the steering wheel was different when it was last aligned. Now that it's fixed your center is where it should be and your truck needs to be aligned again, you'll have to pay for it, not the mechanic's fault.

 

[bullwinkle]

If you can't afford the alignment, you could turn the tie rod ends out a couple/few turns on the left side, and in the SAME number of turns on the right side-I bet you could get it pretty close to straight that way. I had a similar problem on the '93 GMC in my sig-steering got sloppy, I assumed it was the box adjustment-turned out the rag joint was bad. Had to back the adjustment screw back out after I pulled the lower column & replaced the rag joint.

 

[Duffyjr]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
The rag joint had play in it when you last had it aligned, so the "center" of the steering wheel was different when it was last aligned. Now that it's fixed your center is where it should be and your truck needs to be aligned again, you'll have to pay for it, not the mechanic's fault.


Thanks, that is what I thought, they should of replaced the rag joint before they aligned it.

You may of read my post wrong but I took the truck into to have the front end checked out because the tires were cupping and there was a lot of play in the steering wheel. If they aligned it and figured out it had a bad rag joint after they aligned it, is that my fault?

 

[bullwinkle]

Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
Sounds like the column may have been installed one spline off if it's off by that much.
If his is like mine was, there's a flat area in the splines that has to be lined up to slide the column ends back together. The difficult part is proving a problem 5200 miles after they aligned it, I agree with the person above that said it should have been caught when it was aligned the first time.

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: Duffyjr
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
The rag joint had play in it when you last had it aligned, so the "center" of the steering wheel was different when it was last aligned. Now that it's fixed your center is where it should be and your truck needs to be aligned again, you'll have to pay for it, not the mechanic's fault.


Thanks, that is what I thought, they should of replaced the rag joint before they aligned it.

You may of read my post wrong but I took the truck into to have the front end checked out because the tires were cupping and there was a lot of play in the steering wheel. If they aligned it and figured out it had a bad rag joint after they aligned it, is that my fault?

Sorry, didn't catch that they did the alignment just now, thought it was in the past.

They should line it up for you at no cost now that it's crooked.

 

[SatinSilver]

Originally Posted By: Duffyjr
Am I being to anal wanting to take it back and have them fix the wheel?


Not at all and I've done the same thing. The Honda dealer has a 6 month time limit to take the car back to get realigned. No biggie to take it back and have adjusted.