PhilipMidd

Hello All.
I just replaced a knackered inner tie rod end, got the toe close enough, and now I realize my steering wheel is still off center.
I realize I could release both the outer tie rod ends, take one in and one out a turn, try check for straight, rinse and repeat till its right (or close enough).
A friend of mine said that some (most?) rack and pinion boxes have another method of centering the steering by slackening something on the rack, turning the wheel central and then doing this adjustment thing up again.
Is this also the case with the 89 Celsior / Lexus LS400?
if so, what do I need to slacken off?

Thanks.

PhilipMidd

Did the slacken off tie rod end jam nut both sides, 1.5 turns in one side and out the other. Wheel is now centered. Happy. Wasn't as hard as I though it was going to be.
Toe In is about 0.2 - 0.4 repeatable via a simple triangulation method using the tire sidewalls to base alignment on. Should be good enough.

spuds

Nice job Phil.

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

a laser alignment will get it back on center again too!
anytime you mess with the tie rod you alter the alignment settings, hence an off-center steering wheel.
you can be off by a mm and the car will react adversely.
our cars are very sensitive to alignments which is why they have so much room for adjustment!

are you using a old-school string method to do your alignments?

PhilipMidd

Yes and No. I used a little geometry and triangulated things a little more, but basically its the same method but with using angles rather than just a measurement from front and rear of the front tires to go on. I'll look for a video of the method I used.