Steering wheel off center

[dmilkman589]

I went and did some snow wheeling yesterday in buffalo while away at school and I broke through the ice a few times dropping my front wheel a couple feet down. After the whole day of wheelin and getting stuck allot the steering wheel has been knocked about 45 degrees off center. Is this a common thing if so what could it be and how shall I begin to repair. She still goes strait when you let go of the wheel and seems to still turn just as far both ways within reason...

 

[twomorestrokes]

Hard to diagnose over the forum without looking under the truck. Sounds like something bent.

 

[quickfarms]

That us a serious issue and the truck should not be driven until you fix the problem.

I have never had one go that far off center.

Does the wheel have a lot if play in it, will it turn without turning the wheels.
Check the the whole front end start the steering box, be sure to check the frame for cracks and rubber in the steering shaft.

Do not forget to check the front suspension including the u bolts.

 

[dmilkman589]

.

 

[dmilkman589]

No more play than it had before... Everything seems to be acting normal other than center

 

[o1951]

When you broke thru, ice probably put weight on a tie rod, bending it. With the wheel that far out, toe is really messed up, and will scrub the tires, causing them to wear fast.

Needs to be checked by an alignment shop.
Strongly recommend against straightening bent steering parts.

 

[rtk]

Could be you twisted the steering shaft , ( the shaft that comes out the bottom of the box) VERY common problem , But as others have said , you need to check the whole front end for damage ASAP , because something is not right and your MV is not safe to drive . PM me I live in Buffalo , not far from UB , we can take a peak and see "whatsup" as they say , bob k

 

[Recovry4x4]

I've broken the centerpins in the leaf springs before.

 

[Barrman]

Tie rod ends, tie rod, drag link, leaf springs, leaf spring mounts, pitman arm, rag joint and rear leaf spring mounts all could be causing this. Take it to an alignment shop to see what is out and then go from there. However, a helper, a ruler and measuring front to back on each side, front tire front to front and rear to rear should tell you if the truck is out of square.

 

[wayne pick]

Way to beat the snot of of your truck, hope you got a fat wallet.

 

[rtk]

Agreed , I guess he will lean how to wrench on MV's , the OLD learning curve . Always wondered why the had a wrecker with all the convoys , LOL

 

[dmilkman589]

I'm not beating my truck. You guys sound like my father haha. I'm simply using it. As long as it doesn't fail on my 327 mile drive home this coming weekend were good.

 

[rtk]

Please be careful on the drive home , you should at least get somebody to put your MV on a lift just to make sure nothing falls off on the 90 on the way home ! BTW ,we give EVERYBODY grief , Please don't take it seriously , and yes a LOT of us could be your father ! bob k

 

[o1951]

I'm not beating my truck. You guys sound like my father haha. I'm simply using it. As long as it doesn't fail on my 327 mile drive home this coming weekend were good.

If alignment is out, 300+ miles could take a LOT of tread off front tires, which are not that cheap.

 

[wayne pick]

Just for us old guys entertainment, please report any seat pinching death wobble episodes on the way home. Dash cam gets extra points. Seriously, get your truck fixed before you drive it home. A crash could ruin your day, or somebody elses.

 

[quickfarms]

I can not believe you are thinking about driving this truck at all.

 

[dmilkman589]

heres the deal, i haven't re posted because i never fixed it, but i drove it from albany to buffalo twice now with no wobble. the alignment seems to be perfect the wheel just seems to be off. but tonight i went back out in the woods and i hit something and the wheel tweaked back the other way so now its about 45 degrees to the right....

 

[wayne pick]

Dude! Just becuase there is no wobble does not mean the front end is in alignment. Something is bent, broken, or out of adjustment. I know you are having fun with your truck, and thats great! You should really consider having it looked at by a reputable front end shop to be on the safe side before you shuffle off to Buffalo again. Be carefull.

 

[wheelspinner]

So you come on here with a problem/question. Ask for advice about how to begin/accomplish the necessary repairs. And then completely ignore all of the responses, drive the truck against all rational thought 700+ miles, twice. Take it out again and "hit a tree" and knocked the steering the other way; and then you chastise wise "older" people and ignore all the sage advice including an offer to help inspect the truck. What possible reason could you have had for asking for help???

 

[twomorestrokes]

Agreed. Wholeheartedly. You take it off roading once and the steering wheel ends up off center by a full 1/4 turn! You keep driving it and make the trip okay but your next trip off road puts your steering wheel a FILL 1/2 turn in the opposite direction! This is FAR from a small issue. You use the term "tweaked" when you should be using a term more like "whacked". If you aren't bending things when you are playing with it then there is something loose like an adjusting sleeve or something's broken. This thread's gone about as far as it can go without a report back from you with some solid results about what you have found as far as the front end issue that you have. Be safe.