"centering" steering for alignment

['69 2800cs]

I'm aligning my car at home today, and I need to be sure the steering is centered before I start adjusting the tie rods. (Given the number of times the steering wheel has been off there is no guarantee that the steering wheel is on straight, so best to check it.)

On other cars I've just gone equal turns of the steering wheel left and right. Other cars have a centering mark on the rack and pinion.

Anything like that for an E9?

 

[MMercury]

I'm aligning my car at home today, and I need to be sure the steering is centered before I start adjusting the tie rods. (Given the number of times the steering wheel has been off there is no guarantee that the steering wheel is on straight, so best to check it.)

On other cars I've just gone equal turns of the steering wheel left and right. Other cars have a centering mark on the rack and pinion.

Anything like that for an E9?

Divide the total turns of s wheel by 2 and you're there. This presupposes that the steering arm was centered too. (It probably was.) I am pretty sure there is actually an alignment mark on the steering gear output shaft and the arm, if there is such an issue. Another possibility is get under the car and manually center the arm which is pretty easy to do by eye. Then compare it with your steering wheel.

Good luck

 

[Arde]

Speaking of that, my steering is in that annoying range where the spline is too coarse to center by removing the and rotating the steering wheel. How is that case fixed?

 

[jhjacobs]

Speaking of that, my steering is in that annoying range where the spline is too coarse to center by removing the and rotating the steering wheel. How is that case fixed?

The only way to do this is by turning left and right tie rods by the same number of turns - I would start with two turns and see if it gets you where you want to be.

I'm aligning my car at home today, and I need to be sure the steering is centered before I start adjusting the tie rods. (Given the number of times the steering wheel has been off there is no guarantee that the steering wheel is on straight, so best to check it.)

It has been 3 decades since I have attempted this so I may be wrong... On more general question of centering the recirculating ball system for the steering column I am pretty sure the the tensioning system can also be used as a general guide. If you loosen the lock nut on the tensioner screw and gently tighten the centering screw you will find that the steering column gets a bit stiffer at the center position (within about +/-10% of center and close enough). It is best to do this on jack stands with the front wheels able to turn freely. It will probably take some fiddling with the tensioner to find the exact spot but I am pretty sure it is there. This happens because of the way the big teeth of the steering arm are cut. Once you have done this I recommend backing the tensioner screw out so that it just barely creates this tight spot otherwise you will strain the little recirculating balls over time and it will also have an annoying feel when driving if it is too tight.

For the same reason the steering tension should alway be set in the centered position.

 

[Ed G]

Be sure to make small equal adjustments on both sides and doublecheck after adjusting. Turning the tie rod adjuster sleeves will move the steering wheel.