I have an 89xj with the passenger side tire turned away from the fender and the driver side tire is straight. I adjusted the tie rod now both are now pointing out? (See pics). Any suggestions?

 

Adjust the tie rod the other direction (shorter) until you have 1/16" to 1/8" toe in. Then adjust the drag link to center the steering wheel.

 

Thanks for responding Steve. I tried and ended up making both wheels turned out. Is there a way to adjust one wheel at a time? Before I messed with the tie rod the driver side tire was straight and the passenger side was about an inch out. I checked the ball joints with a pry tool an no movement.

 

Again, you turned the rod ends the wrong direction. Keep in mind that you are dealing with both right hand and left hand threads so you must pay attention to which way you are turning things..Did you count the number of turns you did before? If so just turn it back the opposite direction the same number of turns then keep turning that direction a few more turns. I assume you have the stock "Y" style steering linkage. If so you adjust the RH tie rod end to adjust the right wheel and the LH tie rod end to adjust the left wheel. Once you have those two wheels adjusted to between 1/16" to 1/8" toe in. Then you lengthen or shorten the drag link to center the steering wheel.

 

unfortunately I did not count the turns. So do I disconnect the tie rod ends to do the wheels separate? It seems that is what I would have to do to adjust just one wheel due to the the way the threads are on the tie rod at both ends. Otherwise it will a turn both wheels which is throwing off one side no matter what I do. Yes it is a stock suspension. Forgive me for my ignorance on this subject. So appreciate you taking time to educate me on this.

 

You loosen the bolts on the adjustment sleeve and turn the whole thing one way turns the wheels in and one turns them out, you don't need to disconnect anything.

 

Use the string method. See


Center the steering wheel and level it there. Since that thing is so far off now you can rough it in with the front off the ground, but then you have to drop it down and relieve the preload to complete the process. That guy says have all points touching simultaneously, but a tiny space left at the front contact point will create the toe-in (you should have a tiny bit of toe in, but often I don't).

 

Another video, there's millions of 'em:

 

The pics above is what I have now. First pic is driver’s side using a string like in the video. Second pic is the passenger side front tire with 1/2” gap at back of tire. What now??? Will adjusting the drag link do anything other than straightening the steering wheel?

 

The drag link only adjusts the steering wheel to central. You just need to work on adjusting the tie rod to get the wheels where you want them, then mess with the drag link once the rest is set.

When measuring the toe, make sure that the wheels look straight. If you adjust the tie rod and both wheels are turned left/right after the adjustment, it will mess with your readings.

 

Thanks for replying boxburn. Now matter what I do one front tire is off. Before I took the pics I turned the tie rod in attempt to eliminate the gap on the passenger side and the driver’s side when WAY off and the passenger side stayed near 1/2” ? What am I doing wrong?

 

It sounds like the passenger side is gripping the floor better than the drivers side so turn the steering to set the passenger side straight, then adjust the tie rod to pull or push the drivers side around until straight, then measure.

Are you able to adjust it both ways so that you get both toe in and toe out? If you can't as it gets too stiff to turn, you could have it seized on a bit and need to free it up, or one end was screwed on a bit before the other giving less adjustment overall.

 

BOXBURN you are my hero!!!!!!!! Got it!!!! The passenger side tire was scrubbing. I straightened the cockeyed tire with the steering wheel first too. Thank you and everyone else for educating and helping by sharing your experience.

 

 

Glad to hear you got it sorted out. People seem to forget that you don't need both wheels exactly the same relative to the car to get it to drive straight. Turning the wheel while you drive will make both wheels point equally ahead. The trick is getting the overall toe set (i.e. both wheels aligned with each other), and only then worry about getting the wheel centered. Another way to think about it is one wheel being +2° and the other being -2° doesn't mean your toe is off, it just means your steering wheel will be a little crooked when driving straight.