Hello everyone, I just replaced the track bar on my stock 01 cherokee with 215,000 miles on her. The steering is much better now but now my steering wheel is no longer centered. It is almost 45 degrees to the right. It still drives straight and doesn't pull either way, it's just off centered. Is this normal after a track bar replacement? Or did I do something wrong? Thanks for your help.

 

Gotta adjust the drag link. Park on flat surface. Point tires straight. Loosen adjuster sleeve on drag link. Rotate until steering wheel is centered. Tighten sleeve. Test drive

 

Thanks for your help. I know this sounds a little stupid but which one is the drag link? I tried searching but came up with nothing.

 

here ya go

 

It's the Front Right Outer tie rod end - it's a big long bar with a TRE on the one end, the outer end - the other end goes to adjusting sleeve and then to the front right inner TRE that connects to the pitman arm.

http://www.quadratec.com/Assets/Know...teering(1).jpg

 

Thanks everyone. I saw that pic before but I couldn't find it this time. Thanks. Is this a normal thing to do when you replace the track bar?

 

no it is not a normal thing.

 

It's not a normal thing but neither is it an unusual thing. Having your Jeep aligned with a worn track bar can result in steering wheel misalignment when the worn track bar is replaced. The purpose of the track bar is to center your front axle with the chassis. If you want to check that centering, use a 4 foot straight edge against the outside of each front tire (with the tires pointed straight ahead). The distance from the fender flare to the straight edge should be the same on both sides +/- 1/4".

 

Take two 13mm open end wrenches and channel locks with you for about 4 rides around your block. Loosen bolts, turn link, drive. Repeat until satisfied.

 

Thanks everyone for the great help. I will do this adjustment as soon as it stops raining around here.

 

What the OP described is exactly what happened on mine as well. I've been wondering why it caused the steering wheel to be out of alignment.

A question though: when you loosen the adjustment sleeve, do you loosen both bolts / both ends of the sleeve, or just one? I haven't gotten under it yet to see how it works, so excuse me if it seems a dumb question...

 

both sides of adjusting sleeve

 

Both bolts. Before tightening back up, roll drag link so that TRE's (tie rod ends) are at their center of movement.

 

Will do, thanks!

 

Well this afternoon I crawled under the jeep and loosened both nuts and tried to turn the link. I had to use a lot of pb blaster and a pipe wench to turn, but I was able to get it to turn and center the steering wheel up. Now it is all back to normal. Thanks again everyone for the great help.