For a good while after replacing the steering/suspension parts on the Scion, we've been dealing with an issue with said steering. The problem was after two different shops had their hands on the alignment trying to get things right, we still have the issue where the car will steer all the way to the left just fine but only about 2/3 the way to the right. This is aggravating when we have to make maneuvers in parking lots and the like and either have to back up to re-stage ourselves to park or have to swing out to make the approach while taking into account the incomplete steering angle. Well, since the engine is completely out, I decided this was the perfect opportunity to address this issue. The first thing that I figured I'd have to do to address this issue is disconnect the steering column from the rack and pinion assembly so it can be free to make adjustments without affecting the angle of the steering wheel. After all adjustments are made, I can then reseat the knuckle onto the rack and pinion shaft. The next thing I would have to do is loosen up the tie rod end nuts on both sides in order to equally turn both sides to angle the wheels more to the right. Since we're starting off with the wheels straight, I would turn the tie rod ends, drawing in the right side and bringing out the left side so the wheels would turn more to the right. What this would do is when the steering is turned all the way to the right to the stop point, the wheels will then be at more of a right angle with our adjustment. To safely do this with minimum risk of messing up the alignment, I marked the tie rods with a permanent marker in order to know just how many full turns I'm turning the tie rod ends so I can equally turn both sides. After jacking the car up and pulling the tires and marking the tie rod ends and disconnecting the steering knuckle from the rack and pinion, I made my adjustments. I gave both sides three complete turns to turn the wheels more to the right, enough for me to be able to see the movement of the wheels. From there I reseated the steering knuckle in order to turn the wheels back straight again, then pulled the knuckle and placed the steering wheel in the amidships position then reseated the knuckle again, with the wheels straight. I replaced the bolts for the knuckle then test turned the wheel to make sure I still had good left turning ability while seeing what progress I had on the right turning angle. From what I could see, there were good improvements on the right turn angle. When I turned the steering wheel amidships again, the wheels were also straight, making me feel comfortable with the idea that I didn't mess up the alignment on the car. It would suck if I had to take the car back to the alignment shop, only to have them mess up the alignment yet again where I'd be right back at square one. Hopefully with this taken care of, I can go back to getting the engine back in, knowing that once everything is running, the car will have complete steering left and right.
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May 2023
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