Is there another way to center the steering wheel besides disconnecting the shaft from the R&P? I just finished replacing my R&P and didn't realize the steering wheel had turned a bit when I was putting the new R&P in..

The car tracks fine and everything. It's just annoying having the steering wheel off center..

Sorry if this's a silly question - first time doing a R&P.

Also, can the blinker/washer controls be rotated around the steering shaft as well? For some reason when I got the car used the controls have always been slightly off center as well (i.e. the trim piece between the wheel and the dash is not completely horizontal).

How far off are you talking, if its only a couple degrees you could use the tie rods to compensate. Dont get to carried away because you want to keep good thread engagement so they wont pull out.

You should also be able to take the steering wheel off and turn it straight on the splines. Thats probably the easiest thing to do and then use the tie rods to dial in the wheel perfectly straight.

Originally posted by SilvrEclips
How far off are you talking, if its only a couple degrees you could use the tie rods to compensate. Dont get to carried away because you want to keep good thread engagement so they wont pull out. You should also be able to take the steering wheel off and turn it straight on the splines. Thats probably the easiest thing to do and then use the tie rods to dial in the wheel perfectly straight.

It's a good 45* or so, so way more than I'd want to do using the tie rods.

Try unbolting the wheel and straightening it that way. Just make sure to unplug the battery before disconnecting the air bag

Originally posted by SilvrEclips
Try unbolting the wheel and straightening it that way. Just make sure to unplug the battery before disconnecting the air bag

Thanks, was gonna try that, but I've also noticed that the points where my blinkers reset are off too though. When the left blinker is turned on it won't reset until the cars wheels are turned slightly to the right past center. When the car's wheels are centered the steering wheel is rotated to the left about 45* so i'm pretty sure the blinker issues are because of that.

Removing and re-centering the steering wheel wouldn't fix that b/c the notches to reset the blinker are on the column itself, right?

I'm thinking maybe I could take apart the steering column at the joint inside the cabin and realign it from there? Seems like it would be a lot less work than dropping the rack again. Is that difficult to do?

Not hard at all, 4 bolts and the column drops, then its just the pinch bolt holding the two joints together, sounds like your entire column is off and not just the wheel off center. A non tedious way to straighten it back out is to lock the steering wheel in one direction and count the number of revolutions to the other lock, then turn the wheel half of that. At that point your wheels and column should be straight, then its just a matter of taking the wheel off and centering the wheel. Its not the most accurate way to do it but it will get you in the ball park, the other way is to break out the plumb bob and angle finders and rulers, if you don't know what I'm talking about then its best you do not attempt...you could make things a LOT worse, lol. Good luck

Originally posted by Slo2g
Not hard at all, 4 bolts and the column drops, then its just the pinch bolt holding the two joints together, sounds like your entire column is off and not just the wheel off center. A non tedious way to straighten it back out is to lock the steering wheel in one direction and count the number of revolutions to the other lock, then turn the wheel half of that. At that point your wheels and column should be straight, then its just a matter of taking the wheel off and centering the wheel. Its not the most accurate way to do it but it will get you in the ball park, the other way is to break out the plumb bob and angle finders and rulers, if you don't know what I'm talking about then its best you do not attempt...you could make things a LOT worse, lol. Good luck

Cool thanks.

Yea it's the whole column that's off. It wasn't centered when I reconnected the column to the R&P.

Do you know how the instruments are attached to the column (washer/blinker switches)? Those have always been slightly off since I got the car as well. Would be nice to get everything nice and centered.