Got ahead of myself and bought a new (used) steering wheel for my '96 Dakota because mine was coming apart and looked really bad. The replacement looked to be identical. It has a center plate that mates with a shaft that has splines; there was one section that is solid and has no splines which serves to "key" the wheel to the shaft. Everything went back together nicely, without any undue force. The problem is that now the steering wheel seems to be about 6 to maybe 10 degrees off, not a lot but enough to make me notice. The steering wheel must be held about 6 degrees clockwise in order for the truck to track straight. Is this just a manufacturing difference in the new steering wheel (an OEM part) or did I assemble something incorrectly? If it turns out to just be a difference in the steering wheel, does some other adjustment compensate for it? Thanks to all readers for your consideration of my plight...

 

Sounds like you just need to get an alignment got get the wheel back to center. Since the new steering wheel is clocked differently then the old one. When a shop does an alignment (a quality shop) they will set the steering wheel center then adjust the tie rods to that.

 

i second that. mine is like this also just dont feel like paying $50 to get it aligned that and im pretty used to it now. (been like that for a few years)

 

yup crooked wheel doesnt necessarily mean the alighnment is out nor does a straight wheel necessarily mean the alignment is "right".

 

From what I've read, your old steering wheel was straight, but the new steering wheel is off center. Changing the steering wheel wouldn't affect your alignment. And as was said by volaredon, crooked or straight wheels aren't an indication of alignment.

How much have you driven it since you changed the wheel? The crown of the road or a strong cross wind can affect how you have to hold the steering wheel when driving straight. Try driving it for a while and see if road crown makes a difference or the wind. If you're on a two lane highway, drive down the middle of the road for a distance (make sure no one is coming), if you can have the steering wheel centered to go straight while in the middle of the road, it is just the crown of the road that is affecting it.

 

If your front wheels were not perfectly straight when you installed the steering wheel and you installed the straight then it's going to be off. I suggest you get the front wheels straight, remove the steering wheel and reinstall first before spending the $$ for an alignment.

 

The steering wheel is keyed, so you can't install it 10° off center. If it was installed wrong, it would need to be 360° off center.

I would recommend pulling both steering wheels and seeing if the keys line up with each other.

 

If you need to adjust the tie rods, it's not that hard to do yourself. Just make sure to adjust them the same amount, in the same direction, and measure the toe-in when you're done.

What I usually do is park the truck with the steering wheel in the position where it is going straight (6-10 degrees "off", in your case), leave the steering unlocked, then adjust the tie rods until the wheel straightens itself.

Not that big of a deal, but definitely make sure you have the steering wheel installed correctly first.

 

Thanks to all for the feedback. Yes, the front alignment seems to be good; it tracks nicely when steering wheel is held 6 degrees clockwise from center. Based on the discussion, it sounds like the "system" just needs to be trued with the new steering wheel in place. One response indicated that there should not have been any way to install the OEM steering wheel off-center.

 

like mentioned before our steering wheels are keyed so they cant be installed wrong. i swapped my steering wheel out for a 2nd gen oem wheel and found that the second gen's are keyed too.