Puzzled by steering wheel being off 20 degrees?

[Shankster]

I did some rough 4wheelin last weekend in my 02 and my steering wheel is now off by maybe 20 degrees. I'm not aware exactly when it happened and strangely didn't notice the steering wheel was off till the next day. It still tracks and drives fine. I noticed some grumbling coming from the steering the other day but it seems to have gone? (Not sure if that was something to do with me sucking the PS fluid out of the reservoir and replacing with new??). I've checked front toe and camber and both are still perfect. I checked all the ball joints and tie rods and all seem good and I can't find anything bent or broken and no leaks from the PS system. I'm suspecting the steering rack may be the problem but not sure how to check that. Anyone have any ideas? Is there a weak point in the Liberty's steering that might have caused this?

 

[tommudd]

Just take it to an alignment shop
They can reset the toe and get the steering wheel straight
You just knocked it out of alignment , no matter what you measured

 

[Shankster]

Just take it to an alignment shop
They can reset the toe and get the steering wheel straight
You just knocked it out of alignment , no matter what you measured

I checked the toe again using a different method - it is spot on. I can straighten my steering wheel myself. I'd just like to know what moved - if something is about to fail I don't want it to happen at 13,000 ft, miles from nowhere. My biggest concern was whether it could be the steering rack or maybe the intermediate shaft. I'm wondering if the front subframe could have shifted? Another possibility could be that I tweaked one of the front mounts for the rear swing arms - they did get whacked but I don't think bad enough to put the rear axle out of alignment. If one of those last 2 I can just true up the steering wheel and hopefully forget about it as long as it still tracks straight.

 

[tommudd]

It can read " spot on " but still be off
But do it your way
Front subframe can shift but with the over 130 KJs I have worked on only seen one that did
Thanks for the help ! LOL

 

[Shankster]

Thought I'd just put this old string to bed in case anyone else has a similar experience. I re-centered the steering wheel multiple times (by adjusting the tie rods equal rotations either side) but it would always drift off of center again after a drive or 2. There would also be some growling from the steering occasionally. As I mentioned before the toe was always good despite what Tomudd says. After checking every part of my suspension and steering several times I decided there had to be something going on inside the steering rack so I replaced it - problem solved. Steering wheel has stayed straight for hundreds of miles including a bunch of 4wheelin. Steering also seems more precise and less vague.

By the way I got a new, supposedly OEM rack and pinion off ebay for a fraction of the cost of one from Mopar. It definitely wasn't identical to the original but seemed to be good quality. Time will tell if is durable.

P52109984AH New OEM Complete Rack and Pinion 2002-2013 Jeep Liberty Dodge Nitro | eBay

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One of the outer tie rod boots had a cut in it but the seller took care of me immediately. The rack also didn't come with the o-ring seals for the hose connections so get a couple of those too. I found what I needed in a big bag of o-rings I had since the local stealership wanted $12 each for a 25c o-ring

I didn't follow the shop manual for the replacement - watched a youtube video from a mechanic from Alaska and saved a few hours. (you don't have to remove the front axle).

 

[Luke]

Congrats!
That’s a fun job huh… the very end of the removal… I said many many curse words before I finally finagled it out!