Steering wheel off center after box swap?

[JeepsAndGuns]

Well I finally got around to putting a new steering box on my cherokee. My old (guessing factory) one was leaking like a sieve and my steering was real sloppy from the ammount of play in it. I had a good one that didnt leak and didnt have mutch play in it that I took off a J-10 I parted out. So I finally got around to swaping it out saturday, among other things (new hoses, both pressure and return, and a new pump bracket cause the old one was busted) But anyways I get it all put back together, bled out and filled up and go for a drive and my steering wheel is now off center. The bottom spoke on the wheel is usally at 6 o clock, but now its at about 7. Other than that it drives fine, steering is mutch better, a lot less wondering and a more firm feel to it, plus it doesnt leak! (yet..lol) But I just cant figure out why the wheel is off center now. My cherokee is a 79 and the box came from a 79 J-10. The steering wheel was dead on center with the old box, and the wheel was centered on the J-10 the new box came off of. So I dont get it? Anyone else run into this problem when you swaped in a new steering box? Tomorrow I am gonna break out the pipe wrench and adjust the adjusting sleeve on the drag link to get my wheel back straight. But just wondering if anyone else run into this?

[brent]

Through a combo of my own stupidity and a CJ-know-it-all-buddy stupidity I did this three times w/ a steering box over a couple months. I won't go into details.
I only have bad news: My steering was always off after first PS box. Nothing got worse, it just was never the same symmetric self. Not bad. I got used it. I mean, you did the same things as me: got under there, straightened before bolting yoke, lined up, lined up again, then lined up again---I'm wondering if we beat the crap/some functionality out of the pittman arm with the cheapass autozone rental pittman puller. I mean, we just didn't use that to get it off and on....what about stabilizer?
My point: wonder if improved steering box but not improved surrounding components contribute? Brent

[mechanical man]

Straightening the steering wheel out just requires changing the length of the link from the pitman arm to the tie rod. Not hard, takes a couple of tries usually and doesn't mess with the toe-in.

[grand_wag_85]

Originally posted by mechanical man:
takes a couple of tries usually

Or a good curb...My GW was the same way and it drove fine.

[JeepsAndGuns]

Originally posted by brent:
I'm wondering if we beat the crap/some functionality out of the pittman arm with the cheapass autozone rental pittman puller.

The box I swaped on was not a new one, it was a used one froma a parts J-10 I had (it just had less wear and didnt leak) So I didnt have to pull the pitman arm off, just un hook it from the drag link.

Originally posted by grand_wag_85:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by mechanical man:
takes a couple of tries usually

Or a good curb...My GW was the same way and it drove fine.</font>[/QUOTE]Yea, it drives fine, its just the wheel being off center that is buggin me. Hopefully it doesnt rain so I can fix this.

[brent]

I find that baffling that you didn't drop the arm. When you unbolted PS Box from frame you didnt have to take it DOWN? The hoses arent a factor, but the steering arm is. How'd you get around it? I like to learn later how I could've saved a thousand headaches Brent

[JeepsAndGuns]

Originally posted by brent:
I find that baffling that you didn't drop the arm. When you unbolted PS Box from frame you didnt have to take it DOWN? The hoses arent a factor, but the steering arm is. How'd you get around it? I like to learn later how I could've saved a thousand headaches Brent

If you got a new/rebuilt box from a parts store then it didnt come with the pitman arm on it. Thats why you had to pull the one off your old box. But the box I had was a used one that I removed from a parts truck. I did not have to remove the pitman arm, because it was the same as the one on my old box. So I just seperated it from the drag link. To remove my box I just removed the hoses, unhooked the steering shaft and seperated the drag link from the pitman arm.

But in other news I got it adjusted. Only took me two tries, first try I adjusted too far, adjusted it back and now it is dead on straight.

[brent]

Didn't occur to me to seperate the drag link from the Pitt arm!! I feel like a moron now. I didn't need a new Pitt arm either...glad you got it straight. Need to get Moron #2 (CJ fanatic) back over and straighten steering out. Thanks for the info.-Brent

[talntar]

just adjust the drag link to center it up again