Had to change my steering boot.
Relatively easy.

I marked the thread with white out, but when I removed the "jam nut" the white out was all gone.
Anyway, went ahead and changed it anyway and tried driving it. Now when I drive a straight line, the steering wheel is not. And I can also hear the wheel wobbling.

Is there an easy way to correct this?
The steering wheel is really not "straight". In fact, the steering wheel was probably about 20 degrees off.

FYI, I also changed my axle, ball joint and tie rod end also. Does that make a difference.

I really don't want to pay $75 to get an allignment done when all I was trying to do was to save money and doing the job myself. I'm a weekend mechanic and an amateur at that. So any help will be greatly appreciated!

Anyway, I'm assuming that all I need to do is to remove the tie rod end and readjust the tie rod end so that the steering wheel will be straight when driving a straight line. Or is there another way?

Melvyn

Do-it-yourself alignments without any special equipment are half zen and half luck. The last time I replaced my tie-rod ends the car was way off. I'd just buckle down and find some place that will do a front end alignment for cheap.

Once you know for sure the car will track straight and the alignment is sound, you or the mechanic can get the wheel pointed straight easily enough if it's still off.

$75? Front wheel alignments around me in CT go for $39.99 $49.99 max!

Good luck

anybody else out there can help me set the tie-rod end properly?
Checked the FSM.....doen'st say anything about it.
Please help.

ttt

Still need some advice on doing this. $75 for alignment is not an option for me.

Melvyn

get a tape measure..get the steering wheel in a straight position..then go out and measure the front side and the back side of the tires..as best as you can across the car. the front should be only slightly out. this is a good enough to not destroy your tires method. get it aligned when possible.

This procedure will allow you to set the toe pretty damn well, but won't necessarily leave you with a straight wheel.

Get two 2x4's, or whatever size piece of lumber you have lying around. Place one of them up tight across the front of both tires. Line up the end of the wood with the outside tread groove of the passenger side tire, and place a pencil mark on the wood where it meets the outside tread groove on the drivers side. Remove the wood and make marks for an inch or two every 1/4" on both sides of the initial mark.

Now precisely line up the other piece of wood next to the marked piece and transfer the marks. Now you have a couple of calibrated sticks. Put one 2x4's in front of the tires, and the other one behind, making sure to line them up carefully with the outside tread of the passenger side. Doing this, you can easily read how badly the tieres are toe'd in or out. Adjust the tie rod ends and you're done.

Chris

Did you do all this work on one side of the car? If so, you can just loosen the tie rod that you changed and turn it until the wheel is straight. That will get you close but is not a guarentee of a good alignment.