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What in the steering could have been damaged in rollover?

K30Blazer

K30Blazer

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since I rolled my truck I have had my steering off about 110 degrees from center. It was dead straight before the roll and I can't seem to trace what could have changed.

I have high steer and crossover and can't figure whAt has changed. The crossover would have altered the toe if it bent, and the toe is fine when I measured it.

The draglink wouldn't have bent, could I have damaged a knuckle?

There is a loud heavy clunk when I drive over potholes speed bumps etc that I can't trace either.

Thought it could be a wheel bearing or shock and those are all good.

I don't see any visible damage or crack to the knuckle. But not really sure where else to look
 
Don't forget to look at the rear too, your steering wheel being off could be compensation for poor tracking. I would look closely for a tweaked spot in the frame or maybe a busted center pin.
 
the front wheels are straight and it rolls down the street perfectly, it just is not centered. center pin could be an idea.
 
have your kid turn the steering wheel back and forth and look for slop.
 
Check for bent shackles too. They could be bent bad enough that they're hitting the frame when going over potholes.
 
When i had an accident yrs ago with my k30 it took a year before they found out that one side of the axle was bent. it sure didn't look bent, oh and the shaft inside the steering box was twisted
after the accident i also had the dreaded death wobbles
 
Another vote for center pins. My 81 sheared a center pin on the rear when it went onto it's roof like yours did. Not sure if it was the roll, or the roll back onto the wheels that did it...
 
I've seen steering gear sector shafts twist. Look at the splines just above the pitman arm...
 
so no death wobbles etc. You wouldn't know it had been rolled if you didnt see the steering wheel crooked. I really doubt the axle got bent as it was such a small force.

The thing I am seeing is that the wheels just don't match the steering wheel. I have 2 turns center to lock counterclockwise and 1.5 turns center to lock clockwise. This leads me to believe I just need to adjust my draglink, but I can't think of how it would have bent. The arms look good, the leafs are still centered well. The only slop I am seeing is a small amount in the draglink to pitman arm.
 
K30Blazer said:
This was suggested to me too and is on my list, but a cursory glance it appears fine
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I’ve seen steering gear output shafts bend, twist and even crack on several occasions. Ironically, every one of them had a drop pitman arm on them. Not sure if xover steering using a 2wd steering box uses a drop pitman arm or not but I would definitely look over that area very closely. If a rear center pin broke or something else in the suspension it should be easy to tell by running a tape measure from the center of the front hub to the center of the rear hub to verify the wheelbase is pretty much dead nuts on both sides. My not be a bad idea to throw it on a laser alignment machine as well.
 
just measured hub to hub and it is off about 7/8" driver to passenger. Not sure if that is good or bad, or what it was before the flop lol. I am leaning towards output shaft on the box, but need to borrow a pitman arm puller.
 
Larry said:
I’ve seen steering gear output shafts bend, twist and even crack on several occasions. Ironically, every one of them had a drop pitman arm on them. Not sure if xover steering using a 2wd steering box uses a drop pitman arm or not but I would definitely look over that area very closely. If a rear center pin broke or something else in the suspension it should be easy to tell by running a tape measure from the center of the front hub to the center of the rear hub to verify the wheelbase is pretty much dead nuts on both sides. My not be a bad idea to throw it on a laser alignment machine as well.
Click to expand...

Not sure how to adjust much other than the toe. don't really want to get into shims and all that malarkey. I figure if it tracks straight down the road then no worries.... The ProComps have a 45000 mile warranty too! Or something crazy like that
 
K30Blazer said:
just measured hub to hub and it is off about 7/8" driver to passenger. Not sure if that is good or bad, or what it was before the flop lol. I am leaning towards output shaft on the box, but need to borrow a pitman arm puller.
Click to expand...

Are you saying there is a 7/8’s difference in side to side wheelbases? That is a lot! Something got bent or broke. Take a good look at both the front and rear axle center pins, leaf springs, leaf spring eye bolts and hangers.
 
Larry said:
Are you saying there is a 7/8’s difference in side to side wheelbases? That is a lot! Something got bent or broke. Take a good look at both the front and rear axle center pins, leaf springs, leaf spring eye bolts and hangers.
Click to expand...

If those leaf spring hangers got bent, those will shift the entire diff to one side.
 
1-ton said:
If those leaf spring hangers got bent, those will shift the entire diff to one side.
Click to expand...

One would think, especially with a light side roll but I have seen medium duty trucks with bent hangers that affected fore and aft. The steering wheel was off and it scrubbed the shit off the tires
 
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