Recentering Steering Wheel
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 200
Likes: 4
From: Richmond Virginia
Recentering Steering Wheel
I installed a Borgeson Box over the winter, and since I aligned the set screw on the rag joint with the flat on the steering column (correct method for stock steering, but the instructions tell you if you do that your wheel might be off), lo and behold, the steering wheel is almost 90° off center.
I could take apart the rag joint connection (for the third time) and file a new flat for the correct orientation, but I was hoping there was some way to redo it at the wheel instead.
So far I've removed the horn assembly and wheel and am down to the hub (straight column, no tilt-turn). From the diagrams I'm seeing, it appears the hub is attached to the column with a friction-fit spline connection same as the rag joint. Can I remove the hub, spin it to "straight", and reattach it to get everything set correctly, or is there some reason I can't or shouldn't do that?
It's hard to feel the satisfaction of redoing the steering when I'm staring at a sideways wheel the whole time I'm driving.
I could take apart the rag joint connection (for the third time) and file a new flat for the correct orientation, but I was hoping there was some way to redo it at the wheel instead.
So far I've removed the horn assembly and wheel and am down to the hub (straight column, no tilt-turn). From the diagrams I'm seeing, it appears the hub is attached to the column with a friction-fit spline connection same as the rag joint. Can I remove the hub, spin it to "straight", and reattach it to get everything set correctly, or is there some reason I can't or shouldn't do that?
It's hard to feel the satisfaction of redoing the steering when I'm staring at a sideways wheel the whole time I'm driving.
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 161
Likes: 11
From: Phoenix AZ
Just bought a '70 fixer upper and the crooked steering wheel was one of the first things I fixed. Mine is the tilt version and was about 60 degrees out of place. I just removed the 6 screws holding it in place and moved it 60 degrees to make it straight.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 6,422
Likes: 591
From: McHenry Illinois
If the hub is not installed to the shaft correctly, the turn signal cancelling cam won't work right. With the Borgeson set up, the upper rag joint flange to the lower steering shaft spline is the place to correct it.
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Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 200
Likes: 4
From: Richmond Virginia
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 2,796
Likes: 1,197
From: Canberra Australia
2025 C3 of the Year Finalist - Modified
I just pulled the column out of the rag joint and ground/filed a flat spot on the spline to allow the locking bolt to seat at the new location.