G1 steering adjustment?

[mwar410]

is there a way to "re-center" the steering? my kid hit the gate going into the yard with the passenger side wheel and now the cart only turns 1/4 to the left, and at least a few to the right. I looked everything over and nothing seems bent, so I'm assuming it jumped a gear or something like that.
figures right before firewood season, and this thing runs all winter hauling wood to the door.

[1989Marathon]

I would doubt that it jumped a tooth. Even if it could, it wouldn't cause that.
Do the wheels still go left and right the same amount from center? Or do they go further one way than the other?

[slonomo]

I'm betting on a bent tie rod. Look underneath at the steering tie rods. Are they straight? If not this could be the problem. Also the tie rod ends can be worn out or damaged. Look at all the steering parts to see if there is anything that looks broken, bent, or worn. If you watch the steering parts while someone else turns the wheel lock to lock, sometimes you will see what's going on.

[Cvans]

Or he stripped the splines on the steering gear box. If it is as loose as mine was that would be easy to do.

[mwar410]

ahh, its good to be back on here again. I'll go check again.

[mwar410]

so the tie rods don't look too bad, they're actually pretty straight.

Steering was never and isn't sloppy.

The linkage from steering box to tie rods looks a little twisted, not parallel to the cross member, but not sure if it's supposed to be?

3/4 turn to the left, 1 1/2 to the right. wheels barely turn left and it doesn't appear to be binding anywhere.

[1989Marathon]

Find the center of travel of the steering wheel. Put the steering wheel at that position. Don't worry about where the tires are pointed.
Look under the cart and find the idler arm. It's the part that both tie-rods connect to toward the center of the cart. Is the idler arm centered?

[Field6565]

Originally Posted by mwar410

so the tie rods don't look too bad, they're actually pretty straight.

Steering was never and isn't sloppy.

The linkage from steering box to tie rods looks a little twisted, not parallel to the cross member, but not sure if it's supposed to be?

3/4 turn to the left, 1 1/2 to the right. wheels barely turn left and it doesn't appear to be binding anywhere.

Jack the front of the cart up. Leave the tires hanging. Turn the steering wheel lock to lock and see if you are still having binding issues. When I bought my second G1 I had some binding in the steering and my king pins were loose but as soon as I took the weight off of them it would turn fine......just a thought.

[Cvans]

To center the steering wheel to the tires take the nut off of the output shaft on the steering gear box and pull the arm off. Turn the steering wheel lock to lock counting the turns. Turn the wheel back half that number and the box should be centered. Now position the tires so they are facing straight ahead and slip the arm back on the the output shaft. Reassemble the parts that held the arm on and you should be good to go.

[mwar410]

got it up on jack stands and still doesn't have the travel to the left. hopefully I'll get sometime this weekend to pull the idler arm off and center it again. Figure with all the drunk golfers they give these things to it would be a common thing.