Steering wheel is upside down... help

[Partyboy424]

Hey, I have a 95 silverado 1500 with 4x4. I went off roading tonight, but it wasn't even really off road yet and the trail was covered with snow, I have no idea what i hit, must've been a hidden hole or sumthing, but i hit it extremely hard. Now my steering wheel is upside down when the wheels are straight. Everything runs fine and it doesn't wobble or anything, but the wheel is upside down and I can't turn it all the way to the left anymore. I searched for some threads on pavement sucks.com but they never really explained how to fix the problem, just lots of arguing. I'm hoping somebody here can tell me whether or not I and a friend can fix this in a driveway or if i need to bring my truck to an alignment shop. Sorry this is so long, but thanks in advance for helping me out.

Kevin.

[amac209]

sounds like you bent something. i would get this into the shop as soon as possible could be a lot of different things you might've twisted the frame rail or knocked the rear diff out of allignment and it's "dog tracking" or maybe something in the steering linkage is bent. about all you can check in the driveway is the toe, measure the distance between the tires at the front of the tires and the rear. also check the balljoints, tierods, idler& pitman arms. you might've started to shear the pitman shaft, at any rate get this truck checked out.

[Toylet]

hey
I did the same thing to my yota about a month ago...did some off roading...like usual..and piled into a big oak tree...no biggie drove away but the steering wheel was cocked 90 degrees...i had to change my steering linkage ( i have a donor truck...gotta when you abuse a vehicle this badly) so i replace the whole thing...tie rods..pitman, idler, centerlink...back on the road again...i also do my own alignments...
Toylet

[a1supersport]

Did you check to see if maybe the pitman arm "skipped" a few teeth? If I'm not mistaken, the arm/steering shaft are splined. But I've also seen some that weren't splined, and the steering shaft is tapered, but smooth...but that was on an older, non-Chevy pickup. Either that or the worm gear in your steering box may have "jumped" out of position. Another thing you may want to check is if the frame is bent or cracked where the steering box is bolted on. Chevy's tend to be weak in this area. Good Luck

[Partyboy424]

yup... spent 4 hours taking apart the front end. Steering shaft, sway bar, skid plates, tires, breaking bolts, and a pitman arm that's keyed!! It'd be fixed right now if the pitman arm wasn't keyed. So you're probably right about it being the steering box, i'll just go out and get a new one. Should i get one just from the dealer? oh yeah, after we put everything back on when i cut my wheel all the way to the right and left and sumtimes leaks power steering fluid. I know it did it a couple times before we took it apart, but now it does it almost every turn. any fix to that?

Thanks,

Kevin.

[a1supersport]

There's a couple more things you might want to check before you run out and buy a steering box. The shaft that goes from the steering box to the firewall should be checked for any twists. And the coupler that bolts on to the steering box (on that shaft) is probably also splined or keyed. But since you can't turn it all the way to the left anymore, I doubt if it'll be either of these parts. The steering box definitely sounds like the culprit. Depending on the cost and how much you're willing to spend, a new box is always preferable, but not really necessary. A good used one should work just fine. Where is the fluid leaking from...the box, lines or power stering pump? I've seen leaks in all three areas, but what you could do is start the truck, have someone turn the wheel back and forth and go under the truck and look to see if the box itself may be cracked...especially if that's where your fluid is leaking from.