Having an issue with setting my "Toe In" on my Challenger

[Rutro]

OK, I can't remember if I asked this before....I don't think so.
I had an alignment done about 7 years ago but not driven it much at all.
I was concerned the guy had to cut 3/4" off the passenger side tie rod adjuster to get the toe in correct.

Fast forward I bought another tie rod adjuster sleeve thinking he did something wrong.
I'm doing DIY version with string to check the toe in myself. On the driver side I put it at 1/8" toe in. But have almost no additional adjustment on the tie rods. Is that normal?
I tried the passenger side and there is way to adjust anywhere close to the 1/8" toe in. If I used the sleeve that was cut I'm sure could.

2 Questions. 1) is it normal not have much thread left on the tie rods? & 2) Is there something I put on wrong?

I will say when I was driving the car in the 90's there was not problem when I got an alignment done.

I did remove suspension stuff 10 years later to do some painting on parts.

I'm I loosing my mind!!!

[headejm]

  My adjuster sleeves are 8.25" long.

[Chryco Psycho]

Was you car narrowed !!
Do you have the correct tie rod ends ?
You should have at least 1/2" of thread left at each rod end normally , if the adjuster is correct the rods ends must be from something else ....
I usually upgrade to C body rod ends & adjusters when I replace parts , can't hurt to have a bit heavier parts in there .
You only need approx 1/16 toe in total BTW

[Chryco Psycho]

It could also be the wrong center link , / too long from some other car ?

[RUNCHARGER]

It sounds like he had it too long on one side and too narrow on the other or the wrong sleeves. Did he get the steering wheel straight to start with?

[HemiStan]

I had a situation like this on a car a few years ago.  Steering wheel straight, master spline lined up on the wheel, coupler notch lined up with the master spline on the steering box, etc.  But it was impossible to get the tie rod ends fairly even from side to side and keep the steering wheel straight.

I thought about this for a while......    I ended up pulling the column back off of the steering box, pulled the coupler apart, flipped the coupler 180 degrees, re-assembled the coupler, and lined everything back and put it all back together. 

I was now able to get the tie rod ends pretty even and have the wheel straight!

Stan

[Rutro]

I'll respond to the comments.

The sleeve's are 8-1/2" long. Should I cut them?

It is the center link that was on the car when I got it in the early 90's. Is there some measurements I can make?
The tie rods would have been purchased in the 90's as well. I'm not sure if I got correct ones. How far should the threads go up onto the ball end?

I set the Toe In at 1/16"

OK, I didn't do a good job on the steering wheel centering.

I'm I got new idler arm and steering arm in the 90's as well. I'm not sure this would be causing any issues though.

HemiStan---I'm digesting you comments as well.

Thanks guys.

[JS29]

I would be looking for evidence of an accident. Measure the frame, look for dimples in the rails stress marks in the paint and or undercoating. With the front wheels off the ground,wheels straight, count the amount of turns to the left, back to center, count turns to the right. It should be the same, and you should be able to count how meany turns lock to lock and the wheels be straight when that number is cut in half.    

[Brads70]

 You said you replaced the pitman arm etc...    The pitman arm I have has no master spline  ( fast ratio) meaning you have to get it on the correct splines otherwise one tierod assembly will be longer/shorter than the other side.  Looking down from under the hood. When the wheels are set straight ahead is the pitman and idler arms straight ahead? They should be parallel to each other . The pitman has a " hook" to it but the ball socket should line up with the center of the steering shaft when the wheels are straight ahead. If the pitman arm is lined up correctly then something is bent. Has the steering box mount broken the welds or impact damage? Get someone to fire up the car and turn the wheels side to side and look at where the steering box mounts to the k -frame  to make sure its not moving . Welding in the 60's-70's left a little bit to be desired    

[Chryco Psycho]

Start with centering the steering box with an even amount of turns to each side , the steering wheel could be 180* off / upside down meaning the coupler is upside down on the bottom of the column

[Rutro]

Ok, I lifted the front and I have equal number of turns to the left and right.
The idler and pitman arms are parallel to each other. I'm sure I put a stock pitman arm on, I'm sure it had the alignment notch on it.

I don't see weld issues either.

[70 Challenger Lover]

One thing I've seen on other people's cars are differences side to side. You can have one side shorter and one side longer and still make it all sorta work, to a point. This happens when they put it all together with no regard for steering wheel position. There is a certain amount of adjustment underneath to overcome this by not if your off by a lot.

I would start by measuring the total tie rod length from side to side. I'm betting one is a inch longer than the other. If they are not equal, then things were haphazardly assembled. If they are:

Disconnect the tie rod ends on both sides of the car and make them equal but do not reconnect. Then check the steering wheel by turning it all the way to the left, then the right, and determine the exact true center. Not the true center of how your wheel is positioned inside but the true center of the center link as it swings side to side. Once you have this exact true center, I bet your steering wheel is off drastically. If so, fix this first by removing and repositioning the wheel if you can or disconnecting the coupler and making it more correct. You want the steering wheel to be fairly centered and the center link underneath to also be perfectly centered.

As you reassemble things underneath, keep the steering wheel centered. You might have parts from another car on there but I'm guessing it was just badly assembled. You really shouldn't have to cut anything.

[Rutro]

I appreciate everyone inputs.
I'm going unhook and check everything with the tie rods and centering as mentioned
I'm sure I was not paying attention at some point.

[70 Challenger Lover]

It's easy to do. Being off a little one side to the other makes a massive difference so this could be your only issue. The guys at the shops are hit and miss. Like construction workers. Some do amazing work while others don't. I started doing my own alignments on older cars simply because I couldn't find good alignment guys who understood older cars.

[Chryco Psycho]

I still wonder if you have the correct tie rod ends , , if the steering wheel is centered then the pitman arm is where it has to be , so you said one side barely had enough thread , the other will not adjust , it seems like both are too long ! the distance to each wheel cannot be altered if the pitman arm is correct 7 centered , so there is only 1 place to alter the length to each wheel & that is the tie rod adjuster .
Can you post a picture of the tie rod ends to compare ?