How to Center a Power Steering Gearbox

When installing a new power steering gearbox there are a few crucial steps that need to be followed in order to have a successful installation. Before installing a power steering gearbox or manual steering gearbox, it is important that the unit is centered. Many mechanics will assume that the unit is centered when it arrives, however usually it is not. Gearboxes can shift in transit, causing it to be misaligned. In order to center the unit before the install, follow these easy steps.

1) Place the unit somewhere it can be braced down and cannot move or fall.

2) Cover the spline with a cloth to prevent damaging the splines during the centering procedure.

3) Attach a wrench to the input shaft and turn until it stops. (never force the unit) This will be the extreme for this direction. (for this install turn clockwise first)

4) Once the unit is at extreme clockwise rotation, mark the unit or move the wrench to a position where the number of return rotations can be counted easily.
5) With this position marked, begin to rotate the shaft back clockwise and count the number of rotations. Be exact on this! Once the rotation stops clockwise, the complete rotations for the unit are known.

6) Divide the number the number of rotations in half and rotate the shaft that many turns back. At that point, the gearbox will be centered and can be marked for center, so that the center is not lost during the install.

7) Once the box is centered, follow the proper procedure for the gearbox installation.

When these short steps are followed carefully, the gearbox will be centered and there should be no issues with the vehicle’s steering.