So I need to remove my steering wheel to reveal the clockspring in order to turn the steering shaft? I tried moving it today but I didn't want to mess with it. I think I may have left the steering wheel locked to one side before removal. It might just take me 8 tries to line up... Yeah I am also chasing a squeaking from my accessory belt, and need a new rear brake line. I have replaced the radius arm bushings. Thanks for the info.

 

The ign switch when in the locked position should have kept the steering wheel from moving, don't know all the circumstances at time of disassembly,so can't offer any useful suggestions to reassemble the parts
IF,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,the steering wheel never moved, and the front wheels were straight ahead and have not been moved, you might take a guess as to how much you would want to move the steering box input shaft to match the position of the front wheels , you might get away with just reassembling it as it is.. Might be less trouble than first thought.

 

Yes I believe if I use the old gearbox as a reference, I can find the correct pitman arm orientation for the new gear box. I saw a video using vice grips attached to the input shaft to measure the revolutions and find center from there. The steering wheel pinion link only connects 1 way, so depending upon the maximum revolutions, I should be able to mate the linkage with a few gambles. I don't know if I would do damage rotating the gearbox dry, so I will use the old gearbox to find the correct position with the steering wheel shaft and then center the wheel, and install new centered gearbox. Thanks for the walk through.

 

The main concern was the clockspring.
I realize it is an addl cost, but you might consider getting it realigned again But,,,,,,,,,,, not by a shop that does an alignment with worn steering parts.
The price most likely would be the same whether they need to readjust everything or not. It would be a shame to do only part of the job.
Now that you have all this experience , don't get lost. There are lots of folks here that can benefit from your experience, thanks.

 

I just replaced the steering gear (box) on a 2001 E350 and all you need to do is separate the steering gear from the input shaft (that comes from the steering wheel), center them both, and reconnect. I just started a new thread that describes the steering gear replacement. Use the information there, you just don't have to worry about the hydraulic lines (lucky you).