I suspect the steering wheel was never centered after the reinstall of the box. catch 22 sort of ,if you put the wheel in the right spot you'll need to have the toe recentered if you leave it alone the box isn't centered

 

The pitman arm and the idler arm should both be pointing straight to the front.
If you pull the horn ring there should be a line scribed on the end of the shaft and a matching scribe on the steering wheel
they should both be at 12 oclock.
You will need to adjust both tie rods. left side should be the same length as the right side

 

If you pull the horn ring there should be a line scribed on the end of the shaft and a matching scribe on the steering wheel
they should both be at 12 oclock.

There is a chisel mark in the end of the steering shaft. It will be at 12 o'clock when the box is centered. There is no mark on the steering wheel but obviously it should be "centered" when the shaft mark is at 12 o'clock.
With the shaft mark at 12 o'clock you adjust the tie rod sleeves so that each tire is basically pointed straight forward. You actually want each tire pointed inwards 1/16" so that you have 1/8" total toe-in.

 

To center the steering wheel, (assuming it is installed with the mark at 12 O’clock), you turn one tie rod to lengthen that side and the other tie rod in the opposite direction to shorten the other side. You need to turn them both the exact same amount to keep the alignment the same.

 

or just take it to an alignment shop....

 

I believe you need to remove the pitman arm from the steering box. Then turning the wheel both ways find the center of the turning radius of the steering box. Reconnect the pitman arm with the wheels straight. Then pull the steering wheel and center it. You will need a pitman arm puller and some heat and a steering wheel puller.

 

The pittman arm is splined such that it can only be installed one way, correctly centered.

 

Or since you have been driving the car for 15 years like this, leave it the way it is.

 

the box needs to be centered that is where the gears are setup with 0 lash anything either side of that there will be play in the box.
the pitman arm only will go on facing forward or 90 degrees either side.
disconnect both outer tie rod ends and center the box. ck for the scribe mark on the steering shaft it will be at 12 o clock and the pitman arm will be pointing straight ahead. lock the steering wheel in this position and reconnect both outer tie rods. now adjust both outer tie rods the same amount till they are the same length.

 

a. Plant your butt in the drivers seat.
b. Turn the wheel all the way to the left. Note the position of the wheel spokes.
c. Turn the wheel all the way to the right, counting the number of full and partial turns in relation to where the spokes were in step "b".
d. Take the number of turns counted in step "c" and divide by 2.
e. Turn the wheel back to the left the number of turns calculated in step "d".
f. Check that the Pitman arm is in line, parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle (front to rear). If not, examine the steering linkage or knuckles for binding at the stops or the steering box for damage.
g. If the steering wheel is not "centered", remove it and reposition it on the steering column shaft. Mark the wheel hub in relation to the mark on the column shaft.
h. Perform your wheel alignment.

 

his tie rods are off far enough that he is hitting the spindle stops early on on one side. that is why i said to remove the outer tie rods first to find the center.

 

If the box turns 5 1/2 turns , that is strange. 19 to 1 usually turn 5 turns (sometimes a few degree more, or less.)
Yes the first thing is look at tie rods, if not exact same adjustment on both sides you have problems.

 

OK thanks! Thought it was splined all the way around.

 

It is but 1 spline is thicker than the others and acts as a Key

 

Thanks everyone for your help. So after reading all your comments, it turns out that, as mentioned above, that the difference between the number of rotations of the steering wheel to the "stop" was different between left turns and right turns was due to the tie rod adjusting sleeves (not the pitman arm being off center).

I messed with the adjusting sleeves and now the number of turns to stop is equal both ways. AND ..... the line scribed on the steering rod is now at 12 o'clock when the wheels are straight. I never knew there was a line on it. All is perfect now.

 

Did you measure the toe-in? You can't "eyeball" it close enough.

 

Yes - I already had the toe in set perfectly to 1/8" in. Since turning the wheel to the left hit the stop sooner and since the toe in was correct, looking from the rear of the adjusting sleeves, I turned both adjusting sleeves downwards exactly 2 full turns - just for starters. This keeps the toe in exactly the same. This turned both front wheels to the right. When I recentered the wheels, the line/notch in the gear box rod was now exactly at 12 O'clock. I then removed and recentered the steering wheel. I rechecked the toe in and it remained exactly where it started - at 1/8" in. It was just a wild guess as to how much to adjust the sleeves, but I lucked out and the 2 turns - turned out (pardon the pun) to be perfect. !!