Can someone tell me how to remove the airbag and steering wheel so I can center it? The car tracks straight but the steering wheel is off center several degrees. Thanks

 

I thought we talked about this before, there is a factory bulletin from 1990 or 1991 with the procedure. I can't send bulletins, and am not sure it is in accordance with copyright law in any event.. otherwise, the full text would be filed somewhere (NHTSA, etc) and not just the titles of the bulletins.

There is a factory tool for retracting the arming pin, you can work around that with care. HOWEVER...

That has nothing to do with your problem. Your steering wheel wasn't installed crooked, your alignment is crooked. You have something worn or bent in your steering or front suspension that has affected at least the front wheel toe. On XJS, I vote bad steering rack bushings. Or someone had the rack out of the car, and did not properly index the pinion/ lower steering column coupler splines.

Even if your front end is perfect, and your toe is set perfect, that doesn't mean your steering wheel will be pointing dead straight. If the steering wheel is off center, it means that the toe-in has been adjusted incorrectly, as one tie rod now has a different effective length than the other.

Sure, you can compensate for this by re-indexing the steering wheel, but the Ackerman angle will not be correct: the steering geometry is not now symetrical. That's why the steering wheel has to be centered and locked down when the front wheel toe-in is adjusted....but only after all steering and suspension mountings are inspected and in good operating condition.

You're worrying about the wrong wheel, something else is responsible for the inaccuracy.

 

No that wasn't me previously. Thanks for the info. I will look into it.

 

if it a couple degrees like Jagtech said, the steering rack bushings READILY like to let the rack move shifting the "centering" of the steering either left, right,,or WOW centered.
For steering wheels that are slightly off you can turn all the way to the side either left or right you need to go and give it a real good tug hard against the stop. This slightly moves the rack in the mounts and generally centers the wheel...The sloppier the rack bushings the more it moves.