Pull the key from the steering lock and turn the wheel till the steering lock engages. The wheel should be 9 and 3 describing straight ahead. That is the only proper position of the wheel as the element that disengages the turn signals is also on the shaft and needs to be properly centered. it will be centered when the wheel locks straight ahead.

I presume the box missed a tooth when installed. The input to the box is splined finely. If he had missed on the pitman arm it would be massively off.

From thousands of alignments I can tell you that 7 and 1 designate a wheel about 1.5 to 2 turns of a tie rod from center. This is either .75 to 1 a side (give and take) or a total of up to 1.5 to 2 on one side if the toe is that far off. This is a relatively small amount but the box should be properly centered.

It is very possible that what you now have is more right than what was there previously. The proof starts with the steering lock. With steering locked and the wheel straight, the centering access plug on the box should be removed and the centering dimple should be centered. If that is the case then the tierods need the centering I mentioned above. This of course needs to be done on an alignment machine.

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Steve Brotherton
Continental Imports
Gainesville FL
Bosch Master, ASE Master, L1
33 years MB technician