steering trouble
 

My teenage son went down in a ditch and among some cosmetic damage he also came home with a steering wheel that was 1/4 turn to the right. I had it looked at and was told it would be $1600 to fix. does this sound right? Mind you the vehicle drives as smooth as silk and and drives straight down the road. The only annoying thing is that I cant see my gauges. After learning a bit about it all, I looked again for myself and the gear box is bent slightly towards the frame that it is attached to causing the linkage at the bottom to be tweeked. My question is this. Can I just bend it back or am I asking for trouble trying to do this? Would appreciate anyone's insight.

We always need to be careful when offering suggestions regarding safety items such as steering etc. Not knowing if some attaching bolts have been stretched or stressed it would not be wise for me to say restraighten it. Until you are positive all is well there, you are taking a chance driving the vehicle. Your concern with not being able to see the gauges is just scratching the surface. Lets hope you don't have hidden damage under there that cannot be readily seen. The driver's safety and everybody else on the road is subject to possible problems if this isn't checked out thoroughly. If you want to, let me know how you make out. Thanks, hanky