So the alignment of my steering wheel was perfectly straight before, but after doing some off roading including some pretty bumpy stuff the steering wheel is now at like a 45º angle when driving straight!

I don't really know trucks, I've been a car guy up until now, so could someone explain what has gone wrong to change the steering wheel's centering?

The truck itself doesn't pull to the right or left when at the new "center" (45º point) by the way, it's just the steering wheel that's off...

 

Look under the truck by the front axle. There's a rod running from the drop arm on the steering box to the passenger side wheel area. There's also a rod behind the front axle that connects the two wheels. If either of these rods is bent your steering wheel will be off.

 

That's exactly why wheel is clocked to about 3

 

Yup, thats exactly what it is! I didn't notice it before.

So I'll want to grab a new one I suppose? Junkyard? Or just take it off and bend back?

 

If it's bent, it's weak. Bending it back for a temporary fix might be okay to sneak to the junkyard if it's close, but it will bend again really easy. Had an adjustable panhard bar on my TJ that I slid the homemade extender for a HiLift jack handle over once to get the 250 miles back home for repairs after a really bad off road trip in TX, but I don't think that's possible in your case.

 

The stock rods are not the strongest and care should be exercised when off roading with them.

 

Heavy duty aftermarket steering rods are worth the coin

 

Give Justin at Lucky8 a call.

Lucky8 Llc. - Take the road less traveled...

That's just a example of a set for a D1 of course make sure you get the right one for your truck.