steering wheel alignment

[Guzman08]

ok so when the car drives staright the steering wheel is really slanted bad?? like its like im turning .. gets me mad? would this mean that the car was in a crash. the guy said he thinks its because they replaced the clutch and he says he thinks thats how they messed it up. . he really doesn't know that much about cars but i found it a bit odd. Can That happen? also? I'm thinking it can if you move the steering wheel while you do the job. but not really sure. . here is a pic of how it is when im driving straight. it stays going straight not side to side. let me know? thanks guys

 

[snowborder714]

You could try removing the steering wheel, making the wheels straight, and then putting the steering wheel back on straight.

 

[nuclearr]

Crash could be, but most likely when the last alignment was done they changed some tie rods ends and for got to straiten the wheel while they aligned it.

 

[Coreyred95]

Yeah that is possible. You will need a steering wheel puller to get the wheel off though.

1.straighten the wheels
2.pull your air bag
3.remove bolt securing steering wheel
4.pull wheel with puller
5.verify tire and steering wheel alignment
6. reinstall everything in reverse order

I just did this on my car, it was really easy. It shouldn't take more than an hour. good luck

 

[snowborder714]

You forgot the "disconnect the battery and let sit for 10 minutes" step at the beginning so the SRS system has time to disable.

Also, you don't need a puller. Thread the nut most of the way off and then yank on the steering wheel (or hit either the top or bottom to pop it off). Just don't completely remove the nut and yank unless you want a steering wheel in your face.

 

[Coreyred95]

Good point snowborder. I did not have to do that step on mine because it hasn't had a battery or engine in it for about a month before i did mine . but i was not able to pull mine off without a puller though. i tried that but it was really on there.

 

[snowborder714]

You didn't pull/hit hard enough then

 

[rimmbrme]

depends how much the steering wheel is off. doing a clutch has nothing to do with steering wheel alignement, even if they dropped the frame, the rack only goes on one way on the steering shaft. i don't see them taking the tie rods all the way off to do the clutch, it's just no way. get an alignment done first and see how off toe is. It will show a lot of info, you wouldn't know like if the vehicle has been in an accident, bent frame etc. etc. it's a good maintenance to save your tires in the long run.

do the steering wheel pull/align as a last resort.

 

[housegsx]

If you just try to straighten the steering wheel by adjusting the tie rods, as an alignment shop might do, you could offset the rack enough that your center-to-lock isn't the same for each direction.(limiting or overextending your turning radius)

It's all about finding out what needs adjusted and adjusting it, not just compensating by changing something else.

 

[Guzman08]

here is the pic..

 

[housegsx]

That's not off very far...

If the car seems aligned well otherwise, and tires are wearing good, just put the wheel back on straight.

 

[MrBoxx]

That's not off terribly far at all. Take it to an alignment shop. They should be able to get the steering wheel back to straight, as well as get your alignment in spec.

 

[Guzman08]

yeah thats what i think i'll do.. how do i adjust the steering wheel myself again? just want to make sure

 

[carbonfibergsx]

you need to take the 4 10mm bolts off the back of the steering wheel which is what holds the air bag on then you have to unplug the air bag itself the i believe its a 17 mm nut u have to loosen the best way is with an impact then adjust the wheel strait like you want it then re tighten and put back together

 

[Thomas91169]

That's not off very far...

If the car seems aligned well otherwise, and tires are wearing good, just put the wheel back on straight.

just because the car "seems" aligned, does not mean it is.

take it to an alignment shop, make sure to tell them to straighten the steering wheel to 12:00 before proceeding. it could very well just all be in the tie rods.

i just had mine done at sears, just like yours after replacing my inner/outer tie rods (even counting rotations and measuring) i was at the 1:00 position while driving straight. first try just told them to re-align it (was still under warranty, just neglected to tell them of the newly installed parts.....), well pulled out of the lot and damn, still 1:00! bring it back like "dudes, the wheel is still turning right and the car is straight" (its important to not sound like you know how to do their job and you dont know much about cars even if you do). the guy made sure the tech redid it at 12:00, even drove it around the lot with some dial wheel thing mounted to my steering wheel to find how many degrees it was off.


also, it could be that your steering rack was removed and reinstalled 1 tooth off, though id try the alignment shop first.