Long term issues with steering wheel not centered?

[JHZR2]

As mentioned in my other thread, I had to go over a truck retread in the road.

Maybe it's just me being stupid, but it seems to me that my steering wheel, which used to be perfectly centered (or so I thought) is now slightly off.

The funny thing though is that if I let the wheel go on smooth and flat roads, the car will track straight. But the wheel is off a bit.

On some roads, I have to hold the wheel a bit for it to go straight.

Are either of these things (wheel not perfectly straight when in center returned position and needing to hold the wheel turned a bit one way to track straight in some terrain) bad long term for the steering system?

I never wear out my tires and anticipate these to be aged out, but tire-related aspects are good to consider too.

Thanks

 

[Doog]

You need an alignment

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Doog
You need an alignment


+1 to this.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Doog
You need an alignment


No kidding.

Though the whole car going straight with the wheel slightly off throws me off a bit.

I'm talking a minute angle here, its so small that most wouldn't perceive it.

More interested in the theory here. Some roads, even cars with perfect alignment need some consistent wheel adjustment. Just not sure if this causes wear, is an acceptable position to consistently be in (I.e. not always in the returned to center position), etc.

 

[AVB]

If the steering wheel being off center just happened then something is wrong. If it has been that way forever then it probably got aligned with the wheel off center.

 

[TFB1]

Sound like toe-in or the caster is out of spec, either can place the wheel off center and cause a pull/drift that more noticeable on some surfaces than others...

 

[4ever4d]

If your car has R&P steering it is possible,not likely,but possible the rack could have slipped a notch. I have seen it happen, depending upon how violent the impact with the retread was. As mentioned an alignment could be needed but normally you would feel the having to steer the misalignment out by pulling the steering wheel right or left.

 

[Mopar618]

As others have already stated, a front-end alignment is what comes to mind first.

But otherwise, check other simple things such as the torque on lug nuts, tire pressure, whatever. Another thing that comes into play that most don't think of to begin with, is the road area in which you experience problems. For example, I've had front-end alignment issues in the past, and on certain patches of road it just seemed harder to control (harder than the normal pull of the already messed up alignment) and keep in a straight line.

I soon recognized that the road was sinking on the outside edges of these roads, which you wouldn't notice as much if your vehicle typically "hugs" the corners with a correct front-end alignment.

 

[armos]

If both wheels had the toe offset in the same direction, then the only effect would be misalignment of the steering wheel. That shouldn't hurt anything. I doubt that's what's going on here though.
Since this happened from hitting something, the change could only have happened to one wheel.
Depending what's wrong, you wouldn't necessarily get a pull, but over the long term you may see significantly faster tire wear on the fronts. For example, if the toe was pushed further inward then you'd get more wear but probably not any less stability. If the caster was changed, it might only be noticeable while turning.

If the only problem is toe, then it's not that unreasonable to find a specification, measure and adjust it yourself. Measuring camber and caster is a lot harder though.

 

[Merkava_4]

Go to a frame and wheel shop.

 

[dishdude]

You have to have a major alignment problem for it to wear any steering or suspension components. And by major I mean wearing a brand new tire in 500 miles, and impossible to drive the car down the road straight.

My experience with aligning a vehicle and getting the steering wheel perfectly centered haven't been too good.

Most roads have a crown, so even with a perfect alignment you need to correct the steering wheel to stay straight. Are you sure you aren't over analyzing since you hit something? I have a tendency to do the same after hitting one of the monster sized potholes we have here.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: dishdude
You have to have a major alignment problem for it to wear any steering or suspension components. And by major I mean wearing a brand new tire in 500 miles, and impossible to drive the car down the road straight.

My experience with aligning a vehicle and getting the steering wheel perfectly centered haven't been too good.

Most roads have a crown, so even with a perfect alignment you need to correct the steering wheel to stay straight. Are you sure you aren't over analyzing since you hit something? I have a tendency to do the same after hitting one of the monster sized potholes we have here.


That is most likely the case. Short of having a level I don't think that most would actually notice that the Siri will is slightly off. And even myself was likely not observe it enough to see it before.

It really was mainly the theory of it because it had me wondering. My car is going in for service within a short while, and probably will not get more than 250 miles on it before then, so I'll have the dealer doing alignment analysis for me when it goes in.

But I have driven cars and driven in cars, that do not have a straight steering wheel, and one car that I know of actually had to have the wheel turned slightly inward to go to straight.

That's my curiosity about the theory of it all. If you're driving a lot with the steering wheel turned; which to me notionally implies that there is more pressure on the hydraulic steering system, does this cause premature where all the power steering pump, rack, or any other components?

I guess my assumption in all this is that system pressure is minimized when the wheel is in its resting center position, and that whenever the wheels are turned from that position, that there is a higher level of hydraulic pressure and thus work from the pumping system. That may not be true. If I drove all day with my wheels at a 45° angle, with no change in the steering wheel position, is it practically any different then driving with the steering wheel centered? Or does the power steering system really only see substantial loads when the steering wheel is actively being used to move the front wheels?

This is really much more of a power steering Siri question that is related to my car.

 

[dishdude]

The steering system only sees a load on it when the wheels are being turned, and the biggest strain is when the car is not moving.

There is nothing more painful than watching someone turning their wheel lock to lock while the car is completely stopped in a parking lot, or even worse holding the wheel at the lock and hearing the pump groan in pain.

 

[Win]

Which of your cars was it?

It's probably always been that way, but since you've had a collision with a foreign object, maybe you should get under it and inspect it, or get it in to a shop and have everything looked at and measured, just for peace of mind.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Win
Which of your cars was it?

It's probably always been that way, but since you've had a collision with a foreign object, maybe you should get under it and inspect it, or get it in to a shop and have everything looked at and measured, just for peace of mind.


My 135i...

I already was under it and there is a crack in a belly pan but nothing else. Everything else is fine, looks perfect. The car goes in for the regular free oil change soon, and I wont be driving it much before then if at all, given my schedule, so alignment check will be soon enough.

But the tires did thump, so I know it was rolled over, not just passed underneath.