Steering wheel not straight

[Jimmy9190]

I noticed the last few days my steering wheel was about 15 degrees off center, it was tilted to the right as I drove on a straight flat road. I had the wheel balance checked, they were OK, which I figured they would be. I then had the alighnment checked at a national chain tire store where I bought a 3 year alignment about 2 years ago. They had it in and out in a half hour, and driving after that the wheel was even more off center than before they "aligned it". I did not want to go back there again so I went to another location of the same store, and that tech said the caster and camber were all out of whack and did a better job at straightening it out, but now when I drive in a straight line the steering wheel is tilted just a little to the left.

This is driving me crazy. I just want the wheel to be straight. My truck is not drifting or pulling in either direction but no one can get the steering wheel centered. Is it asking too much for it to be centered or do any of you have this same problem??

Rant is over now....

 

[Quest]

have you check your tire pressure (frt left vs frt right) to see if they are both the same?

Any sagging/worn suspension components going on? Hit potholes/curbs recently?

All of these will contribute to suspension geometry going out of alignment...

Q.

 

[Stockman]

having a straight steering wheel is part of an alignment. if i took it in for an alignment, i would not accept an unaligned steering wheel.
if i were in your shoes, i would go back again and again until its right

 

[Carbon]

I think whether you need remove the steering wheel to center it depends on the car.

 

[endeavor to persevere]

As was posted, straightening the steering wheel is part of the alignment. Its hard to get it perfectly straight but they can get it close. Its also a pet peeve of mine. I like my steering to be centered. The shop I go to is real good about keeping it centered.

 

[Jimmy9190]

No, I don't have any broken, damaged or loose chassis or steering parts. Everything is in good shape there. I haven't run over or hit anything either. Only thing I can figure is I drive over a bad set of train tracks twice a day, 5 days a week getting to and from work. There is only one road in to my office building and we all have to cross these really bad uneven train tracks. I slow down to less than 15 mph for the tracks.

I guess I'll have to take it back to the tire store--again--for the third time---and ask politely if they will please be sure the wheel is straight and level. This is such a pain. I just wish people would do things right the first time. I have to wonder if it's beacuse they are not making as much money off me since I have the alignment policy and they aren't charging me for the work now.

 

[mpvue]

Originally Posted By: Carbon
I think whether you need remove the steering wheel to center it depends on the car.


IIRC, rack and pinion cars usually need to have the wheel removed and recentered. at least thats how it was on the last car I replaced a rack on.

 

[The_Jeff]

Since airbags came out they make you leave the wheel alone because of the clockspring stretching all out... lengthen one tie rod, shorten the other, and the wheel will be straight again. IIRC most racks have a keyed spline so they only go on one way.

 

[Eddie]

The alignment person did not drive the car on the rack & center the steering wheel before he checked alignment,

 

[CapriRacer]

A quick test:

Swap the front tires - left to right.

If the steering wheel now points in the other direction, its the tires - a property called "conicity"

If the steering wheel position doesn't change, its the alignment.

If the steering wheel position goes back to center - or changes in some other way other than a complete change in direction - it is both tires and alignment.

I'm going to guess it's the alignment, as tires don't suddenly change conicity. You can wear conicity into a tire, but it is a gradual process.

To get a steering wheel straight, you have to adjust BOTH tie rods (obviously in opposite directions). Many alignment shops are too lazy to adjust BOTH. They'll shortcut the process and do just one side, so the total toe is correct, but the proper way to do it is to attach a jig to the steering wheel to hold it in position, and adjust each front tie rod so each side is the proper amount.
If the steering wheel

 

[Jimmy9190]

Well turns out I was wrong to think the alignment tech was at fault. I went back to the second tire store today after work, and a different tech re-aligned it and he couldn't get the wheel to center either. He and I both checked the ball joints and the lower ball joints are bad on both sides. Each one had a lot of play/slop in it. It won't be able to be properly aligned until I replace the bad ball joints.

So now I have the really fun job of drilling out the rivets on the old ball joints and replacing them. They lasted almost 125,000 miles on some really bad Florida roads so I guess I can't complain too much about it. Right now the uppers are OK and I will leave well enough alone as far as they are concerned. The lowers take the brunt of the abuse anyway.

Thanks for the help here.

 

[joel95ex]

since the day I had my honda (got it with 20K miles) the steering wheel was "off". finally the alignment guy corrected that the last time I had the front end aligned. I go to a shop where they do it manually since my car is lowered and I hate getting a lecture from the shops running the computer set-up. I kinda think it bothered the guy at the shop because i didn't say anything and when he came back in he said "I centered the steering wheel for you" he's an old guy who only does the alignments. hehe

 

[The_Jeff]

Huh, usually an indepth front end inspection precedes most alignments. Some are bothered by pulling; more are bothered by blowing all over the road. The universal fix for all front end woes is "an alignment." Glad it's working out though.

 

[Drew99GT]

Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190
that tech said the caster and camber were all out of whack and did a better job at straightening it out, but now when I drive in a straight line the steering wheel is tilted just a little to the left.



Having to keep the wheel just a tad to the left on a so called straight road usually means the alignment is perfect. Most roads, even if they seem perfectly level, will have some road crown to the right which requires a bit if left input to the steering wheel.