Steering wheel offset.

[phenomic]

I have a 97 z28 camaro. I hit a curb and broke my rim and bent my lca. I replaced both of those. It is possible that my spindle is bent as well. Well, I went to Sears and they aligned my car. Apparently, they were lazy and didnt make my steering wheel straight on. It is like (/) instead of (-). The wheel turns about equal distance both ways so it is probably ok there. I don't have abnormal tire wear for over 4 months so I think the alignment is good. I don't want to pay for another alignment until I do balljoints, hubs, shocks, bigger brakes or something like that that is major.

I was wondering, Can i pop my steering wheel off and put it on in the correct position. I know that I should be able to and see the procedure but will the airbag still be functional if i put it on at a different angle?

 

[TheLoneRanger]

A better way to center the steering wheel is to do it with the tie rods. Loosen them and turn one side in and the other side out, until the steering wheel centers. If you do an equal number of turns on each side, the toe-in measurement should remain the same.

 

[phenomic]

I agree that that would work but I am a little worried that I won't go exact distances. If i can recall, last time I messed with my tie rod ends, they were seized so tight that i gave up trying to break them loose.

 

[JDP]

If you steering wheel is off from center, so is your steering box...bad idea to remove and reposition the wheel to fix this as you will not be steering on the "high spot" when you are going straight down the road.

Turn you wheels all the way to the left and then count the number of turns and part turns till they are all the way to the right. Drive ahead and see if you have to correct the wheel to make it go straight.

Best thing to do is take the car back to that shop and complain about the INCOMPLETE JOB they did and have them finish it even though they will have to basicly redo the alignment.

It could also be due to a setback of the front wheel that wasn't noticed in the original wheel alignment too. Sounds like you hit the curb hard enough to do that or maybe even pushed the front clip to one side (offset).

best of luck finding the real problem here.

JD

 

[phenomic]

Thanks for the replies. The sears shop closed by me, so I can't go back. The steering wheel isn't in the wrong position, it just isn't centered rotation wise if you know what i mean.

Say for example on a regular car you hold the wheel like (-) to go straight, on mine, you hold it like this (/). When i center the wheels, It turns 1 complete turn each way.


Basically, I want to try doing this, pull the wheel off, rotate it right 30 degrees or whatever and then put it back on. Will this work? I have the haynes manual and it gives directions on the process but I am worried this may affect the airbag if i put it on at a different angle, should it matter?

 

[mechtech]

If they just adjusted it [within a reasonable time], I'd try the tie rod end method - you'll probably have no trouble.
Sometimes there is a flat on the splines of the steering wheel, and it will only go on one way.

 

[Matt-TDI]

If that SEARS was still open, I would take it back to them and complain. Straightening your steering wheel is one of the main things an alignment is supposed to fix. If your wheel isn't straight after a wheel alignment, take it back and have them redo it immediately!

I am currently training as an alignment technician at a Belle Tire here in Michigan. The way you'd normally fix this is by centering the steering wheel after you've let the machine take all its measurements. You then adjust both tie rods to put the individual and total toe back into spec. Because if your steering wheel is off center, when you place it back to center, both wheels will be turned in one direction. To do it accurately, you'd really need an alignment machine.

 

[punisher]

The only real option is to take the car back and make the alignment tech do the job right. There is no excuse for a car to leave the shop with a grossly offcenter steering wheel, assuming nothing was bent/out of spec. If something was bent/out of spec you should have been notified of the fact.

 

[cousincletus]

If I remember right GM has one big spline on the shaft so the wheel can only go on one way.

 

[phenomic]

Sears was very unprofessional when I went and I had to wait there 5 hours when they had maybe 2 cars in back and 5 mechanics. I am glad they went out of business, I think they were just lazy. I will take my car for an alignment next time i do shocks or other suspension work, I want to get the most out of it because it is just a visual thing right now, the tires aren't wearing oddly so its not worth it at the time. Is there any hopes of possibly disconnecting the ragjoint and possibly turning it and bolting it at a different position?

If i do the tie rod method, will it be accurate if i break both loose and turn them both a few turns to the right? Will that affect any other measurements?

 

[Mike_dup1]

quote:

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Will that affect any other measurements?

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It will screw up everything. You can't mess with this without screwing it up. You have to take it to an alignment shop and have it done right, no ands, if or buts.

 

[XS650]

quote:

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Originally posted by phenomic:


If i do the tie rod method, will it be accurate if i break both loose and turn them both a few turns to the right? Will that affect any other measurements?

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If you turn them both the same amount it won't be any worse overall than it is now. My real concerns would be that if they screwed up such an obvious thing, how did they do on the less obvious parts of the alignment?

 

[phenomic]

Alright well, I had my car up on jacks and I noticed that the passenger tie rod looks like it was on the end of the threads. Im guessing they ran out of adjustment and based the rest of the alignment off of that. What can I do to fix this? What do you think is bent? do you think if i got a new spindle and a new tie rod end, I may be able to fix it?

What steps should I take to get this fixed and how much would it cost?