Steering wheel angle.

If you mean that the wheel is slightly rotated when going straight ahead this is a simple fix. It could however indicate that someone has bumped a curb a bit hard and knocked the alignment off. For this you will need to put it on an alignment rack and check it. Then it will be a simple adjustment to put it back straight (assuming that no parts are damaged) essentially lengthen one tie rod and shorten the other an equal amount until the wheel is centered.

If you were referring to something else, never mind.

 

Often steering wheels are a little off during the initial wheel alignment at the factory. It is rarely off enough as a whole notch on the steering column. The only way to straighten it is to adjust both steering tie rod ends in the same direction a part of a turn. It must be exact or you will change the toe in. It is not difficult per say but not easy either.

aehaas

 

I did hit a curb and threw mine off a little. Took it to an aligment shop and they said they did some adjustment but it was still off straight maybe 5-10 degrees. I adjusted back to central the way Mr, Haas described. Then in december I had the suspension bushings replaced and the dealer did an eloborate alignment and provided me with the before and after specifications. Funny thing the steering wheel was off that exact same 5-10 degrees. So I adjusted it back. Not only did I put a paint mark on the tie rods but I double checked toe-in with the string method.

Any Ideas what if anything might be wrong to cause this?

 

I've watched a local race shop near me do an alignment. They make sure the wheel is straight, then attach a bar or something that holds it in position. Then they make the adjustments as AEHaas describes. This way the wheel will be perfectly straight ahead.

 

You must carry out a 4 wheel alignment.

Your steering wheel could be off due to a REAR end problem... and checking/adjusting the front only may induce a "crab" in the car.

The car must be placed in a perfect square and measured all round.

 

Just pull the steering wheel off and re-center it. No point in doing all this monkey bidness with wheels and tire odd ends.

 

And you can't just pull the wheel off and centre it.. you need to preserve the steering lock position as the wheel is straight ahead, also indicator self cancel function, you also (and this is a VERY common thing to be done wrong) need to preserve steering column joint alignment.. the UJ's must be perfectly aligned (like a tailshaft) to maintain constant velocity upon turning....

Look down into your lower steering column area/footwell on anything from 355 and later pretty much.... you'll see two great big white paint marks on bits of the column... These must be aligned to each other. But not just on the sliding section either.. the UJ's themselves must be perfectly aligned as they are removable.


I've seen way too many cars with supposedly reputable history that have a misaligned column.

This causes vague and inconsistent steering feelings... you get artificial "weight" of steering, as the joints load against each other... which also promotes wear and further vagueness....

You also need to preserve steering rack centralisation...

count the turns from lock to lock... half way should be straight ahead... of course, you say!.... Try it... !

 

UJ's are universal joints.

The spider or cross in the middle must be in perfect alignment to ensure constant velocity while rotated.

same principle as tailshafts, or propellor shafts whatever...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_joint