Steering wheel slightly off-center after wheel alignment?

[peacefuljeffrey]

Ugh. I sure wish I was an auto mechanic myself because taking my car (which I care about a great deal) to various places to get work done really sucks when I don't feel 100% confidence that everything is getting done "the way I'd do it myself."

I got a brake job done (by the Subaru dealership) on my Impreza wagon last month, and had to take it back because I was getting a bad repetitive squeak from both fronts. That's taken care of now.

But then I noticed a slight steering wheel shimmy betwee 65-70 mph and "felt" a minor vibration from the road. My guess was, "Time for a wheel balance and/or alignment," so I took it to Pep Boys today.

For one thing, in the short distance I was able to test drive it (really just on the 3 miles to home, and not on the out-and-out highway) I thought I was still detecting the shimmy/vibration that I was hoping would be utterly gone. For another, it seems like the steering wheel is about 10 degrees off to the left when I am driving straight. (I have to verify that this is not due to the road being tilted toward the right as is very common for drainage.)

If it is slightly crooked, can anyone describe to me the means by which one recenters a steering wheel? Is there anything serviceable about it that I myself could do, or would it likely require being put on a lift and serviced by a real mechanic?

Thanks,

-Jeffrey

[J Smith]

If the wheel is off a little after an alinement it doesn't mean much.The wheels are lined up but not with the wheel.Most places make sure the wheel is in the right place before they aline the wheels but some don't.
In other words,if the wheel is turned a little off center when the front end is alined the wheel will stay off center although the tires are running straight.
That being said,if it was me and it was off by 10 degrees it would go back for them to redo.

[peacefuljeffrey]

When I got this done at the same shop two years ago, that's exactly what I did. Even the second time, they didn't do it all that great.

If I can find the time, I may go back. But doesn't what you said mean that they'd have to essentially do the alignment all over again? I guess I always imagined that there was a way to simply turn the steering wheel while the wheels stayed straight, and then lock it where it is.

If anyone knows if this is possible, or if I'd have to have the wheels totally realigned once more, please chime in.

I will reiterate that at some times on the road it seems like it's off-center, and then at other times doesn't really. It may be about the tilt of the road, even the force of wind from the oblique that has to be countered with wheel pressure in that direction. I wish I could drive 70mph on a tennis court to check where the steering wheel is when I'm driving straight and level. :p

-Jeffrey

[HoB]

God I hate it, when they do that. My car is old and has very light steering so they claim, they can't do it better. Drives me absolutely nuts. Once I went back 3 times to get it fixed....spend the better part of the day at the shop and they still didn't get it right....I finally gave up.

I feel for you!

[peacefuljeffrey]

Thanks. Believe it or not, that's almost as good as getting me an answer to how to get it fixed. :D

I lived with it from the last time it was done two years ago. It seemed to be improved two weeks ago when I got my brakes done (they had to grind the rotors a bit). Now after today's balance/alignment, I noticed it off to the left again.

The thing that's really bugging me is that it seems that I might still have the steering wheel vibration at 70mph, which is the whole reason I went to get the balance/alignment in the first place.

If that is still present, yeah, Pep Boys is gonna be seeing me again on Thursday when I can get down there.

-Jeffrey

[J Smith]

Where did you get the tires?
The vibration may be comeing from them.Sometimes a tire will become out of round and not be able to be balanced.The shop the does the balance can tell if it is but one thing I have noticed if it is the same shop you bought the tires from they will not want to tell you because this should be covered under the tire warranty.At least it was on a set I got a Pep boys.

[DamnYank!]

first off, Pep Boys sux. seriously. i would never let them work on my car, EVER.

keep taking your car back until the wheel is centered. i've had mine slightly off and i understand how it drives you crazy! its a toe adjustment to get the wheel centered with the wheels. if you try to do it you will end up with your toe out of spec and mess up your tires.

did Pep Boys do a balance and alignment or just one?

[Stevie Ray]

This is a non-issue for alignment shops that have their stuff together. Take it back until they make it right and don't let them suggest taking off the steering wheel and recentering same as a potential solution.

Pep Boy shops that I've been around in the past had high turnover rates on employees and the skill level was ... well not what you'd get with most private shops or dealerships. I'd steer clear of Pep Boys. The one brake job I had done by PB's many years ago was a "bring-it-back" twice to make it right kind of job. Never again.

[spd9075]

Ok...mabye I can help a little. I've been a professional cert dealership auto technician for over ten years. The steering wheel SHOULD be centered. If it is not, have it re-done. Yes, there is road crown to consider, but any knowledgeable shop knows how to compensate for this in your area. For example, where I live, road crown is aggressive so we compensate by raising the caster approx .5 deg on the right side so the cust really doesn't notice it and the car won't "drift" noticeably. If the wheel is off center, then the drivers natural instinct is to drive with it sraight which will cause toe problems and premature tire wear. There are other things to consider when talking about vibrations/shimmys. Alignments do not generally fix these complaints. Things to look at would be tires, wheel brearings (if serviceable), wheel balance, or in extreme cases, front end component failure. I have serviced vehicles on many types of alignment machines and some are better than others, but the tech should be familiar enough to know his equiptment and do the job right the first time. Did they not test drive it afterwards? I'd be embarrassed to let it go like that. If you'd like to get more technical, pm me and I'll go into depth. Oh, there is a way to sraighten the wheel without a machine, but you run the risk of throwing off some of the other geometry. Besides, why do it yourself after you paid someone else to do it? Take it back. Hope theis helps...just my .02.

BTW...to answer your other question, I don't reccomend taking the wheel off to straighten it. The proper way is to adjust the tie rod ends and lock them in place, but they adust toe as well as center your wheel...and to accurately do that, you need the machine...after all you are dealing with tenths of degrees in adjustments.