posted 07-25-2005 11:25 PM                  

When the steering wheel is off this is an indication that the toe adjustment needs to be corrected. In older cars, the steering shaft was just splined and it was possible to remove the wheel and reposition it a spline or two. To properly set toe-in / toe-out, it is necessary to lock the steering wheel in place, normally with a tool which sets on the seat, and then adjust the tie rods to reach the desired specs. Techs were not too worried about centering the steering wheel exactly cause they could compensate by moving the wheel on the splines.

But on newer cars the steering shafts are typically keyed or slotted so the wheel only goes on one way, and setting toe adjustment is far more critical to set properly and end up with the wheel in a centered position.

The fact that your wheel is off does not mean you had to hit a pot hole to have it veer off angle. That can be just normal wear and tear from driving. Alignment shifts due to many causes, mostly settling and wear of the suspension components over time. Find a good alignment shop and make sure to tell them the wheel is off center. Assuming you have not hit anything, and it is just normal wear and tear, they will have it corrected in the course of performing the alignment. You want a full alignment, as they first must set camber and caster, if out of spec, and then toe adjustment is set as the final step.

Hope that info helps...unless you did hit something, it is a simple correction on any front end.

Jim

posted 07-25-2005 11:58 PM                  

I thought your car was 100% STOCK!!!

That is exactly the reason for your wheel being off...make sure you do it soon as it could also cause "feathering" of the front tires if it is really out of spec.

posted 07-27-2005 12:28 AM                  

pictured... Ed cruising with his newly repaired steering wheel....no more suckers while driving in the hot summer sunshine....