okay so i got my wheel alignment done today because i figured it would fix this problem, my steering wheel is turned slightly to the right when my car goes straight, its real anoying, i got my alignment done and the car goes straight but the wheel doesnt! , is something loose? could it of knocked it ouf of place as soon as i cut the wheel when i left the shop . i saw the guy do the alignment and he did have the steering wheel straight while he was doing it... ne ideas?

 

they should have set the wheel straight the adjusted the toe in. sounds like they adjusted the toe and never looked at the wheel, which is common.

 

Take it back to the shop or find a differant place that knows what they're doing.

 

yeh i totally forgot about that , i should of went today, i hate mechanics, seems like there to busy knowing about every car then specific little details about certain cars . cant wait to get some schooling

ps. i remember my accord had the same problem and my uncle fixed it, my bro said he just turned some **** under the steering column to get her straight

 

FirebirdNYC - My car has the same thing...good alignment but steering wheel is a couple degrees off center. I just pulled off my steering wheel to get to the lock cylinder. The column has many teeth and allows you to fine-tune where the wheel is actually installed and tightened down (there's a steering wheel mounting bracket for my Grant wheel that slides over the column's teeth). When I put the wheel back on, I will make sure it's on straight. Pictures to follow either tomorrow or the next day...unless you figure it out by then. - Adam

 

cool if your doing it throw up some pics, i never really messed with the steering section of my car, btw i found out i cant align my steering wheel do the fact that i need a new IDLER ARM, , after seeing how loose the front wheel was when he lifted it he showed me the idler arm and how loose the thing was, thats why my car feels horible when i slam on the brake, car wobbles and floats everywhere, also noticed alot of play in the wheel today, tomorrow im getting that replaced . hopefully these cheap autozone ones can hold up good, hey they are backed by lifetime warranty,

 

If you pull the steering wheel off and move it to where it is centered, it will be off if it is ever properly aligned (provided that it is in the right position to begin with). The alignment equipment assumes the steering is pointing straight ahead... the steering wheel may have moved a little bit while doing the alignment, throwing the wheel off. Just go back and complain if it drives you nuts.

 

well my wheel wasnt straight before i got the alignment, i just thought they would straighten it out while they aligned the car , which they did but it doesnt matter since my idler arm is all messed up it knocks the steering wheel out of place , im getting that replaced tomorrow , i didnt notice i had play in my steering wheel till i drove my brothers grand am, i couldnt control it thats how tight the steering wheel was, i love it

 

Yea, a bad idler arm will do that.

 

is that alot of labor? , i dont want to get jacked, some shops hate it when you bring your own parts, half the time they pull the " you can come back if you want" , nah its okay i'll stay, they will end up charging you 4 hrs worth of labor for a 10 min job , id rather be on top of them

 

Idler arm is a quick swap. Not including the alignment you have (I think) two nuts/bolts through the frame and one nut to the center link... how long, well, it took me about an hour on a GMC Jimmy (same system) because it was hard to get to the nuts. It could reasonably be a 20 minute job. If you are going to have a shop do it, get a quote first.

 

well i got it fixed, charged me 90 with the part and alignment, riped of? i dont think so, right? , now my car feels nice, this actually was the reason why my car pulled to the right , i thought it was my brake system

 

Im glad you got it fixed. I was incorrect in thinking you could fine-tune the placement of the wheel. There are teeth, but there is also a notched part of the circle, only allowing once placement. Sorry about that.

 

so there is no way i can fix my steering wheel problem? it still slightly turned to the right , i got the alignment done again and this time some otehr guy did it, i had told him about the steering wheel so, so he even pulled it back and forth in the shop, it seemed alright, but not when u go 20+ mph ... should i go back ...again lol,

 

Keep going back until they get it right... you're the customer and you are the one paying for the alignment. You paid for the job to be done right.

 

They probably are doing the job "right". A typical alignment is set up to pull slightly left to compensate for the crown of most roads. So if you're driving on a perfectly flat road, you will have to point slightly right in order to go straight.

Mine used to be the exact same way, where I'd have to hold the wheel slightly right to go straight. So I went to an alignment shop that knows what they are doing, and asked for a neutral alignment (specifically .5 negative camber, 4.5 positive caster, .06 toe in). Usually they will put .5 less caster on your left wheel. After that, car behaves how I want.

 

Most likely there is slop in your steering box, rag joint, or the U-joint at the top of the steering intermediate shaft. These are the most common reasons on thirdgens for off center wheels that people can't find. Keep in mind that any looseness in the front end will cause this problem.