Steering wheel centering
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 4,192
Likes: 1,317
From: LeClaire Iowa
Well, He had to adjust everything. Remember I had changed all four tie rod ends. Since the shop is only 3 miles away I only tried to put the new ones in about the same place. He had to adjust the camber in the rear on both sides. He had to ADD small shims in all four places in the front. biggest was 1/8" two were 3/32" and one was 1/32". All four tie rod ends needed adjustment. The Hunter machine on the computer screen exaggerates the amount the wheel is really off. When he first shot the wheels in it appeared the car could not even go down the road with wheels going in all different directions. While I asked a lot of questions ( I gave him $20.00 for letting me watch) The only intelligent question I asked was about the shims. I asked since the car is low miles did he think the shims that set the front caster and chamber were off this much from the day it was new. He seemed to think yes as he said this machine is better than the factory used in 1996. I have no idea if he is correct as wear in the ball joints can change this also. He did say this hunter machine cost $120,000.00. LeClaire Auto Service LeClaire, Iowa. Dan
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,649
Likes: 863
IMHO - the machine your tech used was probably far "batter" than the equipment that was available in 1996 - but that isn't the real issue...
1) A tremendous amount of the cost of todays equipment is for stuff that is not only accurate, but that is also fast and relatively foolproof to set up - and it has to work on almost ANY car that might enter the shop. The equipment has to accommodate everything from a old Dodge Omni with 13" wheels, to a Ferrari to a Jeep with HUGE mud tires. If the equipment had to only deal with 1996 Corvettes with 17" wheels - it could be significantly cheaper and quicker to set up.
2) Your tech probably worked on your car for 30 plus minutes. Ever see how quickly the people in the factory have to set up the alignment - they typically have a person under the car - and they only get a couple of minutes to get the alignment set. As I've said before - the factory alignment tolerances are HUGE, and are a massive compromise between the best alignment angles for the average driver, and the production guys who need to be able to reliably get the alignment set in like 30 seconds per wheel (all shift long)....
1) A tremendous amount of the cost of todays equipment is for stuff that is not only accurate, but that is also fast and relatively foolproof to set up - and it has to work on almost ANY car that might enter the shop. The equipment has to accommodate everything from a old Dodge Omni with 13" wheels, to a Ferrari to a Jeep with HUGE mud tires. If the equipment had to only deal with 1996 Corvettes with 17" wheels - it could be significantly cheaper and quicker to set up.
2) Your tech probably worked on your car for 30 plus minutes. Ever see how quickly the people in the factory have to set up the alignment - they typically have a person under the car - and they only get a couple of minutes to get the alignment set. As I've said before - the factory alignment tolerances are HUGE, and are a massive compromise between the best alignment angles for the average driver, and the production guys who need to be able to reliably get the alignment set in like 30 seconds per wheel (all shift long)....
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 4,192
Likes: 1,317
From: LeClaire Iowa
IMHO - the machine your tech used was probably far "batter" than the equipment that was available in 1996 - but that isn't the real issue...
1) A tremendous amount of the cost of todays equipment is for stuff that is not only accurate, but that is also fast and relatively foolproof to set up - and it has to work on almost ANY car that might enter the shop. The equipment has to accommodate everything from a old Dodge Omni with 13" wheels, to a Ferrari to a Jeep with HUGE mud tires. If the equipment had to only deal with 1996 Corvettes with 17" wheels - it could be significantly cheaper and quicker to set up.
2) Your tech probably worked on your car for 30 plus minutes. Ever see how quickly the people in the factory have to set up the alignment - they typically have a person under the car - and they only get a couple of minutes to get the alignment set. As I've said before - the factory alignment tolerances are HUGE, and are a massive compromise between the best alignment angles for the average driver, and the production guys who need to be able to reliably get the alignment set in like 30 seconds per wheel (all shift long)....
1) A tremendous amount of the cost of todays equipment is for stuff that is not only accurate, but that is also fast and relatively foolproof to set up - and it has to work on almost ANY car that might enter the shop. The equipment has to accommodate everything from a old Dodge Omni with 13" wheels, to a Ferrari to a Jeep with HUGE mud tires. If the equipment had to only deal with 1996 Corvettes with 17" wheels - it could be significantly cheaper and quicker to set up.
2) Your tech probably worked on your car for 30 plus minutes. Ever see how quickly the people in the factory have to set up the alignment - they typically have a person under the car - and they only get a couple of minutes to get the alignment set. As I've said before - the factory alignment tolerances are HUGE, and are a massive compromise between the best alignment angles for the average driver, and the production guys who need to be able to reliably get the alignment set in like 30 seconds per wheel (all shift long)....
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 6,090
Likes: 1,972
From: St. Charles MO
To the OP, I'm glad you got it sorted out. If the off-center steering wheel were the only issue, you could have done it yourself just as yu described doing it in your first post. It wouldn't change anything but the steering wheel position. But you needed the full alignment anyway.
I did want to comment on this. Don't center your steering this way, anyone! There is only one proper orientation for your steering wheel to the steering shaft. If you change it from that, it means you'll have asymmetric steering geometry: one steering link (inner plus outer tie rod) will be longer than the other. While this won't kill, it isn't good. Just say no.
I did want to comment on this. Don't center your steering this way, anyone! There is only one proper orientation for your steering wheel to the steering shaft. If you change it from that, it means you'll have asymmetric steering geometry: one steering link (inner plus outer tie rod) will be longer than the other. While this won't kill, it isn't good. Just say no.
