Steering wheel centering
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 4,191
Likes: 1,316
From: LeClaire Iowa
Steering wheel centering
My 96 base tracks perfectly straight and is very smooth with new Continental Extreme Contact tires and a road force balance. The only problem (besides OCD) is the steering wheel is turned just a little to the left when running straight. I do not need an alignment. Can I just loosen the locknuts on the tie rod ends and turn each a small amount (one one way and the other opposite exactly the same amount) and move the wheel to be centered? My wheel is a little to the left so if I move the wheel to be centered the car goes to the right. I think I need to shorten the right side and lengthen the left side. Is this correct. Thank You, Dan
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 34,873
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From: Lacey WA RVN 68-69
NCM Sinkhole Donor
I would take the car to a reputable alignment shop and have them center the steering wheel. Centering the wheel is done by adjusting the tie rod ends, but it's easy to wind up with the toe alignment wrong. Most all alignment machines have digital readouts for the various specs and a good alignment guy can center the wheel and get the toe back to the correct value.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 4,191
Likes: 1,316
From: LeClaire Iowa
Thank you c4cruiser. I hate to spend money on something so small. I was thinking of just doing like 1/4 turn at a time. Dan
Last edited by Whaleman; Oct 20, 2017 at 12:53 PM.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 25,373
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How did you arrive at the thought "I DO NOT NEED AN ALIGNMENT"?
How long ago was it actually aligned?
If you've a relationship with the shop that aligned it last it's likely a check and set toe could be very inexpensive. An attempt at self-centering the steering wheel could certainly create a worse issue!
How long ago was it actually aligned?
If you've a relationship with the shop that aligned it last it's likely a check and set toe could be very inexpensive. An attempt at self-centering the steering wheel could certainly create a worse issue!
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 4,191
Likes: 1,316
From: LeClaire Iowa
I am positive the car has never had an alignment. When I bought in May it only had 27,500 miles. I have talked to the owner since 1998 and all he ever did was replace the water pump and oil changes. I appreciate your responses and it must be harder than it looks to me. If I was going to get an alignment I would maybe replace the front and rear tie rod ends just so I can grease them. Dan
Last edited by Whaleman; Oct 20, 2017 at 02:12 PM.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 4,191
Likes: 1,316
From: LeClaire Iowa
You know Randy you make a great point. I never looked at it like that. I think there is a great chance I am confused. Do you believe when new the steering wheel was centered? Now that you made me think about it I will not try to fix myself. New plan: new tie rod ends and the local shop has a new Hunter alignment machine. Do shops always have the correct numbers to align too? Thanks everybody!!!! Dan
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 17,699
Likes: 1,667
From: moraga ca
I do my own alignments. If you tires are wearing properly, and the steering wheel is slightly off center, it's very easy to adjust the tie rods just as you suggested. Point the steering wheel straight ahead. Look at the threads on the tie rods and figure out which way you need to turn the tie rods to bring one wheel in and the other one out. It's very sensitive and an 1/8 or 1/4 turn on both sides will make a big difference in the wheel centering. Don't think start out by making a turn or two adjustment. I'm a Libra and everything has to be straight and even.
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Racer
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 275
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From: Stoughton Wisconsin
Tire wear in it's self is not complete indication that an alignment is needed. I had really good tire wear and yet the noise from the rear of the car was getting to the point that the volume of the radio needed to be increased. I thought that I was in need of rear wheel bearings. Turns out I had an alignment done and all is happy. 
Whaleman, How old are the tires? You may want to consider new ones at this time as well.
Whaleman, How old are the tires? You may want to consider new ones at this time as well.
Last edited by Randy M; Oct 20, 2017 at 03:04 PM.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 4,191
Likes: 1,316
From: LeClaire Iowa
Tire wear in it's self is not complete indication that an alignment is needed. I had really good tire wear and yet the noise from the rear of the car was getting to the point that the volume of the radio needed to be increased. I thought that I was in need of rear wheel bearings. Turns out I had an alignment done and all is happy.
Whaleman, How old are the tires? You may want to consider new ones at this time as well.
Whaleman, How old are the tires? You may want to consider new ones at this time as well.
Safety Car
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 4,747
Likes: 1,642
From: Fairfax Virginia
On my 1968 Corvette I would simply remove the steering wheel and put it on the way I wanted it. Takes five minutes if you take your time.
Be careful getting your Corvette aligned. Most shops will check your rear alignment but few will align it properly. What I did was talk to a few shops alignment techs and find one that you can trust. Talk to people around your area and find out who the best is in Aligning "challenging" cars, they are a lot different than the minivans they do 90% of the time.
I also recommend you have the necessary shims if they are unusual like on my C3. On the C3 I had a new set of Stainless Steel shims and the tech re-set my differential in the center and re-shimmed it. It took over four hours to get it "perfect".
Good Luck!
Be careful getting your Corvette aligned. Most shops will check your rear alignment but few will align it properly. What I did was talk to a few shops alignment techs and find one that you can trust. Talk to people around your area and find out who the best is in Aligning "challenging" cars, they are a lot different than the minivans they do 90% of the time.
I also recommend you have the necessary shims if they are unusual like on my C3. On the C3 I had a new set of Stainless Steel shims and the tech re-set my differential in the center and re-shimmed it. It took over four hours to get it "perfect".
Good Luck!
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 4,648
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From: N.E. Ohio OH
Finalist 2020 C4 of the Year - Modified
Get a 4 wheel alignment done and tell them you want it perfectly centered please. The '96 I have needed an alignment when I got it last July (2016). Even with only 12K miles on it when it pulled into my driveway, it was still off a bit.
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 2,891
Likes: 591
From: New Port Richey FL
First off if the car Has 30,000 miles +- unless something is wrong with them new Tie rods I feel is Not needed. Can a car with 30,000 on it need an Alignment Yes, I have seen cars come fresh from the Factory with a Tilt one side or the other. If it was a lesser of condition car with old tires I would tell you Yah loosen one Tighten the other, But you My Friend have a Low Mileage Gem with new Tires Drop a Few $$$ do it Correctly
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 4,191
Likes: 1,316
From: LeClaire Iowa
First off if the car Has 30,000 miles +- unless something is wrong with them new Tie rods I feel is Not needed. Can a car with 30,000 on it need an Alignment Yes, I have seen cars come fresh from the Factory with a Tilt one side or the other. If it was a lesser of condition car with old tires I would tell you Yah loosen one Tighten the other, But you My Friend have a Low Mileage Gem with new Tires Drop a Few $$$ do it Correctly
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 6,528
Likes: 752
From: South Dakota
I do my own alignments too.
To adjust the center for the steering wheel, both sides need to have the tie rod ends adjusted.
Setting toe can be done very accurately at home with almost no expense for equipment. For toe setting I use a "string box" method. I literally have fishing line tied to the necks of two 2 liter jugs. Another two for the other side of the car. Put the string close to the wheels and check to make the side to side at the front the same distance as the side to side at the rear of the string box. Then you can measure from the wheel to the string at the front of the wheel and at the rear of the wheel on both sides. Compare front to back amount between the left and right sides to see the net toe in or out. Make tie rod adjustments and measure again.
I have been very pleased setting toe with this method. Using the string box and a machinist scale I have set a bunch of cars with good results. My Charger R/T got about 70k miles on the tires and were not worn out yet when I replaced them.
It works if you want to spend a little time.
Good luck.
To adjust the center for the steering wheel, both sides need to have the tie rod ends adjusted.
Setting toe can be done very accurately at home with almost no expense for equipment. For toe setting I use a "string box" method. I literally have fishing line tied to the necks of two 2 liter jugs. Another two for the other side of the car. Put the string close to the wheels and check to make the side to side at the front the same distance as the side to side at the rear of the string box. Then you can measure from the wheel to the string at the front of the wheel and at the rear of the wheel on both sides. Compare front to back amount between the left and right sides to see the net toe in or out. Make tie rod adjustments and measure again.
I have been very pleased setting toe with this method. Using the string box and a machinist scale I have set a bunch of cars with good results. My Charger R/T got about 70k miles on the tires and were not worn out yet when I replaced them.
It works if you want to spend a little time.
Good luck.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 4,191
Likes: 1,316
From: LeClaire Iowa
Well, against the advice of some pros I went ahead and replaced all four of my tie rod ends prior to getting an alignment. I used the top grade greaseable Moogs (ES2908RL). I pulled apart the original ones to see how the "lifetime lube" was doing after 22 years. My takeaway is "lifetime lube" is not designed to be 22 years. The factory grease was black and dried and very hard to find. I did find a small 1/16" ball that did actually smear between my fingers. The ball joints were loose to move but did not seem to have any play and were not worn out. How long they would stay this way with no real grease will never be known. I could not check the old rear as a few months ago I greased them with the needle on the grease gun through the rubber boot. This does help but does not really put the grease where it is needed. Dan
Last edited by Whaleman; Oct 28, 2017 at 07:12 PM.
