Steering wheel alignment
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 3,161
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From: Virginia
Steering wheel alignment
When I had my long tubes put in the shop removed the steering shaft, I believe, and the wheel is now slightly cocked to the left when in a straight line. How hard is it to realign and does anyone how a write up? It was awhile back so I'm not going going to take it back to the shop.
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the linkage can only go on the rack one way so it sounds like you might need an alignment to correct the issue
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2011
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From: Virginia
Acct Suspended APR 2026 by request
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that probably caused it right there, if you lowered the rear that most likely threw the rear alignment off and causing the steering wheel to be off center... that's why you have to start at the rear wheels first when doing an alignment, if you don't get the rear wheels set correctly the steering wheel will never be centered
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 3,161
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From: Virginia
that probably caused it right there, if you lowered the rear that most likely threw the rear alignment off and causing the steering wheel to be off center... that's why you have to start at the rear wheels first when doing an alignment, if you don't get the rear wheels set correctly the steering wheel will never be centered
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2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
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do you happen to have the printout of your original alignment?... just curious to see what they did, regardless I think you know what needs to be done at this point
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 87,294
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From: Western NY
When I had my long tubes put in the shop removed the steering shaft, I believe, and the wheel is now slightly cocked to the left when in a straight line. How hard is it to realign and does anyone how a write up? It was awhile back so I'm not going going to take it back to the shop.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,008
Likes: 57
From: Kensington MD
Are Corvette tie rods different than on other cars? If it bugs you that much, adjust it yourself. If the steering wheel is cocked to the left, that means the wheels are cocked to the right with the steering wheel straight. To do that, you need to shorten the tie rod on the right, and lengthen the tie rod on the left.
Loosen the jam nut on both sides without allowing the inner tie rod to rotate. Use an open-ended wrench on the flats of the inner tie rod to screw the right inner tie rod into the outer tie rod, and screw the left inner tie rod out of the outer. Screw left and right inner tie rods the same amount, or you'll change your toe.
Loosen the jam nut on both sides without allowing the inner tie rod to rotate. Use an open-ended wrench on the flats of the inner tie rod to screw the right inner tie rod into the outer tie rod, and screw the left inner tie rod out of the outer. Screw left and right inner tie rods the same amount, or you'll change your toe.
Last edited by huesmann; Dec 20, 2016 at 11:45 AM.
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Drifting
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 1,716
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From: Colorado
Are Corvette tie rods different than on other cars? If it bugs you that much, adjust it yourself. If the steering wheel is cocked to the left, that means the wheels are cocked to the right with the steering wheel straight. To do that, you need to shorten the tie rod on the right, and lengthen the tie rod on the left.
Loosen the jam nut on both sides without allowing the inner tie rod to rotate. Use an open-ended wrench on the flats of the inner tie rod to screw the right inner tie rod into the outer tie rod, and screw the left inner tie rod out of the outer. Screw left and right inner tie rods the same amount, or you'll change your toe.
Loosen the jam nut on both sides without allowing the inner tie rod to rotate. Use an open-ended wrench on the flats of the inner tie rod to screw the right inner tie rod into the outer tie rod, and screw the left inner tie rod out of the outer. Screw left and right inner tie rods the same amount, or you'll change your toe.
i set my own alignment, and it's a huuuuge PITA, but after double checking 3 machines around town, and finding they were all off, i gave up and accepted nobody will ever do anything for me
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 3,716
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From: Staten Island NY
When I pulled the rack from my C-5, to replace the balancer, I had to disconnect the steering shaft from the rack. Yes, it supposedly can go in/out only one way, but after I was completed, my steering wheel was off a couple of degrees. I had to get it on an alignment rack, to get it adjusted.
The shaft isn't the problem and neither is his lowering.
The OP needs an alignment.
Last edited by TGO; Dec 21, 2016 at 02:42 PM.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 3,161
Likes: 257
From: Virginia
Yeah, because when you yank they rack no matter how hard you try you're not gonna bolt it back up in exactly the same spot. A very small difference translates to a very noticeable difference at the steering wheel.
The shaft isn't the problem and neither is his lowering.
The OP needs an alignment.
The shaft isn't the problem and neither is his lowering.
The OP needs an alignment.
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 1,716
Likes: 37
From: Colorado
this way you make sure that the wheel is where you want it, and its to spec with your weight in it.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 3,161
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From: Virginia
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,008
Likes: 57
From: Kensington MD
If his toe was good, all he needs to do is be sure he rotates the tie rods the same distance on each side. If his toe is bad, he might as well take it to a shop and have them center the steering wheel while they're doing the alignment.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 3,161
Likes: 257
From: Virginia
I'm not going to mess with it. I will just take it to the shop and get an alignment and go from there. The wheel was perfectly straight before my last alignment so apparently something was a little off when it was done.
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2013
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From: Ex DPRK, now just N of Medford, OR
Passenger weight makes a huge difference in some cars, not so much in others. I always use it for a track car!
If the steering wheel is off center, the rack may have moved in the car or relative to the steering wheel, causing nothing more than the crooked wheel (no toe change). If the wheel is crooked for any other reason: toe has moved, needs resetting.
Been a while since it was last checked? suspicious it's moved? get the stupid car aligned! But look for a performance-oriented shop instead of the low price leader...
My $.02 (after doing 1k+ alignments...)
Tech Contributor
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From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
The C5 has a Steering Wheel Position Sensor and it is used in the Active Handling computation. Its important to get the steering wheel (Steering Wheel Position Sensor) as close to zero as possible. When you first turn the ignition switch to ON, the EBTCM goes through a EBTCM TEST and one part of the test is to read the steering wheel sensor and check its functionality. If it is not properly zero, the EBTCM will compensate for the error. If the alignment is too far off zero, it will error out and throw a DTC for that function and AH will not function.
If you ever see the message "ACTIVE HANDILING WARMING UP" Its just the EBTCM telling you that, for some reason the Position Sensor ZERO TEST wasn't able to be completed and the EBTCM is looking for a window to re-run that specific test.
Sometimes it happens when you start the car and immediately turn the wheel and drive off. Its NORMAL if the message comes on and goes off in several seconds. If it stays ON, there's a problem that needs to be corrected.
BC
If you ever see the message "ACTIVE HANDILING WARMING UP" Its just the EBTCM telling you that, for some reason the Position Sensor ZERO TEST wasn't able to be completed and the EBTCM is looking for a window to re-run that specific test.
Sometimes it happens when you start the car and immediately turn the wheel and drive off. Its NORMAL if the message comes on and goes off in several seconds. If it stays ON, there's a problem that needs to be corrected.
BC
