Do you guys all have straight steering wheels? I just got an alignment, and even when I was there watching the guy do the alignment (he knew what he was doing), they somehow couldn't get my wheel straight even though the computer shows everything is within specs.

I just wondered if anyone else has this quirk. The car rides straight too. Thanks.

 

When doing a alignment the last thing you do is set toe, but you must have steering wheel straight and locked into straight ahead position then you adjust tie rods to spec. If you do not have steering wheel locked with tool you steering wheel be off. Did they have car running when locking steering wheel down? The latest Hunter laser aligner like we have you must start car to set steering wheel. After you have wheel locked down you turn car off and set toe. Then it will show you a screen and it wheel show where the wheels are pointed and ask if steering wheel is straight. I would probably take somewhere else because getting steering wheel straight is pretty straight forward. I have seen this one guy took his max to joebobcooters garage and they tryed pulling the steering wheel and repositioning. They destroyed steering column and all they had to do is adjust tie rods. I cant remember what the column cost for 03 max but it wasnt cheap. Remember you can have all specs exact and have the steering wheel turned every which way. I hope this helps a little not to smart explaining things.

 

No, it does help, thanks for the detailed explanation. I actually lowered my car with KYB/Eibachs today, and we inputted 1993 specs on the computer (and no, the engine was off the whole time). I also have 1999 SE 5-spoke wheels on the car (16" rims), so I'm sure there are some deviations, but we did put the steering wheel lock thing on, and adjusted the toe last. The car drives straight, so I just wanted to see whether it could be a quirk on our cars or not.

 

Mine is fine.

 

in addition to what NOS487 said, the the rack & pinion isn't centered if the steering wheel is off. this means that the left and right turning radius is not going to be the same. it will be a small amount, possibly not noticable, but it won't be right.

 

mine is fine as well but i do my alignment at home without the machine. of course all i can do is just correct the tie rod ends so that the wheels r straight and not to one side. whoever did ur alignment must really hate his job or just suck *****. just take it somewhere else and get it done correctly.

 

if your wheels are straight, take your steering wheel off and re-set it to be straight