# What does it take to align my cocked steering wheel?



## Magna (Jan 4, 2002)

My car had loose ball joints so the front control arms were replaced under warranty, and also did a 4-wheel alignment on the car. My steering wheel came back cocked to the right (have to turn my wheel to the right to go straight). Bring car back to re-align and they said the adjusted the tie-rods (?) but now the steering wheel is cocked to the left. The cockness is not as bad as before and it's such a hassle to bring the car in etc. Is it difficult to get the steering wheel adjusted to be dead-on center? Are my tires wearing unevenly because of the left-cocked steering wheel? Thanks in advance for any info.


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## 31st330i (Jan 11, 2002)

the way toe is set is by adjusting the tie rods. yes, you need to take the car back to the dealer and have them repair this. it's not right and should have never been released to you in this manner. a word of caution, though. the steering wheel can be centered by turning the left and right tie rod ends by the exact number of turns in the opposite direction. take it from someone who has done this a million times and who has aligned cars on the alignment rack - no matter how careful you are, you will throw the toe setting off. make them put the car back on the rack and do it properly. the tech was obviously in a hurry and didn't check his work.

by the way, just because your steering wheel is off center doesn't mean that the wheels are actually out of alignment.


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## 31st330i (Jan 11, 2002)

by the way, there are tools that the tech should have used to make sure your wheel was straight in the first place. there's a steering wheel brake that is a rod with a holder (for the wheel) on one end and a pedestal on the other end. it sort of ratchets into place to hold the wheel in the centered position. with this in place, the alignment can be performed underneath the car.

the tech should have test driven the car on a known crested road.

what a monkey!


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## Magna (Jan 4, 2002)

*thanks for the info, 31st330i*



31st330i said:


> *by the way, there are tools that the tech should have used to make sure your wheel was straight in the first place. there's a steering wheel brake that is a rod with a holder (for the wheel) on one end and a pedestal on the other end. it sort of ratchets into place to hold the wheel in the centered position. with this in place, the alignment can be performed underneath the car.
> 
> the tech should have test driven the car on a known crested road.
> 
> what a monkey! *


so aligning the car is a science not an art? in other words, it's not trial and error. i brought it back to the dealer and now the steering wheel is cocked to the left although less cocked than before.

it's a pain bringing my car in, and i am afraid the tech may get lazy and simply adjust the steering wheel. i believe the correct way of doing it is to adjust the tie rods only. what's the consequence of simply adjusting the steering wheel?

just to make sure: is it possible that my car is aligned correctly (no uneven tire wear etc), and to have a cocked steering wheel (a cosemetic issue). if yes, i may decide to just live with the cosemetic off-centeredness, otherwise i will have to endure the hassle again of bringing in my car to the dealer.

once again thanks for all your advice.


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## bmw325 (Dec 19, 2001)

*Re: thanks for the info, 31st330i*



> _
> just to make sure: is it possible that my car is aligned correctly (no uneven tire wear etc), and to have a cocked steering wheel (a cosemetic issue). if yes, i may decide to just live with the cosemetic off-centeredness, otherwise i will have to endure the hassle again of bringing in my car to the dealer.
> once again thanks for all your advice. [/B]_


_

Sort of. If the total front toe is within spec, but its not distributed evenly between the left and right tie rod, the wheels are technically aligned correctly. You'll have to turn the steering wheel to go straight-- and this has the effect of making the left and right toe even. On some cars, only one tie rod can be turned, and the steering wheel has to be removed and replaed to center it.

THis is not the correct way to do it on a BMW. Aside from the cosmetic and annoyance factor, is there a reason to care? Maybe not, but here are some things to think about:
-BMW bothered to put a centering mark in the steeirng column and steering wheel. I'm sure its there for a reason-- they probably didn't intend for the wheel to just be moved over a notch to "center" it.
-The HACK pointed out that there is a steering angle sensor for DSC-- in theory this could get confused if it senses the steering wheel at an "angle" when the car is going straight
-There may be a slightly better "on center" feeling when the steering rack is truly centered while travelling straight

I had a similar issue trying to get my steeirng wheel straight after an alignment. I had to take my car back several times. I honestly don't know why its so difficult for these techs to do it right. As 31st330i pointed out, they have more than enough tools at their disposal: they can lock the steeirng wheel in the centered position, and they have computerized alignment machines to show how much toe they are setting on each wheel. In my case, I asked for the alignment printouts, and showed the service advisor and mechanic that the toe settings weren't even side to side. THis probably means that the tech did center the wheel, but didn't bother adjusting it evenly. The tech said to me "it doesn't matter, its in spec". Yes, that's true, but its not really correct. I think he honestly believed that-- it shows you either how poorly trained these guys are-- or how stupid they are. I wish I could just use the dealer's equipment and do this stuff myself.
I know its annoying, but make them do it right!_


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