how does dealer fix cocked steering wheel?

had an alignment done but now the steering wheel has to turned to the right for the car to go straight. i am bringing it back to dealer to fix problem. will they re-align my car or just adjust the tie rods by sight?

how do they fix a cocked steering wheel, or perhaps my car is actually mis-aligned. in any case, thanks everybody for any info on subject.

Originally posted by Magna
had an alignment done but now the steering wheel has to turned to the right for the car to go straight. i am bringing it back to dealer to fix problem. will they re-align my car or just adjust the tie rods by sight?

how do they fix a cocked steering wheel, or perhaps my car is actually mis-aligned. in any case, thanks everybody for any info on subject.

They'll just take the steering wheel off and re-align that, no need to mess with the tie-rods.

Originally posted by The HACK


They'll just take the steering wheel off and re-align that, no need to mess with the tie-rods.

Well-- they could do that-- but that is a bit of a hack

The tie rods should be adjusted equally--and they'll probably need to use the alignment machine to help w/ this-- although you could also do it by trial and error.

I guess it doesn't matter too much-- but BMW did go thorugh the trouble of putting a centering mark on the steering column and the steering wheel- so that it can be mounted in a certain position relative to the lateral position of the rack. I think it might be preferable to have the rack centered perfectly when the car is going straight ahead-- this help "straight-ahead" feel a little bit. I guess for a small margin of error you could fix this problem either way-- it just seems like a "kluge" to move the steering wheel when its the unequal tie rods that are causing the wheel to be off-center. Now, on some cars (like the Dodge Neon), you can only adjust 1 tie rod, so the only way to center the wheel is by moving the steering wheel-- but fortunatley, we don't drive neons. I know, its a splitting hairs and a bit anal-- but this car was designed and built in a very precise manner-- and it just seems to me that the dealer could atleast get everything even--its not that big a deal.

When I've had it done before on other cars, they've adjusted the tie rods.

Some shops went so far as to center the wheel, then put a "special"
lever wedged between the bottom of the wheel and the floor/seat
to hold it on-center while doing the alignment.

Mine just likes to pull slightly to the right still...