badboy

Hey fellows,

I have experienced this many times but I don't know if anyone else agrees with me.

When I am sitting down in the drivers seat, somehow I think the instruments don't line up perfectly inside the steering wheel. What I mean by that is, when I am in my normal seating position and I look inside the steering wheel at the instrument panel, some of the right most circle where the fuel and temperatur gauges are doesn't show. Its only after I move left a bit that I see all three circles align inside the steering wheel. I know this is a small issue, if even an issue. I may just be sitting to the right. Now that I know about it, it is bothering me alot.

leo221

true,

Ron A

My 87 Olds 98 was like this, and I have noticed it in other cars. Probably has something to do with the tight spaces in the engine compartment and also in the dash board. Just don't aim the front of the car where the wheel and gages line up.
Once you start exploiting all the power and handling you will forget about this minor problem.


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Road Rage

This appears to be a common problem with TL's. The alignment jig at the factory, or one of the assemblers, is messed up. My TL was off by about 5 degrees to the light, just as you describe. I hate that, as other than the seat, the steering wheel is your only other 100% of the time visual and physical link to the car. I brought mine in to the dealer, waited about an hour, and now it is perfect. They checked the alignment, which was fine. They could have adjusted the wheel the lazy way by turning the tie rods a bit, but instead did the right thing - they pulled the steering wheel. Good news is they did not hose up that wheel or any functionality. Make sure you visually inspect the wheel hub and the leather carefully before you lave the dealership - i have seen cases where they pried on the wheel inb thre wrong spot and scratched the silver finish; I have also seen where they damaged the outer rim, probably by fropping it and tearing the leather.

BuzzAldrin

I had the same problem. Fixed it by adjusting the tie rods -- lengthening one side by 1/3 turn and shortening the other side by the same amount in order to keep the toe alignment consistent.

If you try this yourself, be aware that a little adjustment goes a long way. If the wheel is only off about 5-10 degrees, 1/3 turn on each side ought to do it. Make sure you don't lengthen or shorten both sides or you will end up with an out of spec toe. If the wheel is pointed right when you're driving straight, you want to adjust the rods so that the car will steer more to the right (lengthen driver's side & shorten passenger's side), and vice-versa for a wheel pointing left.

Ron A

I think badboy is talking about the steering wheel not facing east/west when the car is facing north/south (I couldn't think of any other way to describe this), and the steering column not facing north/south when the car is also facing north/south.

What you folks are describing is the spokes of the steering wheel itself not being exactly horizontal when the wheels are facing straight ahead.

Did I get any of this right? My head is spinning from all this technical thinking.

Aegir

I don't know that I would characterize tie rod adjustment as the 'lazy way'. The adjustability of the wheel position on the steering shaft is dictated by the spline size and spacing. If it's only a couple degrees off, a tie rod adjustment may be needed to make it perfect. As far as damaging the wheel, I would hope that the mechanic would use a puller. Doing the job without one would almost certainly cause the type of damage you describe.

Road Rage

The damage I was referring to was a failed attempt to remove the front of wheel - the nimrod must have thought it just pops off - I believe it is actually secured by screws. Clearly once the wheel electronics and airbag are removed, the only way to remove the wheel from the splied shaft is by a puller.

cpurick

That stuff about pulling the wheel makes no sense. If the problem is a bad alignment jig at the plant, then wouldn't the correct solution be to realign?

How can you make 5-degree adjustments by pulling the wheel -- unless there are 72 splines?

I can't see what's "incorrect" about adjusting the tie rods. If that's not the way to do it, then why else do they have so much adjustment travel?

Road Rage

I do not recall anyone saying in this thread that it was a suspension alignment issue. I used the term in relation to the position of the wheel - its alignment. The wheel can be put on wrong even if the suspension alignment is right on the money.

As to the tie-rod method being incorrect, it is an effective way to do it - I said "lazy" because I have seen shops use that method to do the steering wheel adjustment but not do it properly, messing up the alignment. It was a fast fix, but then they sent off the owner who will be back in because the car is not tracking, tires not wearing right, etc. If done as Aegir said, it works just fine.

cpurick

Well, considering all the interdependent adjustments in the suspension, and their susceptibility to being misaligned or pranged by rough treatment, I find it hard to believe the most likely source of a problem would be a steering wheel which was simply installed wrong.

Even if I were going to pull the wheel, I'd do a recenter and align with the tie rods first, then move the wheel to the closest spline, and finish with the tie rods again. Steering wheel position just doesn't have the necessary granularity unless the splines are tiny.

BuzzAldrin

I've had my share of nimrods do "lazy" alignments by adjusting only one tie rod end when setting the toe in/out. That will screw up your steering wheel center point in a hurry.