Questions and Answers

Tyre Rotation And Wheel Alignment Q. Gday Vincent, When a Tyre rotation and wheel alignment is done should the steering wheel be centered straight as well, and how is this done? With my previous cars I have found that after a wheel alignment the steering wheel slopes either to the left or right a bit, how is this prevented? Kind Regards, Peter Victoria, Australia

A. If the person doing the alignment did it right, then yes, the steering wheel should be centered. That is not to say the alignment is wrong if the steering wheel is not centered, it just means the person doing the alignment was too lazy to do it properly. The alignment can be within specs with an off-centered steering wheel.

The steering wheel is centered with the tie rod end adjustment. The steering wheel is moved by turning one side in and the other side out in equal amounts until the steering wheel is centered. This way the toe spec is maintained and the steering wheel is centered.

Before the toe is set, there is a tool used to hold the steering wheel in the centered position while the toe adjustment is made. In this way the toe is set and steering wheel centered at the same time. It is no extra work, you just have to want to center the steering wheel when you do the wheel alignment.

To me, not centering the steering wheel during an alignment is very unprofessional.