Steering wheel question

[doubleurx]

I just had my steering rack bushings replaced. Prior to that my car was slightly out of alignment, so the steering wheel was off just slightly. I found I could force it into straight, but now the bushings are so much stiffer that the wheel is slightly off.

I know this is a stupid question, but does the air bag panel just pop off with a little force? and can the wheel be adjusted by about 5-10 degrees easily? I tried calling Nate, but he is out of town this weekend at a rally.

duh,

Nick

[sperry]

Originally Posted by doubleurx

I just had my steering rack bushings replaced. Prior to that my car was slightly out of alignment, so the steering wheel was off just slightly. I found I could force it into straight, but now the bushings are so much stiffer that the wheel is slightly off.

I know this is a stupid question, but does the air bag panel just pop off with a little force? and can the wheel be adjusted by about 5-10 degrees easily? I tried calling Nate, but he is out of town this weekend at a rally.

duh,

Nick

You need to adjust the tire rods, not the wheel.

[doubleurx]

Great! Is that fairly easy?

[sperry]

Originally Posted by doubleurx

Great! Is that fairly easy?

Well.... if you've ever adjusted your toe yourself, you already know how to do it.

I'm not sure I can explain it well in print, but I'll try:

The steering rack connects to the wheels via adjustable tie rod ends. These ends are basically screws that go into a sleeve with a lock nut on them. By breaking the lock nut loose, you can then turn the tierod into or out of the sleeve thereby adjusting the length of the steering linkage. Assuming the wheel is straight to begin with, you would adjust these tierods evenly on both sides to adjust the toe-in/out of the front suspension. But if you adjust them unevenly, then the steering wheel will not center correctly because the wheels self center to the direction of travel.

Because the steering linkage is in front of the axle, here's how adjusting the tierods affects the steering:

Lengthening both tire rods = toe out
Shortening both tire rods = toe in
Driver's side too long = wheel centers to the right, toe is out
Passenger's side too long = wheel centers to the left, toe is in
Driver's side too short = wheel centers to the left, toe is in
Passenger's side too short = wheel centers to the right, toe is in
Driver's too short and passengers too long = wheel centers to the left, toe is correct
Driver's too long and passenger's too short = wheel centers to the right, toe is correct

The bottom line is: you need to adjust the tierods to straighten the wheel (which without a professional setup is a trial and error job) then you'll need to re-align the toe on the car. So you'll need a toe gauge. I made my own out of aluminum. Dean made his out of some aluminum plates and two tape measures.

[doubleurx]

Originally Posted by sperry

Well.... if you've ever adjusted your toe yourself, you already know how to do it.

I'm not sure I can explain it well in print, but I'll try:

The steering rack connects to the wheels via adjustable tie rod ends. These ends are basically screws that go into a sleeve with a lock nut on them. By breaking the lock nut loose, you can then turn the tierod into or out of the sleeve thereby adjusting the length of the steering linkage. Assuming the wheel is straight to begin with, you would adjust these tierods evenly on both sides to adjust the toe-in/out of the front suspension. But if you adjust them unevenly, then the steering wheel will not center correctly because the wheels self center to the direction of travel.


Because the steering linkage is in front of the axle, here's how adjusting the tierods affects the steering:

Lengthening both tire rods = toe out
Shortening both tire rods = toe in
Driver's side too long = wheel centers to the right, toe is out
Passenger's side too long = wheel centers to the left, toe is in
Driver's side too short = wheel centers to the left, toe is in
Passenger's side too short = wheel centers to the right, toe is in
Driver's too short and passengers too long = wheel centers to the left, toe is correct
Driver's too long and passenger's too short = wheel centers to the right, toe is correct

The bottom line is: you need to adjust the tierods to straighten the wheel (which without a professional setup is a trial and error job) then you'll need to re-align the toe on the car. So you'll need a toe gauge. I made my own out of aluminum. Dean made his out of some aluminum plates and two tape measures.

Soo, No is the answer. I'll have a look under to see if I want to tackle this. The actual adjustment seems simple, getting it right without screwing the entire alignment before Sunday may be a little more difficult.