Alignment Done - Wheel Not Centered

[staax]

Just had an alignment done at Mazda as my car was pulling to the left a noticeable amount.

When I got the car back the tech said he adjusted the toe from -0.05 to 0.10 (according to my alignment sheet)... well the car does go pretty straight, its a hell of a whole lot better than before but my steerin wheel is off by about 4-5º. Everything was originally in spec but this is what he did to correct the pulling left problem.

I did have my steering wheel off in the summer to install cruise control but I made sure to line it up pretty damn well, and well now its off center and its bugging me while I drive lol.

Should I just recenter the steering wheel myself, or should I take it back and have them do it? I've read that they should normally center the wheel before doing an alignment but I don't know if thats still necessary with their fancy machines.

[XTOTHEL]

Call, if they can do it for free, why DIY?

[staax]

Well I would just have to set up another appt and take time off work unless I can get it done on a Saturday.

I'm just thinking if thats all they'll do, might as well do it myself... 2 bolts.

ONly wondering if they have some method that gets it perfect... while I would be trial and error with the splines.

[Squisher]

Yah that's a miss by the tech on not getting your steering wheel centered. I'd say take it back but you might end up just getting the runaround. The old "that's as close as it gets". Or "we couldn't center it because x overpriced steering component is worn out of spec". Service shop bs.

[staax]

Well the drive to work this morning kind of made up my mind for me.

Gonna call and take it back... Tech said it could've been my winters and said if I throw my all seasons back on I probably wouldn't have the issue.

So I may just throw the other rims on and get them to center the steering wheel and realign it... Cost me $115 I want it done right.


I also asked if he checked all the suspension and he said yes but there was no mention of it on the sheet.

[jwoods_24]

Take it back in. Any reputable shop will fix it without question. I've had it done free of charge, without an alignment.. Best of luck!

[thirdgen3]

Take it back in. Any reputable shop will fix it without question. I've had it done free of charge, without an alignment.. Best of luck!

+1

[Reddie1337]

The wheel has to be centred by the rack. The steering wheel is on a shaft with a hex at the end, it's not just a spline or 2 off, they will have to adjust the rack again.

[staax]

Great thank you all.

I have an appt with my dealer again tomorrow afternoon and when I spoke to the service advisor his response was basically "yeah... Wheel should be straight...".

And another funny thing is that I noticed my drive side front tire doesn't appear to have any weights on it. In surprised they didn't notice that... Will bring that up as well and ask them to balance it for free if need be.

And yes Reddie you're right... The wheel does sit on a hex nut... Not sure why I was thinking it was a spline though.

[Johns 08 3 GT]

And another funny thing is that I noticed my drive side front tire doesn't appear to have any weights on it. In surprised they didn't notice that... Will bring that up as well and ask them to balance it for free if need be.

It is possible that it did not need weight on the outside when it was ballanced. Might have some on the inside of the wheel.

[staax]

It is possible that it did not need weight on the outside when it was ballanced. Might have some on the inside of the wheel.

Yeah that's true but from my experience having a perfectly balanced wheel without weights isn't all that common, but possible.

Also they are cheap steelies so I'd be surprised if it was weighted on the inside... All other tires have weights on the outer lips.

[crxgsr]

Yeah that's true but from my experience having a perfectly balanced wheel without weights isn't all that common, but possible.


Having a wheel which requires no weights is actually quite common. They'll probably charge you for the balance if they didn't do the balance originally.

Also, having the steering wheel centered is actually part of the alignment. So they should fix that for free.

[studum]

Yeah that's true but from my experience having a perfectly balanced wheel without weights isn't all that common, but possible.

Also they are cheap steelies so I'd be surprised if it was weighted on the inside... All other tires have weights on the outer lips.

Most wheels are balanced on the inside and the outside of the rim. Johns was saying there may not be any on the outside face of the rim but there probably is on the inside face. If it's running smooth don't worry about it. If she's giving you vibrations have them take a look at it again.

[staax]

Interesting. Thanks - scheduled appt for Tomo.

Cheers