Centring the steering wheel

[Chino]

My steering wheel is off centre which is a bit annoying, am
I right in thinking I can sort this with adjustment on the steering box?

[purplepeter]

At it's simplest, the answer is to loosen the nut on the steering wheel,position the front wheels in the straight ahead position, then remove the steering wheel & re-position it.
But.. You need to ask yourself if You have the same number of turns on the steering wheel lock to lock, whether You can achieve full lock in both directions, & whether the steering centralises itself in a straight position... Hopefully the answer is Yes to all questions, in which case re positioning the wheel will fix it
If You answered No to anything then I'm afraid its a can of worms, but ask & we'll give You instructions!

[Chino]

Ah... Not as simple as if hoped... The reason I ask is that it was fine before it's mot, yet has come back not so and was hoping it would be something I could easily rectify. I'm tempted to call them tomorrow and ask if they can correct it...

[purplepeter]

If they adjusted the tracking, that'd cause the wheel to be off centre, but You'd worry a bit more if that's the case,'cos it means they did it with steering not centralised

[purplepeter]

Before You drive it, Pop underneath & check it's not Your steering coupling collapsing!

[Chino]

If anything they may have adjusted the top torsion stabiliser, not sure if this may have altered it?. I will check the coupler, hopefully it's ok as I put a genuine item on last year to replace a urethane item.

[purplepeter]

Adjusting the top arm wouldn't do it
I'd be inclined to say check everything over, then shrug your shoulders & reposition the wheel
There were a batch of duff couplers a couple of years ago, but You'll easily spot if it's coming apart

?? or is it possible that You knocked the steering off true when You did the coupling & just haven't noticed until Today??

[Chino]

It's a strange one, but pretty certain it was.bang on before today. I may well speak to the garage and ask what they did, see if anything comes to light. I imagine you're right though Peter, repositioning the wheel will most likely be the outcome

[purplepeter]

Do check the coupling before You drive it... a big beefy & unsympathetic mechanic could easily rip/twist the coupling
Let us know how You get on?

[Chino]

I've been thinking the same since you mentioned it actually... I also wondered if the rolling road may have had an effect when testing the brakes. I'll leave it on the drive until the weekend and get it up on the stands and have a good nosey, will keep you posted.

[JSR-69]

If the garage adjusted the tracking for you it's possible they did it the lazy way and adjusted only one track rod. Both should be adjusted together to keep the steering wheel centralised. You can correct this yourself by turning both track rods equally, lengthen one and shorten the other. Start by turning both half a turn and check, then incrementally until you get it right.

Judi R

[Chino]

Thanks, I will ask them if they did but I did not ask them to...all a bit odd.

Peter, I put this coupling on last year, is this the right type to use?

[purplepeter]

That looks Good, Will.. I think the duff ones were the unbranded gsf etc ones

[Chino]

I spoke with the garage, they performed no other work than the MOT, so I think our suspicions of gorilla-handling on the steering wheel could be right Peter. I'll get under it this weekend and checkl the coupler.

[Chino]

Been doing some reading around... I'm hoping when the wheels are in the 'centre' position I will be able to see that steering box is also centred. At this point I can just change the wheel position. If not, I'm guessing this means I'll probably need to get the alignment checked as it will affect things such as toe when turning and the signal cancelling etc?

[purplepeter]

You won't see it, but You'll feel it.. or put the wheels in a straight position, re-position steering wheel, torque nut, then road test
Its perfectly possible that everything was fine until You replaced the coupling & that in the process You lost track of where the original position of the coupling/box/column had been & You ended up with steering wheel slightly askew

[JSR-69]

The only way to find the central position for the steering box is to turn the steering wheel (not the road wheels) to one lock, then count the turns to the opposite lock, then turn back exactly half. If the steering wheel is not central, then reposition it; if it is central, then adjust the track rods. For most cars the limits are set by the box and that's the important one to set right.

Judi R

[Chino]

Many thanks for the help, I'll have a good tinker at the weekend

[mjrpoulton]

If you slackened off either of the two splined connector links which fit to the steering box shaft or column when you replaced the coupler and did not tighten these enough, it's possible that gorilla action on the steering with car stationary could cause the splines to jump until the through bolt stops further motion.

If you ascertain which way the steering is off centre, then you could wind the steering to the opposite lock and carefully see if you can get it to slip back the other way. It's unlikely you will get it to return to the same position, but either way you will need to tighten the bolts to the column or box input shaft and then align your steering wheel, either by moving it on the splines or after centralising the links by the coupler.

Mark

[Chino]

If you slackened off either of the two splined connector links which fit to the steering box shaft or column when you replaced the coupler and did not tighten these enough, it's possible that gorilla action on the steering with car stationary could cause the splines to jump until the through bolt stops further motion.

If you ascertain which way the steering is off centre, then you could wind the steering to the opposite lock and carefully see if you can get it to slip back the other way. It's unlikely you will get it to return to the same position, but either way you will need to tighten the bolts to the column or box input shaft and then align your steering wheel, either by moving it on the splines or after centralising the links by the coupler.

Mark

Thanks Mark, I had a quick play with this before I headed out for work this morning. Interestingly enough my old steering box used to slip quite regularly, I think it's splines were worn. I tried to turn the wheel this morning whilst stationary and can feel no 'slip', wheels centred result in the top of the steering wheel pointing to around half 10 (whereas straight would be be 12). The sttering lock also kicks in in this position, so after my checks Saturday I suspect I'll be doing as Peter suggests and moving the steering wheel. On that topic, does anybody know what size socket I will need for the steering wheel nut? My set currently goes up to 26mm and I have a 28mm I bought for doing the pulley wheel bolt.

[mjrpoulton]

Chino

You may not be able to get it to slip in the centre position only against the lock stop. If you replaced the old box which had worn splines did you replace the link as well?

Centring the wheel on the column will work fine, but if it was not there before something has moved, so unless you eliminate the cause it may happen again, so at the very least check the tightness of the link connector bolts.

It has happened to me twice before on different vehicles after work on the coupler so just going on experience!

[Chino]

I replaced the coupling approximately last summer, then early winter last year it had a new box, I was trying to eliminate excessive freeplay at the time. It was all good from then til now until whatever these guys have done on the MOT...note to self, take it somewhere I can wait with it next time. I'm going to get underneath and have a good look Saturday, I will check all the bolts over etc, I'm not going to be driving it before I've given it a good once over

[mjrpoulton]

Recollection is that it's 27mm on the steering wheel nut and 30mm on the fan pulley.

[Chino]

It could well be a 30mm I have actually... It did the job so I guess it must be. I'm skuppered on the 27mm, looks like this car once again expands my tool collection. Thanks for the help

[937carrera]

A couple of quick points for you Chino:

I don't understand why your MOT tester should have adjusted the tracking unless you specifically asked them to. They shouldn't as part of the MOT and generally speaking wouldn't want to unless it was chargeable.

Centering the steering wheel when adjusting tracking is also about adjusting each side so that the wheel remains in the correct place. For a few minutes of adjustment you won't notice at the wheel and getting the alignment correct by changing one side is fine, but if it was well out, then whoever is adjusting it needs to do both sides so that the steering wheel is central AND in the middle of it's range of movement. If the track rods are free on one side and the other rusty it's easy to work out what could happen

PS Unprompted i would have suggested that the steering wheel nut is 24mm - try and see before you start looking to expand your toolkit