Steering wheel not straight after bump?

[YanMa YatTai]

I went off at Wakefield and ended up with a broken wheel. I figure I must have hit a rock or something as I heard a loud crack/thump. Wheel has now been replaced.

However now the steering wheel is not straight on the straight ahead. While it is easy to simply unbolt and readjust it, I am wondering why. I just had an alignment done before the incident at Wakefield and was told my alignment bolts needed replacement.

Is the cause of the steering wheel not being straight simply due to the alignment bolts slipping (NA6 bolts were known to do this AFAIK) and the alignment is now out or something more sinister? I looked at the tie rods and arms - seem straight to me.

It's only slightly off centre. Hoping it's only the bolts (ordered a new set) and alignment and not something more.

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[Black_Penguin]

An impact large enough to break a wheel would be more than enough to knock your alignment out.
I would say replace the alignment bolts as you plan to do and have the alignment redone.

[lizard]

Don't guess just take it here tell them the forum sent you

http://www.spinningwheeltyres.com.au/

[Dweezle]

Just do not trust Spinning Wheel with installing a Tyre on a rim!

I would recommend Heaseman Steering. Not much further than Spinning Wheel but a much more professional outfit.


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[project.r.racing]

could also bee bent steering or suspension components.

[hks_kansei]

Bent tie rod
Bent control arm/s
Shifted eccentric bolts
Bent subframe
Bent steering rack mounts


COuld be any of them, and I'm sure there's some more I missed.

I'd start with the eccentrics, then move to tie rods (and tie rod ends).
If it;s still out after them, then start looking at bigger items like control arms and subframe

[Dweezle]

just changing wheels can also affect your alignment.
Especially the steering wheel centering.
On the Clio on 2 occasions I have had to change a front wheel and both times the steering wheel went off center.
Adjusting the tie rods brings that back but you might as well get an alignment again at the same time.


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[hks_kansei]

just changing wheels can also affect your alignment.
Especially the steering wheel centering.
On the Clio on 2 occasions I have had to change a front wheel and both times the steering wheel went off center.
Adjusting the tie rods brings that back but you might as well get an alignment again at the same time.

What?

If the wheels are true, and round, it shouldn't make a bit of difference.

The only change that migth affect steering would be width and offset changing the scrub radius, but that will just alter how it feels and how much self centreing force it may have.
It won't change the steering wheel position.



If you need to adjust the toe (to keep the steering on centre) each time the wheels are changed there's a serious issue somewhere.

You may need to adjust the alignment to make it feel ok (ie: different offsets/widths may make it more likely to tramline etc, so a bit more toe may help stabilise it) but the steering centre point shouldn't change unless the hubs/tierods/rack/control arms etc are moving as you put on the wheels... and if they are moving around, something needs fixing.

[Dweezle]

I felt the same way until a alignment place informed me that the most common cause of cars coming in is due to a wheel being changed. Moving the rear to the front etc.
I put it down to different wear rates increasing/reducing diameter.
Heaseman steering showed me this on a falcon.
Steering wheel centered, changed the wheel to the spare and wheel was then off to the left.
The vehicle still drove straight, just the steering wheel was no longer centered.
Alignment was correct, all that was needed was to evenly adjust both tie rods to give a new centre to the steering wheel.


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[lizard]

Clio "nothing surprises me"

[hks_kansei]

I felt the same way until a alignment place informed me that the most common cause of cars coming in is due to a wheel being changed. Moving the rear to the front etc.
I put it down to different wear rates increasing/reducing diameter.

Ahh, that I can understand.

A semantics thing, the wheels aren't changing the alignment at all, just that due to the abnormal wear the alignment is used to counteract the odd feeling the worn tyres caused.



I thought you meant that the wheel itself was causing the tie rods to move or something weird like that (I was shocked since you've been around long enough to know a thing or two, you're not some 17 year old who's never held a spanner)

[NitroDann]

What dweezle said, You can go from gorgeous to all over the shop by swapping tyres wheels or rotating tyres.

Dann

[Dweezle]

Clio "nothing surprises me"

D*CKHEAD haha


Thanks Dann.
I was hoping I had not gone crazy.

For the op, this is a much better issue rather than something being bent!

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[project.r.racing]

only if the tyres are worn differently to eachother. if you have flat evenly worn tread, then you should not notice much difference.

[NitroDann]

On a commodore no, on an MX5 with poly bushes and an aggressive alignment you would be surprised.

Dann