Steering Wheel Alignment

[JimmyTwoTimes]

So I took my car in to a tire shop on Saturday to have my winter tires taken off and summers put on. They talked me into doing an alignment while I was there (I normally do an alignment in the spring since it can get thrown off by all the snownuts I do in the winter). Except they did a crappy job with it, and now the wheel is about two-three degrees off center when I'm going straight on the highway.

Will it harm the car to drive it like this? I'll have the alignment fixed when I take it in for its first oil change in about 500 miles at the dealer, but I'm concerned about excessive wear on parts in the meantime.

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[opensesame]

So I took my car in to a tire shop on Saturday to have my winter tires taken off and summers put on. They talked me into doing an alignment while I was there (I normally do an alignment in the spring since it can get thrown off by all the snownuts I do in the winter). Except they did a crappy job with it, and now the wheel is about two-three degrees off center when I'm going straight on the highway.

Will it harm the car to drive it like this? I'll have the alignment fixed when I take it in for its first oil change in about 500 miles at the dealer, but I'm concerned about excessive wear on parts in the meantime.

If this tire shop did a crappy job aligning your tires, I would take it back and demand they do it again free of charge. It wont really harm your car to drive but it will do a significant uneven wear and tear and shorten the life on the tires. Also it can affect your safety. Stopping distances are increased, and car is more likely to skid when turning. Get it fixed soon, or it will be JimmyNoTimes.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

If this tire shop did a crappy job aligning your tires, I would take it back and demand they do it again free of charge. It wont really harm your car to drive but it will do a significant uneven wear and tear and shorten the life on the tires. Also it can affect your safety. Stopping distances are increased, and car is more likely to skid when turning. Get it fixed soon, or it will be JimmyNoTimes.

The shop is about 60 miles away from me (by a friend of a friend's place which is the only place I could borrow a few square feet of concrete to store my tires on), and I'm not driving all that way just to get it realligned by them. I'll eat the $70 or whatever they charged me for it and have it done properly by a Ford dealer.

 

[H1 GT]

Odds are the tires aren't misaligned at all, just the steering wheel was cocked when they did it. Lifting a truck does the same thing, usually 15-30 degrees though. The H1's steering wheel has been kicked over about 15 degrees for the last 3 years, the whole time I've owned it...not really worth messing with. Although I will fix it when I do the power steering pump this year.

Unless you have a variable gear ratio steering rack (don't think our mustang does!) it won't do anything, barely affect performance - as in the turning radius may have a couple feet difference between full left lock and full right lock...if it doesn't hit a stop at the wheels first. I don't know much about the Mustangs steering system, but no, odds are nothing will be harmed if you wait for the dealer.

 

[opensesame]

The shop is about 60 miles away from me (by a friend of a friend's place which is the only place I could borrow a few square feet of concrete to store my tires on), and I'm not driving all that way just to get it realligned by them. I'll eat the $70 or whatever they charged me for it and have it done properly by a Ford dealer.

As soon as you drove it away from the shop didn't you notice the mis-alignment? You should have gone back right away.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

As soon as you drove it away from the shop didn't you notice the mis-alignment? You should have gone back right away.

On regular surface streets it wasn't noticeable because I'm changing lanes and turning constantly anyway, and my speed never gets above 30 mph. I didn't notice it until I got on a highway the next day at speed and hit a lengthy straightaway at least 1/4 mile long with no turns (which are pretty rare where I drive) and noticed that I could see the top 2-3 mm of the steering column on the right hand side behind the steering wheel hub, but not on the left.

 

[888mustang]

I am a Auto Tech and have been doing alignments for 35 years. The steering wheel can be off center and the toe could be perfect with no tire wear. Not saying it is perfect the only way to tell is to put it on a alignment rack.If it is off enough it may set a code in the body control module for the stability control.

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