I have a 1987 camaro and the steering wheel is not centered and its killing me. Can i just pop off the steering wheel and move it one spline over? It has no airbag.

Thanks
Ryan

 

How about you do it the right way and just go get an alignment!

 

adjust your toe !!

 

Change your tie rods and get an alignment. If you steering wheel is that far off thats bugging you than you might have bent tie rod.

 

Alignment first to determine if everything is ok under the car. If it all checks out, then the steering wheel can be repositioned.

 

Everything underneath was good. I just adjusted the tie rod sleeves equally to move the wheel over without messing up my toe.

 

When you start scrubbing your tread off, you'll wish you took it in for a proper alignment.

 

Please go get an alignment done right away. The front end may feel fine on dry pavement, but go drive on wet pavement and you will find out how messed up your front end really is. Go get new outer tie rods and get an alignment done. I had one done for $60 last summer. This not something you can just do without proper equipment.

 

I agree with the need for a more thorough alignment than simply "adjusting the tie rods equally, even though that's a good enough short-term DIY band-aid.


But I disagree quite strongly with the comment indicating that you can't DIY a much more complete alignment job. Actually, you can do a caster-camber-toe alignment right in your driveway (if it's flat enough) with less than $50 worth of measuring equipment and get camber within ±0.1° and toe to within ±1/32".

I've been doing all of my own alignments for about 30 years now, I haven't been making the tire companies rich, and no, I'm not an alignment shop tech in my day job. Once you get past figuring out how to get repeatable measurements, the rest is basic wrench work and a little math. If you're interested, I can send out a write-up.


Norm

 

I said you can't do it with out the proper equipment. I didn't mean to imply you could not DIY. Sorry for that.

 

I will gladly take that write up. I am going to be swapping out just about all of my front suspension/steering parts this winter. Could you include the equipment needed as well? Thank you.

 

Fair enough. But the level of what constitutes "proper equipment", or rather "equipment of sufficient accuracy" is a whole lot less expensive than what the $$$$$ shop alignment racks imply is necessary. True, a rack can measure things like setback, but most times this isn't dealt with.

Anyway, here's some pictures of the equipment that I have actually used. The angle finder is good to the digital resolution of the tool (usually 0.1°), and the really basic thing is good to about ±0.15° if you're using a scale graduated to 32nds of an inch to measure the offset from the vertical. The one with the dial indicator is a DIY-fabricated tool and has better resolution than either of the others . . . somewhere under ±0.05°. I doubt that I've got $125 tied up in all three combined, including the dial indicator.


Two strings, four jackstands, and a steel tape or two to get the strings set parallel to each other (for checking toe) rounds out the measuring equipment list.


Norm

 

It's a Word file with the pictures shown above, and written somewhat generically. But since it's mostly about measuring, the only real difference might be specifically what mechanisms you have available to make the adjustments with (shims, eccentric fasteners, caster-camber plates, slotted strut attachment holes, etc.).

PM me with an e-mail to send it out to. I'll need to edit it a little, as there is currently a link in it to the Hunter (the alignment equipment people) website that no longer works (they moved/removed an SAE paper that had a bunch of mathematical equations).


Norm

 

Exactly. This is the exact way you should do it.

There is no use having a straight wheel if the actual alignment is off.

 

Well seeing as how he asked how to move the steering wheel, could someone chime in on how to do it properly? When I purchased my car, some idiot kid installed one of those racing steering wheels and it bugs me because it is about 2 splines off. And yes it is the steering wheel. The car doesn't need an alignment because I had that done shortly after purchasing my car. Figured if it was sitting at my shop, I may as well start doing front end work and the alignment didn't do a damn to the wheel.

Any help?

 

The thing is, even with a third gen, a proper alignment needs a 4 corner alignment. Even if you don't have adjustable LCA, the front wheels still need to track the same as the back end. Doing a driveway alignment will get you in the ballpark but you still won't know how close it is in relation to the rear wheels unless you're also checking the wheelbase from side to side.

Very few vehicles now can get away with a simple front wheel only alignment. If the alignment shop doesn't use the sensors on the rear wheels, find a new shop.

 

I understand that. Trust me it was done as I would have on any other customer car. But I'm saying the kid who had the car prior to me installed the steering wheel incorrectly.

 

If i remember correctly the shaft has a "fat" spline on top. its like 2 splines that arnt seperated. Maybe I'm wrong??
If the kid put your wheel on wrong its really wrong.

 

You can also check the rear toes off the same parallel strings that you check the fronts with and get a fair enough idea about thrust angle (not to mention being able to find out that your stick axle might actually have a little "total toe" all by itself).


Norm

 

[quote=TTOP350;5115689]If i remember correctly the shaft has a "fat" spline on top. its like 2 splines that arnt seperated. Maybe I'm wrong??
If the kid put your wheel on wrong its really wrong.[/quot

You're right. I was just thinking about that. It should only be able to go on one way.

 

A couple of comments

- I haven't found an alignment shop w a clue for years... the last time I tried it was w my 4th gen, they swore they could do it and then loosened the alignment bolts and found that they didn't have the tool that I kept asking them about and they couldn't even put it back. They ended up calling the dealer down the street that couldn't do it either, I found the goodyear across the street had it but had no clue how how to use it... I ended up rolling the car over there and paying for the privilege to show them how to do their job. I don't know how to get it done right unless you DIY, babysit the morons or get really lucky
- crooked wheel- pop the horn button off, make sure that the splines are indexed right, make sure that the shaft/rag joint are OK and that the box is in the center position, then do the toe to that... if with the wheel, shaft and box centered the steering isn't centered figure out what's broken/bent, you only want it going down the road straight w the box in the center position

 

[QUOTE=bigj350;5115763]
I just put a new steering wheel on my 91 firebird and it did not have a guide spline. Could have put the wheel upside down if i wanted.