Metal Guru

What shop is going to align a car that way?
Setting up the toe on a car that's only being adjusted shouldn't require anything more than straightening the steering wheel if the tech guesses wrong and picks the wrong tie rod to adjust. If both tie rods are having ball joints replaced then it's a little more involved but still, I don't see how your method could possibly work. We're talking 1/16 on an inch per side. How is that going to be done with this method?
I had both my tie rods apart last fall. Got my toe set while making the tie rods as equal in length as possible and finished by moved my steering wheel by one spline. The steering wheel is now perfect. Didn't realize that I was doing it wrong

Flachbau

I'm not saying anyone is doing anything wrong ... but you did get lucky that your steering wheel was straight by moving it one spline ... usually it doesn't work out that way. And you need to ask yourself why you needed to do that? Doesn't that imply that something else is not set up right?

I am simply sharing what I do to get it right every time - without moving the steering wheel on the hub from original factory placement. And both my local Porsche dealer and independent shop will do it that way .. they get the alignment set, I sit in the car they then recheck and tighten.

BTW technically corner balancing should be done with half a tank of gas and the DRIVER SITTING IN THE CAR ... but whatever works for you is fine with me ...

Metal Guru

I'm not clear on how this suddenly became a thread on corner balancing but your knowledge in this matter has been duly noted....

Boeing 717

Well i took the steering wheel off GURU and moved it one notch to the left but it was way off those teeth are too big im afraid. But i do think i know why i have to hold the steering wheel to the right when im driving. My left rear tire is older and has probably a few thousand miles on it ( i replaced it a couple of years ago when i had a flat). And the other 3 are new. Im thinking it has a little bit smaller circumference and its causing the car to wanna turn left. Im gonna get a new left rear and see if that does it.

Metal Guru

Depending on the camber in the road, it won't allow you to hold the wheel perfectly straight. Is that what we're talking about here?

Boeing 717

Well, basically if i center the steering wheel while driving (on gas or coasting in neutral) the car turns left, when driving straight the wheel is cocked to the right about 2 or 3 degrees. Camber of the road doesnt seem to be the culprit.

Metal Guru

The splines on the steering shaft are not coarse. On the contrary, they are fine (pitch of less than 1 mm).
It takes 2-3 tries to get the wheel in the right spot (ask me how I know). Problem is that it's easy to move the steering wheel more than one spline and think that you didn't move it all that far.
Keep trying, you'll get it.

jeff91C2T

Hey Jerry,

Tough call man...hard to diagnose without having hands on the car. I've chased this stuff before in the past only to resort to doing it myself. The next best thing is to watch the shop monkeys do the work...as they can and often do cut corners. The wheel should be set straight before the alignment begins. In your case this would mean having to work both tie rods for alignment (it's easier to set one wheel straight and only have to adjust the other). I tried reseting the steering wheel method however with little luck. I wanted "perfect" and couldn't get there due to the limitations in clocking because of the splines.

I know you're a do-it-yourself type....you might consider taking this job on yourself! Here we are "building the box" to align mine. End result was the best alignment I ever had...(but we also went quite a bit more agressive on setup :-)

ghhally

Had my alignment done recently.
Before I went in and while exchanging the steering rack last year, I made sure that the steering wheel was straight when the rack was in middle / center position. The later can easily be detected / checked by the centering / locking bolt on the rack itself. During aligment you have to make sure the trust is close to 0 and toe-in in front is equally adjsuted on both front wheels when rack is centered. Result = perfect straight steering wheel!

md11plt

Hey Jerry,

I took my car there a few days ago and asked about a new clutch. I mentioned that I had the accumulator replaced fairly recently. Thomas, the tech, asked me if I wanted clutch or brake work. I told him clutch. He said there was no accumulator on the clutch. I left.

Bottom line, I don’t think these guys are as Porsche qualified as they’d like you to think.

Thomas

Boeing 717

Well guys it was the tire. I put the new tire on the left rear today and now the steering wheel is straight when i drive. I wouldnt have thought that a tire with a few thousand miles on it would make that big of a deal but it did.