2008 C4 cab. Steering wheel is slightly off center to the left. Car does not pull in either direction. Dealer said it was an optical illusion due to stalk position. Says alignment is fine. Have tried to get used to it, but it is driving me nuts. How difficult is it for dealer to center the steering wheel?

 

It isn't that difficult to pull the wheel. Unhook battery. Find hole on bottom of steering wheel and pop the airbag out by poking with a small screwdriver. T55 (IIRC) torx will remove the big nut. Pull wheel and move it one tooth at a time. Tighten and reconnect battery. Done.

 

Go to a private Porsche shop.

 

Lig is correct on the process, however I tried this fix myself once and I'd suggest that its probably not a good solution. When I first bought the car, I had the dealer align it and had the same problem as you. The wheel was maybe 1/8th to 1/4 of an inch off center and dealer swore the alignment was on. I took the wheel off and adjusted it by one tooth....this one little tooth moved it almost a half inch off center in the opposite direction. One of those teeth provides quit a bit more movement then you might think.

Anyway, took it to an independent mechanic with a top of the line Hunter alignment machine for evaluation and low and behold the alignment from the dealer was off. He re-aligned and the wheel was then dead center. These machines, even at dealers need to be frequently re-calibrated.....my guess is that your dealer's is off. I'd bring it somewhere else that has a competent mechanic and a good recently calibrated machine.

 

mines a little left but i tell myself thats because my wallet in my back pocket.. so that it doesnt bother me that much.. tracks straight..

 

I always assume the road's crowned just a bit. It's a matter of faith.

 

My .2 is a bit to the right, but I get a good view of the oil temp, and a bit less of the oil pressure.

 

Riley has got so much $$$ he's got George Costanza wallet!

One tooth was perfect for my adjustment. I used a magic marker to make sure I wasn't moving the wheel too much.

 

when did you have it last aligned? it should go back there if you had it done recently. otherwise take it to a high end shop and get the appropriate alignment. most of the 997s are not appropriately aligned out of the factory - but i've not experienced that the steering wheel was off.

in my case, my car drove fine but the alignment was way off, new off the lot.

 

^
'tis a warranty issue, just make them fix it!

 

LOLOL... just .. one... more... receipt... BOOM! lol

 

I'm a bit of a nut about steering wheel being centered. Centering the wheel should be part of the alignment process.

When I had my 08 Cayman S aligned -- shortly after I bought it -- tech had me test drive the car after he aligned the car -- it was off and was covered under new car warranty -- to confirm the wheel was centered to my satisfaction.

You have to be careful though cause any crown to the road can affect the wheel's position. I know this all too well though and found a road nearby with no crown and when I got back gave tech thumbs up.

Then when I bought my 03 Turbo had the alignment checked and requested the wheel be centered. Service advisor noted this on work order and even allowed me to talk with tech who did the alignment. I watched him bring the alignment in and check the wheel for center.

After an unfortunate accident -- hit a deer -- had to have the alignment done again -- shop removed some front end suspension/steering components to check tub for any damage -- it was ok -- but alignment out a bit. Again I specified the wheel be centered and it was along with of course the wheels getting a proper alignment. Tire wear very very even so I know alignment spot on.

There is no optical illusion. This is comparable to saying "they all do it". BS. Alignment not right. The work is warrantied and you have the right to take the car back and insist the alignment and the wheel be properly centered.

Sincerely,

Macster.

 

If it's driving you nuts--get them to fix it. I know I would. These cars are essentially so perfect that they have few warranty issues, so they should be able to get that thing sorted out. I don't buy the optical illusion tale. That's easy to measure with a protractor and a level. Make things objective, instead of subjective, and they'll have to deal with it. Make yourself available to the service manager when they are sorting it out so that you're happy before they button it up completely--if your schedule permits.

 

If the car does not feel like it's pulling to one side and your tires look OK, then it's not the alignment.
The steering wheel goes over a spindle on the steering column with about 50 (??) splines on it. It probably just needs to be moved over '1 spline' to fin the problem. When I swapped steering wheels in the Boxster, I created this problem and it drove me nuts until I moved the wheel over one click.

 

I have always been told that it is best to center the steering wheel position by adjusting the tie rods, not by pulling and repositioning the steering wheel.