Weasel Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 My steering wheel is listing about 2-3 degrees to the left and I would like to adjust the tie rods to center it. Alignment is good. Anyone know what direction to turn the left and right rods to center the steering wheel? I prefer to do the work myself and not put up with the typical dealer response, "that's normal". Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deer Killer Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 left - in right - out How much? Probably a fraction of a turn with our steering ratio.. Perhaps someones knows this in more detail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rc0032 Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 I recently had an alignment and they corrected this problem . He told me to “not do this at home” But he also said make sure you adjust the tie rods equally. One turn for the left one turn for the right, apposing direction. I don’t know the directions but it did take him 2 attempts to get it perfect! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apexjapan Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 It is normal, though. Seriously - I've tested a *lot* of Subaru's over the past 4-5 years, and they all had that "feature". Never got a clear answer on why, either. Also another feature, at least on the older cars - the left side front brake pads/rotors wear out faster than the right. This is passenger side in Japan, drivers side in America. Asked a tuner about it at the time, and he said he's noticed that for the last 8 years or so. Cheers, Paul Hansen http://www.avoturboworld.com http://www.apexjapan.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blaze Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 I just took my LGT in to replace a tire that was damaged. I told them that I noticed my steering wheel was a few degrees off to the right. The service guy said he didn't know why, but all the Subaru's come that way. He also said that I should wait until I need to get a re-alignment and that SOA will basically give you one freebie during the OEM warranty period. He said this wasn't documented, but they will do it. So I figured I'd wait until I need a realignment...and then get it fixed. Kinda silly that they'd all come like this though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim1969 Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 I got mine centered at my first oil change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rommel Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 I just took my LGT in to replace a tire that was damaged. I told them that I noticed my steering wheel was a few degrees off to the right. The service guy said he didn't know why, but all the Subaru's come that way. He also said that I should wait until I need to get a re-alignment and that SOA will basically give you one freebie during the OEM warranty period. He said this wasn't documented, but they will do it. So I figured I'd wait until I need a realignment...and then get it fixed. Kinda silly that they'd all come like this though. free alignment is before 10k miles, I think, check with your dealer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blaze Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 free alignment is before 10k miles, I think, check with your dealer I did, they're the ones that told me it's good until the OEM warranty expires. I wouldn't be surprised if the dealer was wrong though....they didn't even know about my road hazard coverage with the Added Security Gold Plus extended warranty....I had to bring in my warranty booklet and point out the section that described the coverage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rommel Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 I did, they're the ones that told me it's good until the OEM warranty expires. I wouldn't be surprised if the dealer was wrong though....they didn't even know about my road hazard coverage with the Added Security Gold Plus extended warranty....I had to bring in my warranty booklet and point out the section that described the coverage. I took my WRX to a dealer with 15k miles and they told me that free alignment is offered if your car is less than 10K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 the alignments arent that hard to do yourself if you are in a bind.. but it's good to have some simple home-made tools to align it with (PM me if you need details of how to make your own alignment tools or where to buy some yourself). The car will have alignment changes during driving, so in retrospect, it doesnt have to be EXACT down to +/- 1% within OEM specs. Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blaze Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 I took my WRX to a dealer with 15k miles and they told me that free alignment is offered if your car is less than 10K I will keep this in mind when I go in for my next oil change...and will be sure to get it done before 10k miles. Thanks for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weasel Posted February 14, 2005 Author Share Posted February 14, 2005 Well I got the steering wheel centered over the weekend; it was tilted 1-2 degrees to the left. The tie rods are right hand threads and so it was simply a matter of turning in the passenger side 1/4 turn and driver's side 1/4 out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blaze Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 Anyone have a walkthru for this w/ pics? I've never dealt with the tie rods before...so I wouldn't know them from my ass. If the fix is as easy as Weasel makes it sound, I would like to do it myself instead of relying on my dealer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 you'll see the tie rods which are coming out of the steering rack which is connected to the hub/knuckle. The locking nut is either a 17mm or a 19mm while the tie rod has notches for a 13mm or similar size for turning the rod for adjustment. I usually mark off the locking nut with a permenant marker to know how many turns I have made on the rod. Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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