Wheel Alignment

[guwarkjay888]

So if my steering wheel isnt straight.. when in fact im going straight.. thats wheel alignment? or more problems?

http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/6559/27788018wy1.th.png (http://img503.imageshack.us/my.php?image=27788018wy1.png)

It's pretty bad like the picture above

Thanks, Chris

[markoJEK1]

doesnt neccessarily mean that your wheel alignment is out (toe in / toe out), just means that your steering wheel isnt centred, ie: when the wheels are straight the steerin wheel isnt, like you said, only way to fix that is to get a wheel alignment again, and it should be straight but then again it is a person doing it, there always will be human error, might not be 100% centred but should be an improvement.

[guwarkjay888]

doesnt neccessarily mean that your wheel alignment is out (toe in / toe out), just means that your steering wheel isnt centred, ie: when the wheels are straight the steerin wheel isnt, like you said, only way to fix that is to get a wheel alignment again, and it should be straight but then again it is a person doing it, there always will be human error, might not be 100% centred but should be an improvement.

I edited the thread, so a wheel alignment should fix my problem?

The issue happened just then when it was wet, and the toyota echo has shit brakes and shit tyres so crashed into a curb.

Now the steering wheel is totally off, i am not looking for perfect straight 100% dead centre, just back to normal. So a wheel alignment should do it?

Thanks in advanced, Chris

[markoJEK1]

in that case, you probably have knocked your toe in / toe out out of spec to start with, if you're lucky, worst case is that you have bent an arm or component in the steering assembly, best bet is, go get wheel alightnment and hopefully all goes well

[Nepolian]

Can be many things mate, tyre worn unevenly, bent suspension or simply bad wheel alignment.

Go to a wheel alignment shop and they shoud be able to tell you either way.

Quick trick for me to gauge if it is the tyres is to swap them from side to side (unless they're directional). You'll find sometimes that uneven wear or stretched belts will cause this too.

Mate, if you've hit the gutter, my bet is that you've bent a steering rod or worse the control arm. Have a mechanic look at it and he/she should be able to point it out!

[guwarkjay888]

in that case, you probably have knocked your toe in / toe out out of spec to start with, if you're lucky, worst case is that you have bent an arm or component in the steering assembly, best bet is, go get wheel alightnment and hopefully all goes well


Can be many things mate, tyre worn unevenly, bent suspension or simply bad wheel alignment.

Go to a wheel alignment shop and they shoud be able to tell you either way.

Quick trick for me to gauge if it is the tyres is to swap them from side to side (unless they're directional). You'll find sometimes that uneven wear or stretched belts will cause this too.

Oh i so hope it's nothing more than a wheel alignment.

Wouldn't bent suspension or bent arms make a noise while driving? Like i was able to drive home from High Street exit of the Eastlink to the Middleborough Road exit of the Eastern Freeway (For the people not living in Victoria, it's just a freeway, and between exits it's quite a fair distance)

Like when im driving it seemed fine, just the fact that the steering wheel is totally out of wack.

[markoJEK1]

I have to disagree, un-even wear, or worn tyres will not cause the steering wheel to be off centre, it can cause the car pulling to a side or be biased to the camber of the road but never make the steering wheel off centre if thats what you're implying.

[guwarkjay888]

I have to disagree, un-even wear, or worn tyres will not cause the steering wheel to be off centre, it can cause the car pulling to a side or be biased to the camber of the road but never make the steering wheel off centre if thats what you're implying.

I can rule out tyre wear and this problem is directly related to the hitting of the curb, and not a gradual thing that has occured.

"Wouldn't bent suspension or bent arms make a noise while driving? Like i was able to drive home from High Street exit of the Eastlink to the Middleborough Road exit of the Eastern Freeway (For the people not living in Victoria, it's just a freeway, and between exits it's quite a fair distance)"

Thanks, Chris

[markoJEK1]

can only guess on what could have been affected, get the alignment done and go from there imo

[guwarkjay888]

can only guess on what could have been affected, get the alignment done and go from there imo

Alright, i'll do it tomorrow.

Thanks for your help

[JohnL]

"Wouldn't bent suspension or bent arms make a noise while driving? Thanks, Chris

Not on it's own. Only if the damage were severe enough for the wheel to rub on some part of the chassis / suspension, or if something had actually been knocked loose or broken (unlikely).