Steering is wonk.

Flatulentoldgoat

All of a sudden, on a long run I realized my steering was massively WONK. Supremely so, I've no idea how this suddenly came on. My wheel is at a 45 degree angle pretty much to stay straight on the road. So I duly took it to get the alignment / tracking done (only had this done last year) and they found it was way off.

They've corrected it, however I still find if I straighten the wheel, I'm veering off to the left though not as bad thankfully. Most annoying, any thoughts?

molerat

You  probably whacked a kerb or dove through a pot hole and knocked something out.  Sounds like they didn't centre the steering wheel when the fixed the tracking - does the car drive in a straight line hands off ?

Flatulentoldgoat

molerat said:

You  probably whacked a kerb or dove through a pot hole and knocked something out.  Sounds like they didn't centre the steering wheel when the fixed the tracking - does the car drive in a straight line hands off ?

This is what I don't get, it gets handled like a granny would on a sunday run to church with the grand kids in the back. Yes there's some road humps but I take those with care (I can drive through them not over them if that makes sense) I did however 3 months ago get the suspension arm / track rod replaced, but it was my rear that was most out. Baffled.

Ectophile

I rather suspect that they adjusted the whole steering geometry when they did the suspension, but didn't check that the steering wheel was straight.

It is possible to unbolt the steering wheel, straighten it up and bolt it back on again.  With all steering wheels these days having airbags and lots of controls on them, that's something I would leave to a trusted garage.

[Deleted User]

I find that many places seem to have trouble getting the steering/alignment bang on, it's all about finding someone who knows their sh*t who can do it correctly.

I bought my current car last year and it was way out so I took it to a local garage and paid £24 for it to be corrected. While the steering wheel was no longer at a 90 degree angle, it still didn't drive 100% straight. Fast forward to last month when I had some new tyres fitted at a different garage, they offered to do the alignment and like a fool I agreed and paid, yet it's no different to what it was like before. 

angrycrow

You don't say what car this is which might help with suggestions. 

Most cars have a joint with a pinch bolt where the steering column passes through the bulkhead. Occasionally these can come undone allowing the column to slip on the joint. Might be worth getting this checked by a garage.

Other possibility is a stuck brake calliper causing the car to pull to one side requiring you to adjust the steering to correct. 

AdrianC

You had full four-wheel alignment done, and they found the rear was way out? That would certainly affect the "crab", meaning that you'd have to steer to one side to go straight.

Do you have a printout of the alignment before/after sheet?

If the rear has gone out of alignment SO suddenly, I'd be looking very carefully at the rear suspension components for signs of something failing - cracking or corroded. How old is the car? You'd like to think the people who did the alignment would have checked, but...