Stavesacre21

So I recently swapped my 2010 steering wheel out for the 2012 steering wheel. The swap went very smooth and I had absolutely no problems and thought I was home free.

Today I take the car out for a spin and noticed that the steering wheel is off to the left at least 6 to 8 degrees...extremely noticeable. My previous wheel was 100% spot on perfect. The wheel alignment itself has no issues, as the car tracks dead center. The steering wheel is just turned off to the side now.

So I head home and take the wheel off and find that the wheel itself is indeed aligned perfectly to the centering marks on the steering bolt. The steering bolt itself is no longer centered and is turned 6-8 degrees counter-clockwise when driving straight. How is this possible??

The only thing I could even think of that might have affected this was how I initially tightened down the steering wheel nut. To do so (by myself) I turned the wheel all the way to the right-most wheel-stop and tightened the center nut down to 27ft-lbs purely on the wheel-stops resistance. Could this have thrown it off center that much?

I'm really not wanting to have to take the car into the dealership to get this fixed, so I was wondering if anyone has any ideas of the cause or remedies for it.

Appreciate any replies in advance

FortMorganAl

Oh for the good ol' days when this was a simple issue. In the olden days you would just do an alignment and adjust the links. Now you have a steering wheel position sensor that tells the car what you want to do and then the nannies try to figure out if the car is doing what you want and applies braking to individual wheels to get it done faster with more control and...

You need to figure out what you did and undo it. I'm thinking that it is just the wheel that is off center on the shaft but if you did somehow manage to move the shaft with respect to the position sensor and the rest of the linkage...

Stavesacre21

From what I have found so far, the fix is quite easy if you are even mildly mechanically skilled. Just requires keeping track of EXACTLY how many turns you make with the tie rods.

Found an impressive DIY HERE that even includes pictures.

How this actually happened to begin with, no idea. By process of elimination, it had to of been when I torqued the steering wheel nut down with the steering turned to the end of the wheel stops.

BEZ06

I saw your post earlier this morning and was considering posting a link to my DIY method.

Like FortMorganAl, I was wondering "...but if you did somehow manage to move the shaft with respect to the position sensor and the rest of the linkage...", i.e., hoonose??

However, I think that the SWPS (Steering Wheel Position Sensor) calibrates itself, so I think you'll be good just adjusting the toe links to straighten the steering wheel.

Glad you found my DIY and hope it works out for you. Good luck, and let us know how things work out!!

Bob

Stavesacre21

Yeah its an absolute mystery to me too. Most people probably wouldnt be dumb enough to torque down a nut against the wheel stops though, so I'd imagine I'm breaking the mold on stupidity. I did stay up for hours trying to imagine what could be the cause of this, and I simply haven't the slightest.

Got the car up on ramps as we speak. Will report back how it goes. Thanks for the DIY!

Stavesacre21

All finished. A huge thanks to BEZ for his extremely helpful DIY. Honestly wouldnt have even attempted this without pictures and a complete walk-through. Changing you're oil is more time consuming than even this

For me, it took 4 full flutes (2/3 turn) to bring the wheel back to center. I initially tried 3 since my picture looked very similar to BEZ's, but it needed just a smidge more, which is even quicker the 2nd time around. Now the wheel seems spot on...or at least the same as it was from factory before I changed steering wheels. I still havent even the SLIGHTEST of clue as to why and/or how the steering wheel became misaligned...and so badly.

Just for a little clarification and simplicity, I will add this to BEZ's thread: If your steering wheel is angled to the left when you are driving straight, the proper adjustment to BOTH tie rods will be to rotate the wrench TOWARDS you IF you are looking at them from the front of the car, and the wrench is perpendicular to the floor.

Inversely, if the steering wheel is angled to the right when driving straight, you will want to rotate the wrench AWAY from you on both tie rods. As mentioned, keep very precise markings as to where the flutes are before you move them, and ALWAYS turn the exact same number of flutes on both sides, or you will end up with toe issues.

If anyone has any questions or would like to try it yourself, just ask. I'm sure BEZ wouldnt mind helping out either.

FortMorganAl

Great write-up for the "alignment" method of adjusting the steering wheel which is all that used to be required in the olden days. I did research the steering wheel sensor before posting yesterday and it is NOT self calibrating as far as I can tell. When replacing it the factory position needs to be marked just like the steering wheel. I also haven't figured out how it could be self calibrating. There are a lot of things that are but they all involve either moving to a limit or "normal" operation. The steering wheel position has no "normal" position nor any feedback nor is a turn to a limit ever mentioned in the repair procedure. And the installation procedure is very clear that if it is not reinstalled exactly the way it should be you have to buy a new one. There is no manual calibration except getting a new one aligned exactly the same as the factory had it and the procedure to do that is 5 pages long.

On the bright side, 6 degrees and your picture, Bob, aren't very far off of straight ahead compared to what the nannies are going to be looking for during turns. A crown in the road can produce that much offset during normal driving. And if there is enough adjustment in the linkage to fix the issue, then the factory expected the linkage to possibly need to be turned that far without needing to readjust the steering position sensor. I just wish I could find the schematic to see the sensor output. I have not even been able to determine if it is a voltage or a servo motor producing pulses. The former would mean you are probably 6 degrees off while the later would make the point moot (you're right, self calibrating because there is no calibration, just position changes) and the 5 pages of alignment procedures is only for mechanical limits.

Anyhoo... I learned something again before 6AM. Going to be a great day.

BEZ06

Yes, you're right - what I was thinking of was something I've only seen a couple times. One year of the Owner's Manual says you may see it in the winter, but other years don't mention winter.

There is an "Avtive Handling Calibrating" message that may come up on the DIC:


The Service Manual doesn't really explain what is happening when this occurs, but does list several things that the AH system uses - one of which is the steering angle, along with yaw rate and lateral G's.

So, what I was thinking might happen if the steering column was moved from its original "centered" position, when the AH calibrates it may sense the position of the steering column and lock that in as the new normal/centered position.

But, like you say, there isn't really a normal position.

Bottom line...I think Stavesacre21 will be okay - and if the system/s don't like the steering column position he'll get some message telling him!

Bob

Stavesacre21

Thanks for the update FortMorgan.

Given where I'm sitting at this point since I've already made the adjustment, I'm just going to leave it until I notice any issues. I do you know that I turned it exactly 4 flutes on both of the tie rods, so if any changes need to be turned back for whatever reasons, I know exactly where they were.

It seems as though there has been quite a few people that have did this before in the past, and I haven't heard of any of them saying it affected this. Furthermore, if it actually does have anything to do with any of the nannies or active handling, I've never driven the car even remotely close to its limits so I'm not really concerned about that.

Honestly, one of these days when I take it in for service, I will probably have them do an alignment just to make sure nothing is being red flagged.

Thanks again for all the help guys.

AORoads

Sometimes, I learn so much from a fairly short thread, that it's almost frightening to think how little I do know. Thanks to all!

Stavesacre21

Just wanted to throw an update in here for anyone that might be in a similar boat:

Went to the Corvette Bash this last weekend, and talked with the 2 Corvette certified mechanics to pick their brain on this issue, and if adjusting the tie rods is advised. They gave me a resounding no, and also told me that the steering wheel angle sensors need to be manually reset with the Tech2 device, or it will be giving a false angle. They also told me that adjusting your own suspension can be downright dangerous without an alignment machine or equipment immediately thereafter.

That said, I did schedule an appointment with the dealer to have the alignment checked, and have the steering angle sensor reset. Much to my surprise, even though I equally turned the tie rods, my toe was indeed off. The left side was outside limits, and the right was barely within limits. As a whole, the front toe needed adjusted 13 degrees. The before/after info is as follows:



I guess the moral of the story would be just to take your car to a dealer or alignment shop to have them center the wheel, which will also mean a front end alignment. Still don't know what caused my issue, but I would advise against doing it yourself.

Thanks for any of the help I got with the issue though.

AORoads

That's very interesting. Thanks for the follow up.

FortMorganAl

Doubly interesting since my service manual says the steering wheel angle sensor can not be adjusted after installation. It must be replaced by marking the wheel, installing the new sensor, and removing a pin to permanently lock the alignment. The way a tire shop would adjust the steering wheel is to do exactly as you did and adjust the links. They are not going to have a tech 2 to read the sensor and readjust the wheel and a dealer isn't going to bother. They would never touch the steering wheel position sensor since it was adjusted when installed at the factory and would be right once the linkage was adjusted to make the wheel straight again. But you "ajusted" the wheel and not the linkage so I'd bet a lot of money the wheel sensor is still off but I'd also bet not enough to make a significant difference.

The techs were right that manually adjusting alignment without a machine is not a recommended DIY but it can be done if you know what you are doing and what each change does to all the others. My favorite mechanic for alignment has a very expensive machine available but he does it with just a level, laser pointer, and ruler because then he knows the measurements are right and isn't depending on a machine to be in calibration. Your alignment was done at 4:17AM? Either a very busy shop working 3 shifts or a calibration error.

AORoads

still learning.....missed the 4:17AM tho...

Stavesacre21

Yeah, for whatever reason, AM and PM were swapped on that machine. It was actually around 4:20PM.

As for the sensor, I have no idea. The dealership didn't seem to act either way. I just told them I wanted the car aligned, wheel straight and steering angle sensors reset. On the receipt, all it says under the request to reset them is "status:reset".

I thought I recalled seeing a manual page that claimed that the steering angle sensors can be recalibrated with a Tech2. The part that I found most comical about all of this is how no one, and I mean NO ONE including the dealership seems to have a definitive , 100% positive answer on the steering angle sensors. Its a little disheartening.

aseipos

My 2011 C6/GS's steering wheel just worked its way to an off center position about the same time it started throwing the "service active handling soon" message after about 10 highway miles. Was going to take it to the dealer, but after reading all of your experiences in this thread will instead take it to my reliable alignment shop to recheck all settings and re-center the steering wheel. Will report back the result.

Boxcar

This place, The Forum, is amazing. I'm always learning something new, helping someone else, or in threads case, solve a recent Corvette issue.

I too noticed my steering wheel is off center. I also receive "service active handling system" after 10(ish) driven miles. I replied in a couple of different threads, but then I found this thread. Now I have a DIY, others with similar issue, with probable cause and fix.

I turn my own wrenches when I can, and I'm very meticulous in doing so. I so look forward to doing this DIY this weekend.

This place is the greatest.

I'll post up when I'm done.

Thank You Corvette Forum, its Vendors, and mostly to the people in here who are truly in here for the betterment of the Corvette Hobby.
You all are Stars in my book.

Boxcar

Look forward to reading it. Good Luck

Boxcar

OK, got this completed yesterday. It took three tries equaling a total of 7 "flats" (Reference BEZ06 Post.)

I followed BEZ06's post and it worked perfect. The steering wheel is dead center, the car tracks straight under acceleration, braking and coasting. All for ZERO DOLLARS!!!
To BEZ06........Thanks...

When it comes time to rotate the tie rod: I would add this to BEZ06's thread.

I placed an index line on the tie rod end, and then turned the jam nut close to the tie rod end with an index line on it. As you turn the tie rod with the 13mm wrench, the jam nut rotates. Placing the index line on the tie rod end helps accurately turn both tie rods equally.

Bottom line, great thread to the OP and to BEZ06.

Stavesacre21

I'm a little late getting back to this thread, but I wanted to make an update.

Although I followed the original instructions from BEZ to a T and even turned the flutes evenly, I decided just to have my alignment checked by a local Corvette-specific alignment shop. Low and behold, my toe was off quite a bit, and camber was all over the place.



Although this is a nice quick fix to get the wheel aligned again, I would suggest it ONLY as a temporary solution, as there is a whole lot of truth that every adjustment with suspension usually affects something else. When we're talking $30k+ cars, is a $100 alignment really worth risking safety?

As mentioned, I am thankful for the solution mentioned above, but I wouldn't bank on it again. Just my $0.02.