Re-aligning the steering wheel, anyone know how?

[Lunar_Camel]

The steering wheel on my Monza is out of alignment and I'm not sure how to fix it. I can't find anything in the manuals. It's twelve o'clock is about one o'clock. The car handles and steers fine, its just the steering wheel is off.

[bbodie52]

I found this in the 1965 Chassis Shop Manual...

The complete Section 9 from the 1965 manual is attached...

[66vairguy]

The steering wheel on my Monza is out of alignment and I'm not sure how to fix it. I can't find anything in the manuals. It's twelve o'clock is about one o'clock. The car handles and steers fine, its just the steering wheel is off.

As a fellow L.A. Corvair guy I had to reply. First - if you are not in a club, find one close by and join. There are three in the greater L.A. area. The clubs have different personalities, but you'll find resources at any of them.

The steering wheel centering is not as simple as removing the steering wheel and changing it's location. First to understand the "steering system". You want the steering box "centerered". You can turn the wheel to the right and left and count turns and center it. Also the factory stamped a mark on the steering shaft that should point straight up with the wheel centered, you have to remove the horn ring/button to see it. If that's fine then the steering wheel is on correctly. To center the steering the tie rod ends that are used to "align" the front end have to be adjusted. Sometimes "lazy" alignment folks adjust the tie rod lengths with out centering the steering wheel. If the front end is aligned properly you shorten the tie rod on one side and lengthen the other side an equal amount until the steering wheel is straight and the car goes in a straight line down the road. After years on the road the tie rod adjustment sleeves can be difficult to move. NOW - this explanation assumes all the front end parts are good. Often on an older car they are worn so adjustments are a waste of time until the steering components are all in good condition. All the front end parts are available, some have to be sourced from a Corvair vendor.

Hope this helped.

[terribleted]

The first thing to do is center the steering box. Turn wheel full lock right, then counting turns go to full lock left. return to 1/2 the total turns. This should make the gears in the box in the middle of their throw. Not which way wheel is ...in a perfect world it should be straight ahead at this point. Remove horn ring and nut and check that steering wheel is aligned with reference marks. There is a notch on the column and one on the wheel they should be aligned. If the marks are not aligned, remove steering wheel and re-install with the marks aligned. Now with the steering box centered the steering wheel should be straight ahead. Drive the car, if the 4 wheel alignment is correct it should go straight with the steering wheel straight. If not, a 4 wheel alignment is needed to adjust caster/camber, and toe-in. In the process of this a good alignment tech will ensure that the steering wheel is straight when he adjusts the suspension, eliminating any little bit of off centerness left after the checks and adjustments above.

[wbabst]

Those before me have done a good job and I can concur with both. I purchased my 61 Lakewood which had the wrong steering wheel on it. When I got the right steering wheel, I lined up the mark on the wheel and the shaft. When I drive my car now I am constantly steering slightly right to go straight. This indicates to me that steering was set with wheel in wrong position. I am going to get it reset when I get my tires swapped. There is something else though that you need to remember. A perfectly aligned car will not always drive straight down the road with steering wheel straight. Roads are not flat and some roads are not as flat as others. The crown in the road that is present to get rain water to run off affects your steering. I drive a road to work, that has a high crown, if I am in the right lane I am constantly driving to the left and if I am in the left lane I drive to the right. The crown is that pronounced on that road. Just remember that when you do everything else that was listed above.