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Wed Sep 06, 2017 6:37 pm

I parked on a hill the other day and turned the wheels in for safety. When it was time to leave I cranked the wheel hard while stopped to point towards the street. After i did this the steering was not aligned. The car is still driving straight but the wheel is cockeyed to the right. I dont want to realign the wheel only to have it happen again. Any suggestions? The wheel is not slipping on the shaft the steering shaft is moving.

Wed Sep 06, 2017 7:04 pm

The steering shaft might have slipped in the coupling. The joints between the metal parts of the coupling and the steering shaft or the input shaft of the steering gearbox (where the pinch bolts are) do allow a few degrees of movement if the pinch bolts are slightly loose. I would check that first.

Wed Sep 06, 2017 8:48 pm

As what Mondshine said. The coupling has very small splines and may slip if the bolt is not tight. The bolt goes through a clamp on the end of the steering shaft and sits in a notch on the coupling shaft so it won't keep slipping.

Align your wheels straight against a curb, loosen the bolt and turn your steering wheel the direction it needs to go and tighten the bolt up. Take it for a spin and check alignment. It may take a couple times to get it back to straight. The splines really don't mesh with anything in the shaft, it may look like it does but all the ones I've had don't have splines in the shaft, it's just for grip....

Wed Sep 06, 2017 9:30 pm

Thank you. Sounds like an easy but possibly tedious job.

Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:42 am

Check the condition of the coupling, it may have split or ruptured. Very important to replace if this is the case (SAFETY).

If you do replace it, use only the real OEM replacement, not the cheap one or the "premium quality" one. They are garbage.

Thu Sep 07, 2017 9:01 am

sjbartnik wrote: Check the condition of the coupling, it may have split or ruptured. Very important to replace if this is the case (SAFETY).

If you do replace it, use only the real OEM replacement, not the cheap one or the "premium quality" one. They are garbage.

That's good advice! Your life can depend on this seemingly (but not!) insignificant part.

Thu Sep 07, 2017 9:59 pm

Everything was intact. I aligned the wheel and seemed to get it right on the first try. The bolt was pretty tight although I could only get my left hand on the wrench. I think it did the trick. If it slips again I'll post it here for further advise. Thanks thing people!