Steering wheel not quite level after new tires.

[edwx]

Just had 4 new tires installed at Dunn Tire. Had over 70K on the old tires. When I was driving home I noticed that the steering wheel wasn't quite level, and tilted a little to the left. The truck drives straight, and doesn't pull left or right. Even when I tap the brakes everything stays on course. Dunn did an alignment check after the tire install, and the report stated the front end was basically ok, but said the toe on the rear was off .32 on each side for a total of .64, and tried to sell me a $80 alignment. Maybe it's just me, but I'm not a fan of the extras. I can't remember that last time I got an alignment with a new set of tires. I stopped that 20 years ago and have never had a problem. I'm at work right now or I'd post the alignment report. Is there a way to level the steering wheel that I can do myself? I called Dunn about the un-level steering wheel, and of course they said the alignment would cure that....I'm not so sure. Any suggestions? Should I just live with it? The slight tilt bugs me, but if an alignment won't guarantee it'll be level........

 

[Turdle]

Get the Alignment and be sure to tell them to center the steering wheel.

You'll get more than 80.00 worth of tire wear in return, if they do this correctly. You might scour the area for a 4 wheel alignment special, but 80.00 sounds like a good deal in this area.

 

[edwx]

Good advice. I already had the appointment scheduled for Thursday just in case. Thanks, Ed

Ya know, it's funny, I'm turning into a real cheap skate in my old age. Back in the day I'd have paid full price for a set of tires, and then gone to the best alignment shop in town. Now I'm cringing at the thought of paying 80 bucks to get my steering wheel straightened. You can be sure I'm going to test drive it before I pay

 

[Flag Gibby]

$80 for a 4 wheel alignment is spot on for our typical market pricing. Just me, but I always get an alignment every time that I get a new set of tires so that I know that I will get the most out of the set and it also shows me how the suspension components are wearing. Plus if I start having any unusual vibrations or the vehicle not tracking straight I can almost immediately focus on the new tires as the culprits.

 

[edwx]

Am not 100% comfortable bringing my truck back to Dunn Tire, so I did a little checking around, and the best independent shop in the area, Rudy Schmid, charges $95 for a 4 wheel alignment including leveling the steering wheel. I'm going with them. I used to bring my vehicles to them years ago to get alignments on new tires.

 

[edwx]

So I got it aligned and got the wheel straightened, and the tech that did the work told me my front left wheel bearing was messed up. I was surprised because I replaced both front hubs 2 1/2 years ago, and only 30K miles ago. They were SKF hubs with Timkin bearings. I guess since I had new tires, and everything was quieter now, I hadn't had a chance to get tuned into the bad hub. But sure enough I could hear it now, and you know how it is, once you begin to hear it, that's all you hear I'll continue this on another thread.