Hi all, I fitted a TL rack to my KH, I thought i had it centred but I didn't it was close to half a turn out when the wheels were straight ahead, the alignment guy adjusted the tie rod ends to straighten up the wheel, only problem is that the wheels don't turn to the left as far as they should and turn further to the right, to fix this by adjusting the tie rod ends so its equal turns left and right the wheel will be out again, is it ok to remove the steering wheel and and refit or should the steering shaft be removed from the rack and refitted to have the steering wheel straight? hope this makes sense, cheers

Removing the wheel is the easiest way. I assume yours is airbag equipped. Unless you are qualified and / or really know what you are doing don't attempt to remove the wheel yourself An airbag going off at the wrong time can quite easily kill or seriously injure you. For the price of getting it done professionally it's not worth the risk of doing it yourself if you don't know the correct procedure to follow.

Did you tell the alignment guy you changed the rack?

If you didn't, he would have assumed the steering wheel was correctly centred, and gone from there, rather than aligning the wheels so that the rack itself is centred correctly.

Did you fit the rack yourself? If you did, you will know how the steering column is connected to the rack, you may need to uncouple and move it a bit.

Did you tell the alignment guy you changed the rack?

If you didn't, he would have assumed the steering wheel was correctly centred, and gone from there, rather than aligning the wheels so that the rack itself is centred correctly.

Did you fit the rack yourself? If you did, you will know how the steering column is connected to the rack, you may need to uncouple and move it a bit.

Yes I sure did tell him I fitted the rack myself and that the steering wheel was about a third of a turn off centre, I find turning right is better then ever on full lock but turning left is taking two goes at parking sometimes, so I want to get it sorted out.

I've been through this. A lot of aligners won't properly center the rack unfortunately, they just adjust things to get the steering wheel straight. As Max notes, the tie rod ends need to be adjusted so that the rack is centered while the wheels are straight (according to the alignment system) otherwise you won't ever have even turning to both left and right because the tie rod to steering arm geometry is unbalanced between the two sides. Once that is right the steering wheel can then be adjusted.

Just changing the steering wheel won't fix the problem.

I'm going to suggest the opposite, ie getting the rack centred and the steering wheel in the correct position before getting the wheel alignment right.

Jack both front wheels off the ground, turn the steering wheel to full lock.
Mark the 12 o'clock position of the wheel with some tape.
Turn it to the opposite lock. Count turns, and part of turns.
Now wind back by exactly half.
Your steering rack is now centred.
If the steering wheel is in the wrong position, it needs to be moved.
If the front wheels now don't point straight ahead, it needs to be corrected. You could try it yourself - wind in the tie rod adjustment at one side and the same amount out on the other side - but you won't get it spot on, so back to the alignment bloke you go - once the steering wheel is in the right position to indicate the rack is centred. He seems easily confused. lol.

Jack both front wheels off the ground, turn the steering wheel to full lock.
Mark the 12 o'clock position of the wheel with some tape.
Turn it to the opposite lock. Count turns, and part of turns.
Now wind back by exactly half.
Your steering rack is now centred.
If the steering wheel is in the wrong position, it needs to be moved.
If the front wheels now don't point straight ahead, it needs to be corrected. You could try it yourself - wind in the tie rod adjustment at one side and the same amount out on the other side - but you won't get it spot on, so back to the alignment bloke you go - once the steering wheel is in the right position. He seems easily confused. lol.

My car has a air bag, I guess if I follow the Haynes manual about how to remove the steering wheel all should be good? thanks for the advice on how to centre the rack Max, I will do that but only take it to the aligner if I'm not happy with how it drives or theres uneven wear on the tyres

You have put the rack on yourself so you know how the steering column is connected to the rack. I would do the adjustment at that point because there is where you went wrong, not correct the steering wheel alignment at the steering wheel itself.

You will need to go back to the aligner, because once the rack is centred and the steering wheel in the right position, the front wheels won't be pointing straight ahead.

You have put the rack on yourself so you know how the steering column is connected to the rack. I would do the adjustment at that point because there is where you went wrong, not correct the steering wheel alignment at the steering wheel itself.

You will need to go back to the aligner, because once the rack is centred and the steering wheel in the right position, the front wheels won't be pointing straight ahead.

Very true Max, just a pain to lower the rack and disconnect the steering shaft, but guess thats the best way to fix it

Seriously the alignment guy centered the wheel by adjusting the rack, what an idiot, someone go to his shop, grab a hammer and smash his alignment machine as he should not be allowed within 10 meters of a car

Not only should you have centered the rack and then removed the steering wheel to centre it you should also have reset your clock spring IF you have SRS as well.

Get the tie rods back to centre and then get it all done again properly

Seriously the alignment guy centered the wheel by adjusting the rack, what an idiot, someone go to his shop, grab a hammer and smash his alignment machine as he should not be allowed within 10 meters of a car

Not only should you have centered the rack and then removed the steering wheel to centre it you should also have reset your clock spring IF you have SRS as well.

Get the tie rods back to centre and then get it all done again properly

Hi Mal, Yes I wont be going back to him again, thanks for your reply, what is the best a safest way to remove the steering wheel and how do you reset the clock spring? the car is a KH Verada XI, cheers

To remove the wheel take off the doggy bag, undo the 17mm nut but leave it on the shaft (undo a few turns of course) as it saves the wheel punching you in the face when it lets go

Punch around the outer rim, grab the wheel and try pulling off, may need to wobble it a bit.

The srs label has the instructions on the label iteself, best you read that as is easier than to explain

To remove the wheel take off the doggy bag, undo the 17mm nut but leave it on the shaft (undo a few turns of course) as it saves the wheel punching you in the face when it lets go

Punch around the outer rim, grab the wheel and try pulling off, may need to wobble it a bit.

The srs label has the instructions on the label iteself, best you read that as is easier than to explain

Thanks so much for the reply Mal, much appreciated