Had tires rotated and now steering wheel is off center ?

[StiffPickle]

Any ideas why this would be ?

Was fine before and now it is slightly off to the right like my alignment is off.

2002 navigator AWD if it matters.

 

[boomerang]

Does it pull or drift in any particular direction? Was that behavior present before the rotation?

 

[ino uno soweno]

Try changing them back and see what happens,??. my line of thought is your AWD is independent rear axle, and I am guessing this is not the first rotation on this car, and I am also guessing you may have perhaps over 200,000k, leading me to further guess and say that your independent rear end is not quite right,( perhaps slightly worn independent rear end components, ) or just has worn the tire from over loading,??, perhaps one, a little more than the other, and when you put the rear tires on the front, one of the out of shape tires is pulling the steering to one side, just guessing, I would suggest you change them back asap, and check your steering, if ok, do another rotation, and four wheel alignment and balance, note which if any wheel was out of balance, and keep an eye on the out of balance wheel in the future, ??? again just guessing.

 

[Meghan54]

Try changing them back and see what happens,??. my line of thought is your AWD is independent rear axle, and I am guessing this is not the first rotation on this car, and I am also guessing you may have perhaps over 200,000k, leading me to further guess and say that your independent rear end is not quite right,( perhaps slightly worn independent rear end components, ) or just has worn the tire from over loading,??, perhaps one, a little more than the other, and when you put the rear tires on the front, one of the out of shape tires is pulling the steering to one side, just guessing, I would suggest you change them back asap, and check your steering, if ok, do another rotation, and four wheel alignment and balance, note which if any wheel was out of balance, and keep an eye on the out of balance wheel in the future, ??? again just guessing.

Too bad your line of thought got off incorrectly, as the 2002 Navigator, whether 2WD or AWD, had a solid live rear axle, not an independent rear axle. The 2003 model year saw the IRS come into being.

 

[Subyman]

Does it track straight on the highway?

 

[ino uno soweno]

I was only guessing, thanks for the update.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Rotating tires should have no effect on the steering wheel aligning on center when the truck is traveling straight. Are you saying the vehicle pulls to the right?

 

[Squeetard]

Get your alignment checked. I bet your tires have uneven wear and when they swapped them this pull would be there.

 

[StiffPickle]

Does it pull or drift in any particular direction? Was that behavior present before the rotation?

No pulling before or now.

 

[StiffPickle]

Try changing them back and see what happens,??. my line of thought is your AWD is independent rear axle, and I am guessing this is not the first rotation on this car, and I am also guessing you may have perhaps over 200,000k, leading me to further guess and say that your independent rear end is not quite right,( perhaps slightly worn independent rear end components, ) or just has worn the tire from over loading,??, perhaps one, a little more than the other, and when you put the rear tires on the front, one of the out of shape tires is pulling the steering to one side, just guessing, I would suggest you change them back asap, and check your steering, if ok, do another rotation, and four wheel alignment and balance, note which if any wheel was out of balance, and keep an eye on the out of balance wheel in the future, ??? again just guessing.

I will go back and have them undo it.

It tracks fine on the highway, just the steering wheel is off and the tires are older and going to need ones before winter but they are evenly worn from what I can tell.

Thanks for the help everyoine.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I will go back and have them undo it.

It tracks fine on the highway, just the steering wheel is off and the tires are older and going to need ones before winter but they are evenly worn from what I can tell.

Thanks for the help everyoine.

If the steering wheel is consistently, say, 15 degrees off center, when the car is going straight, you might have a bent tie rod or something.

 

[StiffPickle]

If the steering wheel is consistently, say, 15 degrees off center, when the car is going straight, you might have a bent tie rod or something.

I am taking it back in tomorrow to have the tires rotated back and will take a look under there to see if anything is not right.


Thanks for the input.

 

[boomerang]

If the steering wheel is consistently, say, 15 degrees off center, when the car is going straight, you might have a bent tie rod or something.

Or, an "adjustment" was made when the tires were rotated in hopes of a return visit where an alignment would be suggested. This is what I suspected from the start.

 

[sontakke]

Was that "Free Tire Rotation"? Then I am with boomerang.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Was that "Free Tire Rotation"? Then I am with boomerang.

Then don't take it back to the same place....?

 

[CombatChuk]

I had this problem before... It was when a Discount Tire tech decided to lift my car by the tie rod and bent it horribly.

 

[slashbinslashbash]

I bought a used car that had been in an accident that jacked up the rear alignment. The damaged parts were replaced, but the alignment was never fixed. I swapped pretty decent/newish tires onto the car when I bought it. (Same make/model car that I was getting out of.... wrecked it against a moose on the highway.) I notice pretty immediately that the new car's steering wheel is turned about 1/8 turn to the left in order to go straight. But, I figure, used car, no big deal, maybe they took off the steering wheel and put it back on crooked. So, some 10k miles later I notice that the right rear tire was almost completely bald.... like, all evidence of tread was completely gone. All the other tires are ok but the left rear is getting worn too. So I take it to get an alignment and 2 new tires on the front, move the old front tires to the rear. The steering wheel is now almost but not quite straight when driving straight. A couple years down the road, I buy 4 new tires and the steering wheel is now perfectly straight.

Moral of the story: driving for a long time with bad alignment can create wear patterns that will create the effect of bad alignment even after the alignment is fixed, even with the tires rotated or partially swapped for new.

I would just drive it as is for now, and get a fresh alignment and new tires at the same time before winter. Get the alignment fixed first. Make sure it is a 4 wheel alignment.