You can correct the steering wheel and keep the toe the same. If your steering wheel is towards the left while driving like you say then loosen your tie rod nut and turn the rod hex with an end wrench 1/4 turn in the direction as to loosen the ball joint or move the wheel towards the outside of the car(toe out positioning). On the passenger side turn it 1/4 turn in the opposite direction as in tightening the tie rod. Drive the car and if that doesn't move it far enough then go another 1/4 turn on both sides same direction with each. You might have to do this several times depending on how far the wheel is off center. Caution: Remember how many 1/4 turns so you can get back to where you started if necessary.

 

Lol, do yourself a favor and dont do this. Spend a few bucks and have it done right vs the alley mechanic way

 

I don't want to burst your bubble...but when I bought my Nissan Maxima back in '02 I noticed that the steering wheel was slightly off center when driving straight...I took it back several times to the dealer and they couldn't do anything...when they straightened out the steering wheel my alignment was then off very slightly...so I opted with the proper alignment and I have lived with the steering wheel being off ever so slightly to this day. Of course, most people wouldn't notice it, unless they were actually sitting behind the wheel. In the old days you could just remove the steering wheel and re-set it on a "toothed gear"...but now it's supposedly different (especially with air bag issues, etc).

 

haha, yeah just take the wheel off. Worked back then.
Now what your suppose to do is start by centering the steering wheel in the car, and holding it in place(center) with a special tool, then you make the adjustments to the toe

 

Most alignment shops still cannot get the alignment set properly even with all their fancy equipment. I think they rely on the tolerances established by the manufacturer which translates to a slightly offset wheel as being acceptable.

 

Good luck finding the shop that does it right!

 

+1

And the shops that do a good job are usually backlogged for 1-2 weeks. I just don't understand why it takes such a long time for a shop to do an alignment. Is it just to make people think it is a long and mystical process?

 

Come on down!
We can put in it factory specs, or where you want it set up.

 

Think you could make a house call? How about a road trip to Alabama?

 

LOL, like a dyno day, but it will be an alignment day.