Jump to content

Steering Wheel Replacement + Alignment?

Imcrazy

By Imcrazy
in Troubleshooting & Recalls

Recommended Posts

Imcrazy Senior Enthusiast

Imcrazy

Posted
Posted

My 2016 Silverado has almost 34k miles on it now and I noticed a month or so ago that some of the stitching on the steering wheel was broken and the leather had separated. On my last oil change I asked the dealer to take a look and they said, no problem we will put a new steering wheel in for you under warranty... Today (Saturday) they installed said steering wheel and now I have to hold the wheel slightly to the right to make the truck go straight, maybe 3-5 minutes to the right of 12 o-clock to be exact. Took the truck back 20 mins after and while the service rep seemed to agree with me that the wheel needed to be aligned or indexed via some alignment work, he said the tech's on staff on Saturday didn't seem to understand the problem and that I needed to come back during the week when more experienced tech's were on staff..... I am kinda torqued off because I've replaced steering wheels on other cars in the past DIYing it in my garage and even I knew the truck would need some kind of alignment work to get the steering wheel perfectly in line with the front wheels... They made an appointment for me to bring it back on Tuesday... I am wishing I had just bought some thread and stitched the damn thing back up myself ugh.... Anyone agree or disagree that it's SOP to do some alignment work when replacing a steering wheel in a vehicle?

tbarn Senior Enthusiast

tbarn

Posted
Posted

Should never need alignment with steering wheel change. GM's are keyed. I suppose one might get it off 1 spline maybe but not usually.

Imcrazy Senior Enthusiast

Imcrazy

Posted
  • Author
Posted
3 hours ago, steelcity said:

As long as their doing it and doing it for free, why complain?

It wasn't free I paid them 43k for the truck....

Imcrazy Senior Enthusiast

Imcrazy

Posted
  • Author
Posted
1 hour ago, tbarn said:

Should never need alignment with steering wheel change. GM's are keyed. I suppose one might get it off 1 spline maybe but not usually.

Interesting.... It's for sure off by maybe 2-3*, all brands are keyed as far as I know but, from what I understand no two are exactly the same and hence why they need to be indexed....

steve76t Enthusiast

steve76t

Posted
Posted

From my experience with previous vehicles, aligning the steering wheel is usually simple.  There's a threaded sleeve that connects the steering box pitman arm to the tie rods.  Just loosen the nuts, turn the sleeve to align the steering wheel & tighten back up.  HOWEVER!!!  I haven't had to do this with with my new GMC yet & the process may be a little different compared to my solid axled Jeep.

steelcity Enthusiast

steelcity

Posted
Posted
14 hours ago, Imcrazy said:

It wasn't free I paid them 43k for the truck....

The fix is free, is it not? Sorry, I thought you were asking for opinions.

Imcrazy Senior Enthusiast

Imcrazy

Posted
  • Author
Posted
48 minutes ago, steelcity said:

The fix is free, is it not? Sorry, I thought you were asking for opinions.

No it was included in the warranty that I paid for when I bought the truck lol!  A 'free' fix would be if the truck was out of warranty and they agreed to provide a wheel at no cost to me, when you buy a truck with a warranty you're entitled to have it repaired under said warranty to your complete satisfaction IMO.

 

The opinion I was after is if SOP for replacing steering wheels was to index or align the wheel to the steering wheels.....  No hard feelings, I am just making a point that GM charges us all big bucks for these trucks and they owe it to their customers to honor the warranties we shell out 10's of 1000's of our hard earned $$ for..

dna9656 Enthusiast

dna9656

Posted
Posted

I never heard of a steering wheel that wasn't 'clocked" or indexed with a wide spline on the steering shaft, It could be a production variance and you need to rotate the shaft down at the gear box as talked about previously. I bet it's a case of the dealer thinking it would be just fine, but maybe there is a production variance that is making all the trouble.

 

Imcrazy Senior Enthusiast

Imcrazy

Posted
  • Author
Posted
1 hour ago, dna9656 said:

I never heard of a steering wheel that wasn't 'clocked" or indexed with a wide spline on the steering shaft, It could be a production variance and you need to rotate the shaft down at the gear box as talked about previously. I bet it's a case of the dealer thinking it would be just fine, but there is a production variance that is making all the trouble.

 

Yeah I would imagine the dealer doesn't install a ton of steering wheels so maybe they didn't realize it was required...

tbarn Senior Enthusiast

tbarn

Posted
Posted

Not "required". I've replaced a lot of steering wheel in my 35 years at the dealer. I have never seen an issue with it being off center.

Imcrazy Senior Enthusiast

Imcrazy

Posted
  • Author
Posted
30 minutes ago, tbarn said:

Not "required". I've replaced a lot of steering wheel in my 35 years at the dealer. I have never seen an issue with it being off center.

Hrm... Maybe I am crazy I guess i'll take it out for a drive again tomorrow and try to confirm that it's off center, it's not like it's a three spoke wheel easy to tell... I upgraded to a leather wrapped steering wheel on one of my ford cars about 10 years ago and it was way off after I installed it so maybe I am biased. I'll take a level with me and check it against center...

  • 2 weeks later...
Imcrazy Senior Enthusiast

Imcrazy

Posted
  • Author
Posted

It was definitely off, they fixed it today at the deal at no cost to me... They had to adjust the alignment.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Forum Statistics

    250.5k
    Total Topics
    2.7m
    Total Posts

  • Member Statistics

    342,948
    Total Members
    8,960
    Most Online
    zibzer2
    Newest Member
    zibzer2
    Joined

  • Who's Online   3 Members, 1 Anonymous, 799 Guests (See full list)

  • Latest Articles

  • Posts

    • zibzer2
      Pulsating Noise 4Cyl Mode

      By zibzer2 · Posted

      2017 Silverado L83 5.3l 6speed transmission Hello, not a new member but havent posted in a while and my old signup info isnt working so had to create a new account. anyways, I have an issue with my truck and hope someone can spread some light on whats happening: -when it goes to 4cyl mode it makes a clunk sound (but not when coasting or going downhill) -when in 4 cyl mode and under load it makes a load pulsating sound (not a tick). -goes away completely when in M5 gear or when plugging in an AFM delete. Im guessing it is one of 2 things but im not convinced of either to be honest. 1. lifter stuck in v8 mode 2. torque converter shudder realistically it doesn't seem like the TC as there is no physical vibration , and it never happens in v8 mode. but maybe? and wouldnt a lifter make a sound whether with load or not? any ideas let me know please. thank you!  
    • Chuck FB
      Some Assembly is Required

      By Chuck FB · Posted

      Which has made me wonder with the various engine failures of a few brands in the last few years, is it sub par materials such as lifters etc causing failures, or bearing clearances on the crank etc or perhaps bad designing of an engine physically or causing too much load on the components due to the hp/torque they can push out of them. Or is the oil viscosity and additive package of current oils or a lack of oil flow by an oil pump not able to supply sufficient oil at idle or under high load at low rpm. Or is it every item I listed that combined together has pushed the limits so far to the left that there is hardly a margin of safety left and add in some fuel dilution and too long of an OCI and premature engine failure is the result ?. 
    • Grumpy Bear
      Some Assembly is Required

      By Grumpy Bear · Posted

      He is not saying that an SAE *W20 will have more viscosity than a *W40 due to MORE VII polymers. He is saying that although multiple *W40 may post in the PDS the same or similar 100 C and 150 C viscosities that the blenders choice of modifier TYPE and AMOUNT to get his chosen base to grade will not give identical real world viscosities in shear and at temperature. All will pass the SII test but not all will pass the 100 C HTHS (unpublished value) testing the blender does and relies on to get the required by law "percentage improvement' referenced to his last great work.    Tis the problem with the lie. Once told others are required to support it. 
    • PunchT37
      Parking Brake - Automatic Engagement Questions

      By PunchT37 · Posted

      I have a `25, 1500 that auto sets on incline. Never knew that at first. I have the electronic shifter. Just think if it didn`t do that? Unlike a mechanical shift that you can muscle out of park, how would you get this thing out? That would be a problem.   What I found out later is, I don`t have to push the button to release. Just put it in gear.   Setting parameters? Don`t know if it`s possible.
    • SoCal Angler
      Parking Brake - Automatic Engagement Questions

      By SoCal Angler · Posted

      2023 GMC 3500 HD, SLE, 6.6L Gas, 4x4, 6 Spd Options:  SLE Convenience Package; Driver Alert Package 1; Spray on Bedliner; X31 Off Road Package; TRAILERING MIRRORS, HEATED POWER -ADJUSTABLE, AUTO DIMMING, WITH TURN INDICATORS WHEELHOUSE LINERS, REAR INC. REAR AXLE - 3.73 RATIO INC. GVWR, 11,350 LBS. (5148 KG) INC. FRONT AND REAR PARK ASSIST, INC. ULTRASONIC     I have been launching my new boat and noticed some things related to the parking brake.. I usually set the parking brake (habit) when on flat ground for typical driving.    When backed down on the launch ramp to launch the boat and I place gear selector into Park, the parking brake activates automatically. My second nature is to set parking brake manually and noticed I was turing the parking brake off.  The parking brake appears to be setting itself automatically.   I looked all over my owner's manual and only found references to being on an incline and manually setting parking brake, or at times parking brake will be auto engaged, but nothing specific to my situation.    When is the parking brake automatically engaged?  Under what specific circumstances?  Can the auto set parameters be changed?     I like the auto set feature.  It would be nice if always engaged when shifted into Park and released when shifted out of Park (like my wifes 2025 RAV4).   Thanks!    

  • GM-Trucks.com Clubs

  • Popular Contributors

×
×
  • Create New...