Steering Wheel Alignment question...

taki1 · July 23, 2002

I have a 2002 regular cab Z-71 with the 5.3, and a few days after I bought the truck I noticed the steering wheel was slightly out of alignment - the truck seemed to drift to the right if I held the steering wheel "straight"....I called the dealer, and he told me to wait a couple months before I take it in...so, I waited 2 months, and took it back to the dealer...and they checked it and adjusted the alignment....the steering wheel still isnt "straight" when driving down a completely straight road...tire inflation is all correct...

Am I being too picky, or should I take it back or to another Chevy dealer? Are Chevy tolerances so large that they would accept this as normal?

BIFFY · July 23, 2002

I have an '02 Tahoe Z71 with the same problem. I decided to wait until my "7,500 mile service" to deal with it. Well, by the time I got it in, I had around 7,600 miles - and they said "GM won't pay us for alignment work after 7,500 miles. They said the alignment looked OK, and quoted something like $120 to fix the steering wheel alignment. I decided to wait again and live with it for now.

I'd suggest getting the truck in before 7,500 and press them to make it right.

Barry

chevy4x4trucks · July 23, 2002

The dealers will align your truck up until 7500 miles, so I would also take it back and tell them that it still isn't driving straight and to do another alignment, if need be take the tech out for a ride to show him.

Shaners · July 23, 2002

My wheel was off about 10 degrees when I bought my truck. The service department said to drive the truck and see if the suspension settles and the wheel would straighten out.

It never straightened out on it's own and the service dept did a 4-wheel alignment and the steering wheel is now perfect.

I never had any issues with the truck drifting to either side before it was alligned or after. My truck still rolls straight down the road!!!

jpendlum · July 23, 2002

I know how you feel, I went through the same thing with my dealer and finally got it fixed after 36K miles and many alignments.

The problem is with the GM front suspension/alignment set up. In order to make a Chevy/GMC's go straight, when they align it, they need to pull the passenger's side front wheel back a bit. So, if you're looking at the truck from the top, the driver's wheel is a little more in front than the passenger's side.

Don't ask me why, but they are all like that. I thought I was being too picky too until I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't take my hand off the wheel for a second without changing lanes.

I took it to Firestone after my warranty was up and those Yahoo's couldn't do crap. Never take your truck to them.

They even asked me if my truck has ever been in a serious accident.

Then I took it to my dealer and after 3 trips within a week, they finally got it right. They need to align it, drive it, adjust it and drive it again. Most of them just align it once and be done with it.

Just tell the service person that they need to pull back the right wheel. if they think you're crazy, tell them to call Lone Star Chevy in Houston, TX (281-517-7000) and talk to Robert the shop foreman. He's the one that ended up working on my truck and he is super nice and really knows his stuff.

Hope this helps.

taki1 · July 23, 2002

Thanks for the information and experiences...looks like I'm headed back to the dealer sometime soon - I've got 3000 miles before I reach 7500 miles....