If your aligment is fine (tires wearing straight across, etc), and the steering wheel is slightly off angle, it is possible to fix this yourself. But this should only be done if you are sure the steering wheel is properly aligned on its shaft per the manual. (If the steering wheel has never been removed, it is probably safe to assume its aligned properly on its shaft.)
The fix is easy. Start off with the wheels pointing straight ahead and the steering wheel unlocked (ignition key turned). What you need to do is unscrew the rod into one tie rod end, and then screw in the rod on the other tie rod end the exact same amount. I put chalk marks on the bottom side of each rod at the start, loosen the lock nuts, then turn each rod in the same direction the exact same number of turns. Then of course, remember to re-tighten the lock nuts.:wink:
Of course the question becomes, which way do I turn the wrench to correct my problem? Well if the steering wheel is pointing toward the left when the car is pointing straight ahead, you will need to "shorten" the rod to the left tie rod end -- i./e., screw it in, and lengthen the rod to the right tie rod end - i.e, unscrew it the exact same amount.
Somewhat repeating myself, when you screw in one side and unscrew the other side, you are turning both rods in the same direction when viewed from the bottom of the car. For example, place a wrench on the left rod so the wrench is pointing straight down. Move the wrench 1/4 turn toward the rear of the car. Move the wrench to the right tie rod, pointing straight down, then move the wrench 1/4 turn toward the rear of the car. You have then shortened the left side by 1/4 turn and lengthened the right side by 1/4 turn. So, the chalk marks will always stay in sync.
Reverse the above directions if the steering wheel is pointing to the right with the wheels pointed straight ahead.
I found it took two tries to get the steering wheel spokes perfectly aligned. The first attempt got me close. I then drove the car back and forth about 50 feet and did a final tweak.
Count the number of turns it took to correct the steering wheel position. That way you can then always go back to the original condition if you don't like the results.
I did this work with the car on a drive-on lift. The problem doing this with the car on jack stands is the tires are free to turn along with the steering wheel, making it harder to know how much correction you dialed in until you lower the car and move it back and forth to get the wheels pointed straight ahead again.
