Dealer alignment for brand new bronco shenanigans. Three strikes?

[Hdscreens]

For some of us time is extremely valuable so in the long run it’s best at this point just to pay a good reputable shop to fix than keep going back to this same dealer. Are the air pressures in tires all the same? Maybe it has a camber issue that might need a wedge installed.

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[BadmansSAS]

Posts like this confirms that humanity is doomed.

How so?

 

[userdude]

Steering wheel only goes on one way. There is no adjustment. The only way to align the steering wheel is to adjust the alignment.

When I changed to the billet rack, we managed to put the screw on backwards. The wheel wandered a bit. Then we tightened it down and everything was fine. So wondering if the nut on the clamp is tightened enough?

 

[PWillette]

Actually I believe there is a pinion gear that DIRECTLY connects the the wheel to the rack... The electric motor assist sits on the passenger side of the rack.

Other ways to straighten the wheel would be to disassemble the rack and rotate the pinion gear over one tooth in rack.... Or lengthen the tie rod on the passenger side and shorten the tie rod on the drivers side....OOPS... reverse that... Probably choice 3 would be how I would approach it... but I am not an alignment guy. I just like simple answers.

This is not correct, there is a universal joint connection between the steering shaft and the rack. I can confirm this as this joint needs to be disconnected when installing UCAs. The u-joint connection has very small splines, the steering wheel can absolutely be adjusted here. This is the simple answer.

 

[BadmansSAS]

Dealer attempt #1 today fail. They are saying the machine shows all green. Nothing to change. We drove it still wheel not straight. They are going to try again and set it manually.

 

[vrtical]

This how crooked mine was took it to an off road shop that does alignments and put lockouts on it. After it's straight as an arrow.

 

[indio22]

Dealer attempt #1 today fail. They are saying the machine shows all green. Nothing to change. We drove it still wheel not straight. They are going to try again and set it manually.

How off is the steering wheel from center? Inches, centimeters, millimeters?

 

[flip]

Road crown. Alignment can be 100% in specs on the rack which is flat and level but will still have this issue due to road crown. Some roads are worse than others so this isn't a function of the alignment not being within specifications. This is really not a Ford or dealer problem assuming this isn't being caused by a tire pull (did they swap tires from side to side) or brake drag. My guys can mess around and get it as centered as possible on the roads we do post adjustment drives on but you hit another road, you're going to have correct one way or the other.

 

[5GENIDN]

This is not correct, there is a universal joint connection between the steering shaft and the rack. I can confirm this as this joint needs to be disconnected when installing UCAs. The u-joint connection has very small splines, the steering wheel can absolutely be adjusted here. This is the simple answer.

Actually everything I said is true.... I was being a bit facetious with the pinion to rack option. The column to the pinion is splined as well. You do mention something I did not know. I did not realize that the u-joint in the column was splined as well. I just assumed it was pinned like so many others. So yeah, multiple options. I still would lean toward what I think would be the "easiest" option. lengthen and shorten Tie rods... lengthening and shortening tie rods is pretty typical work while doing an alignment I would suggest, since it is part of "aligning" the vehicle.

 

[JT58Bronc]

I'll chime in and can definitely help the Op. Been there many times with brand new and used vehicles and even after an alignment has been performed. Very frustrating. Steering wheel is off center. On a rare occasion the alignment is off and most of the time it is just the steering wheel that needs to be re-centered. It is as you stated, the vehicle tracks perfectly straight.

OK, here is what you do (or I do anyway and it has always worked out well for me.). I note which way the steering wheel is off centered, meaning when I turn it straight it pulls either left of right. It's a simple matter of going underneath and making a very miniscule adjustment to the tie rods to re-center the wheel. You have to be very careful to make sure you move both wheels the same direction and the same amount to re-center the wheel. You have to know the threads and which way to turn them. I usually mark a starting point and just eyeball and turn the tie rod ends the same amount. Trial and error and you will get the wheel straight without affecting the alignment results. It usually takes me 2 or 3 times. Be careful the road you test it on is flat with NO crowns.

Why does this happen? Laziness or the tech not aware of keeping the steering wheel centered while they make the alignment adjustments. There is even a tool that attaches to the steering wheel for this they can use o hold it straight. I bought a used VW Jetta a couple of years ago and had a documented alignment. The steering wheel was off about 20 degrees but it tracked perfect. I had to rotate quite a few degrees on the tire rod ends. And oh yeah I had to do this on my 2022 Bronco. It tracks perfect and the steering wheel is perfectly centered.

 

[PWillette]

Actually everything I said is true.... I was being a bit facetious with the pinion to rack option. The column to the pinion is splined as well. You do mention something I did not know. I did not realize that the u-joint in the column was splined as well. I just assumed it was pinned like so many others. So yeah, multiple options. I still would lean toward what I think would be the "easiest" option. lengthen and shorten Tie rods... lengthening and shortening tie rods is pretty typical work while doing an alignment I would suggest, since it is part of "aligning" the vehicle.

Lol, sometimes hard to sense facetiousness in a post. The tie rod adjustment does make sense but probably double the amount of work IMO. The shaft u-joint option would take 10-15 minutes max and would not affect alignment.

 

[5GENIDN]

Lol, sometimes hard to sense facetiousness in a post. The tie rod adjustment does make sense but probably double the amount of work IMO. The shaft u-joint option would take 10-15 minutes max and would not affect alignment.

Yeah still trying to get my hands on that sarcasm font....

 

[userdude]

Yeah still trying to get my hands on that sarcasm font....

Comic sans, man.

 

[BadmansSAS]

Whelp after 5 hours and two more attempts it’s dead nuts straight. That sucker is so straight now I almost can’t believe my eyes. They ended up scrapping the setting the machine was telling them and manually adjusting it. Then after putting it back on the machine and wouldn’t you know, the machine also said it was straight. Ahahaha. lol ok well it’s perfect now. They did something with the right tire and had to readjust the toe or something. But I can tell you it really is arrow straight. Also seems tighter in the hands and on the road. No more wandering like it did when I brought it in. They also asked that I give them a perfect service survey…

 

[indio22]

Whelp after 5 hours and two more attempts it’s dead nuts straight. That sucker is so straight now I almost can’t believe my eyes. They ended up scrapping the setting the machine was telling them and manually adjusting it. Then after putting it back on the machine and wouldn’t you know, the machine also said it was straight. Ahahaha. lol ok well it’s perfect now. They did something with the right tire and had to readjust the toe or something. But I can tell you it really is arrow straight. Also seems tighter in the hands and on the road. No more wandering like it did when I brought it in. They also asked that I give them a perfect service survey…

Glad you got it worked out. But I'm mad I ever saw this thread, because yesterday I looked closer at my steering wheel when going straight, and it's ever so slightly turned to the left, and now I can't unsee that, lol.

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