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Tie rod adjustment after wheel alignment

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by daiske99, Oct 26, 2017.

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  1. daiske99

    daiske99 Member

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    My car is 2015 Prius. I had off centered steering wheel issue after buying a new car. So I went the dealership a couple of time to fix it. After 40000 miles I found that there are some uneven tire wears and the alignment setting was little off. So I just replaced the tires and got a wheel alignment from a local mechanic. And yet I found the steering wheel off centered to the right again, the same as 2 years ago. I went back to the mechanic and they adjusted the setting but it is still off centered. I asked them again but they are reluctant to perform further adjustment because it may result in uneven tire wear. They suggested to switch the front tires but well...I don't think it'd work...
    I researched about the issue and a 1/4 turn of the tie rod on each wheel can fix the issue. So here are my questions.

    1. I read If I give the same turns of each tie rods, it wouldn't affect neither tire wears nor alignment numbers on the printout. Is it correct? I'm not sure why they don't do it if it is that easy...

    2. I tried to loose the nuts on the tie rod but they are quite stubborn. Which way do I have to turn to loose it? I think it's counterclockwise. Am I right?

    3. the steering wheel is off centered to the right, about 5 degree. In this case, which way do I have to turn the tie rod on the driver's side? Some people say clockwise the others counterclockwise...

    Thank you guys in advance for sharing your wisdom.
     
    #1 daiske99, Oct 26, 2017
  2. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Purely brainstorming, fwiw:

    First, just to confirm, when the wheels are straight, and you're rolling straight, the steering wheel is roughly 5 degrees too far turned to the right, clockwise? And, if you centre the steering wheel, then the wheels are angling slightly left, putting you in a shallow left turn?

    Then you would want to turn each tire, by an equal amount, clockwise (viewing from above). The tie rods connect to the front wheels aft of the axle, so, you would shorten the right wheel's tie rod, and lengthen the left wheel's tie rod.

    Do an equal amount to each, say 1/2 turn each, tighten them up and test drive, see what that's accomplished.

    The attachment might help, it has torque values for the tie rods, for example:
     

    Attached Files:

    #2 Mendel Leisk, Oct 26, 2017
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  3. daiske99

    daiske99 Member

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    Thank you for the post. Yes your understanding is correct. So turning the tie rod to the clockwise on the driver side and counterclockwise on the passenger side, right? Do you think adjusting the toe wouldn't affect the uneven tire wear if done equally?
     
    #3 daiske99, Oct 26, 2017
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I would think if you turn one tie rod to shorten, and the other to lengthen, by equal amounts, you've not change the the toe, just made the steering wheel more centred.

    I wouldn't want to comment about clockwise vs counterclockwise turning, because it best to just keep in mind: that the object is to shorten the right tie rod, and lengthen the left tie rod (by equal amounts.

    The direction you turn to accomplish that kinda depends on which side of the junction you're looking at it from. Typical scenario, fwiw: if you're looking down at a bolt that screwing into the top of something, a clockwise turn will "shorten" the bolt, and vice versa.
     
    #4 Mendel Leisk, Oct 26, 2017
  5. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Check if Google can find you the document T-ST003-01 (failing that, you can download it at techinfo.toyota.com); it's about exactly what you want to do here.

    One thing that stuck in my mind from it is that half a turn on a tie rod would be a lot. The procedure in the document counts the hex flats on the tie rod (i.e. sixths of a turn) and even breaks those into fractions.

    -Chap
     
    #5 ChapmanF, Oct 26, 2017
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  6. daiske99

    daiske99 Member

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    Thank you for three document. But it looks like this document for only 2002 model?
     
    #6 daiske99, Oct 26, 2017
  7. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    That is what it says. The general principles should stay the same. As for specific torques for the lock nuts, etc., you should probably get those from the Repair Manual for your specific model.

    -Chap
     
    #7 ChapmanF, Oct 26, 2017
  8. daiske99

    daiske99 Member

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    I checked mine as the manual says and there is 5mm difference, the maximum number in the chart... I have to turn from 120 to 150 degree to make it corrected. What the... Thank you so much for the information, Chap. Strange... When I got the alignment printout, my steering is off to the left and they corrected it, which actually I felt it straight. Which one is wrong, me or car? I hope any of the new tires wouldn't take a toll by this correction...
     
    #8 daiske99, Oct 26, 2017
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