Steering wheel not aligned after trans fluid change

[steved0x]

According to the manual, if the rear suspension is not fully unloaded when the sheet metal brace is removed one of the possible side effects is a slight change in alignment with a possible change of steering wheel position for straight ahead driving. That sounds like what you are experiencing. It sounds like it may happen even if it is unloaded?

[thstone]

Originally Posted by steved0x

It sounds like it may happen even if it is unloaded?

Yes, this can happen even if the wheels are unloaded (ask me how I know). The car may need to be re-aligned.

The alignment is very sensitive to any changes while the metal panel is removed. And in IMHO, the action of simple removal and replacement of the metal panel can, in some cases, be enough to cause a change the alignment.