Wheel Alignment Help

[Hotwire]

Hi All,

Just had a wheel alignment done as since I purchased my 04 lib (a week ago) it has pulled left. Anyway, had the alignment done, and its still going left. Looking at the printout from the alignment (attached), the tyre shop thinks the combination of more right caster and more right camber is pushing it slightly left, BUT said there is no adjustment in the subaru arms/bushings. I know the alignment was way out when I got it when looking at the brefore adjustment column, and i think it was contributed to the previous female owner making gutter love one to many times (wheel condition also reflects this)

Can someone please tell me, would more right castor cause this? Camber generally doesnt affect push/pull in either direction, but I think the castor might.

Any other feedback on how to correct it without the need for aftermarket suspension parts?
Thanks!
Lee

[coyote]

Your right front wheel must be a long way forward. Can you actually see the difference?

Fulcrum make lower control arm bushes that are available with different offsets. They now brand them "SuperPro".

In a car of that age, the OE bushes will definitely be shagged and require replacement anyway.

Just replace them both, but put an offset bush in the left to increase the caster on that side. You may have to buy two full sets to achieve this, I don't know.

With 8 degrees of positive caster on both sides it will drive like a go kart.

Sorry, just noticed you don't want to use any aftermarket parts. Then:

1. Loosen everything (strut tops, legs, etc) and pull the right wheel back (pushing the strut top forward). Do the reverse on the left.

2. If that doesn't work, get a very big hammer and help it back.

3. Go back to the top of this post and call Fulcrum.

[Hotwire]

So what would have caused this? Is it possible this is accident damag, or has the car had some sort of meeting with a gutter by the previous owner?

I just bough the car, it was from a dealer. Is this something that should be covered under the 3 month statutory warranty as it could be classed as a roadworthy item? If so I'll get them to buy the aftermarket parts and pay for it being aligned properly.

[coyote]

At 5 years old, I'd say it's just that the original bushes are torn. They are not a great design to begin with. Do you get any vibration through the wheel? If you jack the car up, is there free play around the control arms? The place that did your wheel alignment should have been able to tell you this also.

[Hotwire]

I questioned the aligner "are any bushes torn/worn?" and the response was they still look fine. I guess I'll take it back there and tell them to have another go...

just to clarify, the "castor" seems ok at +5.30 and +5.40, its the KPI that appears to be the issue here at +6.35 and +8.49, correct?

[tangcla]

I questioned the aligner "are any bushes torn/worn?" and the response was they still look fine. I guess I'll take it back there and tell them to have another go...

Bushes will look fine until you prod at it, and then you'll notice hairline cracks. They won't show anything unless they are stressed or put under load, then they will start showing splits.

[Hotwire]

Just thought I would update this.

Had the car serviced at S&J Automotive (Subaru specialist in Adelaide) and he checked out thr front bushes - yep they are shagged. Recommended a whiteline ALK to fix so will have this fitted in a week or two.

Anyway, he also inspected the tyres - and turns out the tyre shop had swapped the LHS front to rear, but not the RHS. As there was some uneven wear front to rear, I had a more worn tyre on the front Left, thus with smaller rolling radius, the car was pulling left!! swapped the RHS front to rear and car runs ALMOST true now!. Dumb ass tyre shop.