2 + 2 = Bent LCA?

F23A1AT · Sep 20, 2011

I've been having an issue for a long time now, I think I should probably fix it soon. My car pulls very hard to the right even though my alignment specs insist that I should be pulling left (2). While checking my alignment, my passenger side caster is something like 2 degrees out of spec (2). Every time I have gotten an alignment I get a list of the specs before and after, as far back I remember the caster has always been wrong and the car has always pulled hard to the right. This was true even before my first accident where I rear ended a van. Bottom line is, I think my passenger side LCA is bent in some way and has been causing my problems, does anyone have any other ideas before I go hunting a LCA? TIA

EscoStylez · Sep 20, 2011

I have the same problem my car pulls to the right hard and my rim looks like its pushed back but i never has had an alignment....

Sketch o5 · Sep 20, 2011

is the caster for that side positive or negative? have you jacked the car up and looked at both lca's to compare and see if theyre different from each other?

F23A1AT · Sep 20, 2011

I can't remember if it was negative or positive. I have visually inspected them, if it is bent the damage is unnoticeable.

AZmike · Sep 20, 2011

Have you tried adjusting the subframe? Loosening the bolts and shifting it in the correct direction could get the caster closer to spec.

F23A1AT · Sep 21, 2011

AZmike said:
Have you tried adjusting the subframe? Loosening the bolts and shifting it in the correct direction could get the caster closer to spec.

You're serious aren't you? The caster can be adjusted by shimming the radius arm. The last thing anyone should do to a unibody car is go moving the subframe around. The car would never be the same again. Thanks for trying to help, but you go shifting your subframe around and come back with results.

AZmike · Sep 21, 2011

F23A1AT said:
You're serious aren't you? The caster can be adjusted by shimming the radius arm. The last thing anyone should do to a unibody car is go moving the subframe around. The car would never be the same again. Thanks for trying to help, but you go shifting your subframe around and come back with results.

I've removed both front and rear subframes on older Hondas with good results. The rear camber was uneven side to side. I was able to get it a little closer to equal (and replace a bad eccentric toe adjusting bolt). I've successfully replaced a complete front subframe (LCAs, radius arms, front and steering rack cross members) due to corrosion as well.

What reference or experience is your statement based on?

If the radius arm requires shimming and all the components are the correct shape then it's because something is not in the right place. Why not attempt to fix the root cause first?

AZmike · Sep 22, 2011

I forgot to add that the idea of shifting subframes was suggested by the mechanic performing my alignment at a Honda dealership. He said some new car's subframes needed adjustment before they could sell them. This was in the early 2000s when these Accords were still for sale new.

F23A1AT · Sep 22, 2011

Considering the LCA and the Radius arm are both attached to the same subframe, moving the subframe around will not affect the angle of the LCA-RA-SF. The frames are aligned in the manufacturing process to ensure correct alignment to the unibody. I do not doubt they can be removed, that's why they are bolted in. A subframe would have to be marked to the body so that it could be correctly re-installed, or a body shop with a laser measuring device and the correct specs would have to properly align the new one. My experience with this is based of of the internet's vast wisdom and my own logic. The frame could be out of alignment though based on what your wheel alignment tech told you, it wouldn't surprise me taking into account the quality controls Honda had for these cars. (Autotragic)