Alignment/Struts question '88 LE

[Sunsunsun]

Hi,

I just had the struts done in my '88 LE, 6cyl, 2.8 l. I took it to another shop for the alignment. After the alignment, the steering is still weird. The wheel won't stay centered. The car drifts slightly left, but if I turn right and then straight, the wheel will correct itself only partway to center---it stays more to the right. For a few minutes at a time, the car will seem to be tracking straight, then the above happens again.

I took it back to the alignment guy. He said it was because the struts guy didn't change the shock plates. I've had another opinion that it's actually the alignment guy who didn't do it right. The readout numbers are below. Could I please get opinions? Are the numbers not supposed to be the same for left and right? Is changing the plates something the struts guy should definitely have done?


Left camber before: 2.18
Left camber after: .19

Left caster both before and after: 1.84 .
Left toe before: -0.71 in.
Left toe after: .02 in.

Right camber before: .09
Right camber after: .03
Right caster before and after: 1.98
Right toe before: -0.89 in.
Right toe after: .04 in.

Front

Cross camber before: 2.09
Cross camber after: 0.16
Cross caster before and after: -0.14
Toe before: -1.60 in
Toe after: 0.06 in.

No readings for SAI, included angle or turning angle diff.
Should there be?

Sunny

[saturntech]

Do you know if the strut mounts got changed when they did the struts???

The numbers are sometimes diff on the left and right side to comprehend the crown on the road, its up the the manf, but its not unusual.

You just ask them to redo the alignment if your not happy.

[civic lx]

It looks like your alignment shop did a good job on paper anyway. First off how did the car drive before the struts were replaced. Tires properly inflated, no broken cords. This is the most common this I see when doing alignments in the last 20 years. The bearing plate/upper strute mount could be binding. A bad power steering rack that causes a pull. As you can tell there could be several things that cause these problems.