So I went to get my alignment checked today at a tire shop and I was told by the service manager that I had a front Caster misalignment. I have a completely stock suspension setup with a perrin rsb and poltec endlinks. He showed me that I had front Caster of 0.8 degrees on the right and 2.7 deg. on the left. The specified range is 2.8 to 4.3 degrees. I was told to see the dealer about this because some part of my suspension is "bent" and the shop cannot fix the problem. Since I am not an expert on subaru alignments, would I run into any problems if I don't drop off my car at the dealer and insist on getting warranty service? My car feels like it is running fine, with the exception of a very slight pull to the right. Not sure if the alignment today fixed it though. I will keep you all updated.
Thanks for help,
-Jon

Sorry if I am being way too technical, but this is as much information as I know.

 

I got a copy of the alignment, and the problem they were telling me about is not shown on the paper. There is a possiblity of the machine being innacurate. I did a search on what it meant to have a difference in caster -

http://www.yokohamatire.com/utmeasures.asp

I believe the main issue could be my wheels are not aligned properly to the steering axis - i.e. One wheel is farther up on the chassis than the other. Not so sure about my car, guess I should schedule an appointment.

Two questions:

1) Should I take off my Sway bar and endlinks b4 going to dealer?
2) Anybody have experience with the caster of their car changing and the repair associated?

 

You didnt mention what car you have.

 

I have a 2003 Impreza WRX Sedan

 

If your suspension was bent wouldn't you feel something when driving, a noise , maybe your car would pull to a side? When I got my allignment my caster was different on two sides but since it's not adjustable he told me not to worry about it.

 

Caster angle is the sideview angle of the steer axis. In order for you to have a 2 degree loss of caster angle, your ball joint would have to be moved back a substantial amount which would cause other problems and would certainly be something you would notice. Caster is not directly measureable. Instead, they do a "caster sweep", which means they turn the steering all the way one way and then all the way the other way while the alignment machine continuously measures the camber angle (which is directly measureable). The machine then computes the caster angle based on the rate of change of camber angle with steer. That said, I'd bet they messed up the measurement. It's just very hard to believe that it could be that far off without causing major problems. I'd get it re-measured somewhere else. If your dealer has an alignment rack, then that might be a good place. See if they have a laser Hunter system. Those are pretty accurate, assuming they know how to use it. Finding a qualified and capable alignment shop is nearly impossible these days.