Can't align because caster and camber are off?

[pilihp2]

Ok so. Took my 5k to les schwab last minute on friday to get it aligned properly because after dropping the subframe to swap trannies, it pulled to the left.
After they got done with it it pulled to the left still but the steering wheel was clocked to the left instead of the right. They adjusted the passenger front top strut mount to get both sides camber close to even. They also evened out the rear camber to factory spec.
I took it in today so they could fix it and have it not pull left. I was told after they checked it out that there was nothing they could do because it was lowered and the camber and caster settings were out of factory spec so it was going to pull to the left.
I had a local small shop align just the front toe for about $60 and it never pulled either way a little while back. And that was without messing with camber or caster. From my understanding les schwab does NOT shift the subframe to try to change the camber. I feel if they adjusted the subframe the camber and caster would be even. Not to factory spec but they would at least be even.

I was going to take it to a local performance shop that knows what they're doing but they were booked and I needed it done really badly.

[85oceanic]

Les Schwab alignments are done by morons man, they just get lazy with modified cars. My Pathfinder, Prelude, Jetta, Oceanic... all of them they gave me a hard time about. Now, I stand in the shop and watch them do it and explain what I've done to my car(s) not only for that, but to make sure they don't mess things up. One time I had my pathfinder in the alignment shop and they cross threaded the upper control arm bolts then said deal with it.

[40v4kq]

Phill, according to the printout(same that my old work had) your car is pulling left slightly due to the camber but mostly because of teh caster. The front right having about .7 more positive caster is the big culprit. According to the before and actual specs they adjusted the rear camber on both sides and only the left side on the front. The only way to change your caster is by moving the subframe which will show only a small change so its probably a moot point to even try. The way to tell if it is the subframe that is causing the caster to have such a difference and cause a pull would be the SAI reading, but without a factory range on the printout you cant tell if thats the culprit or not. An out of whack SAI is usually found after a subframe R&R. Probably the only thing you can do is have someone or shop try to go less negative on the right front camber and if possible try to be about .5 less negative than the left front to counteract the pull caused by the caster.

[pilihp2]

But Dan, how is the caster going to affect the car when driving straight?
I've always though caster only came into play when turning.

[40v4kq]

Caster is considered a non-direct angle meaning that it doesnt directly affect tire wear but it does directly affect how a vehicle drives at low speeds and high speeds, creates steering reurnability(wheel straghtens when you let go of the wheel), and it directly affects pulling. Usually you ony want a small difference in caster to compensate for road crown which wicauses vehicles drift to the right, so its ok for the right front to have just a little more positive caster than the right front. Vehicles will pull to the side with less positive caster. Because you have so much less caster on the left front your car pulls that direction. Maybe you could try losening your subframe bolts and try to push the passenger side of the SF towards the rear of the car and the driver side of the SF towards the front and have someone tighten the bolts while you hold the subframe in those directions.