Wheel alignment on my Dodge Caravan 2004

Hello and thanks for your prompt respond.

Is it really 3 degrees or just 0.03 degrees? If it's this second number I posted, isn't that such a small difference?

So, could this really be the culprit of my problems? They told me this shouldn't solve anything trying to tell me that what they did first time was also OK.

Thanks again !

EDIT: Oh sorry. I just noticed that number on the ight side (for rear right wheel) is positive and for the rear left wheel, it is corrected but still negative number. Why is that?

They took off all wheels, that's what I saw. Also they put all those spider looking tools (LOL, sorry not sure how they call them) on wheels and they did some checking on that computer unit.

No, it's not Grand Caravan, it's just Caravan 2004 (December 2004 actually, new line with huge headlights)

Also, I am not sure why they had to adjust that number just from -0.28 to -0.25 and they did nothing regarding that huge gap between those first two numbers at the top for the Front wheels. I don't understand a thing they did.

Thank you so much for your help.

The strange thing is that I just came back from work, and on highway, I've noticed that car still pulls slightly to the left, not to the right as you mentioned. Reading those numbers I believe it tells you that it should pull to the right, but it's pulling slightly to the left.

They've checked pressure in all 4 tires and it was as specified for this vehicle.

This van is like brand new, only 85 thousand kilometers (it's 2004), and I take great care of it. This is sad that I just went there to replace my old tires with new ones, and this is what I've got. Worst of all, they can't do anything to fix this now. They keep telling me that everything is fine and I am 110% sure it's not. I can feel my car.

I'm ready to pay again but this time I am going to some Dodge dealership shop.

Thanks again for you generous help, I really appreciate it !

Thank you Paul, you've been very helpful to me. I did exactly as you suggested, checked the pressure in all 4 tires, and it's exactly as it says on that little metal plate inside my doors.

However, here is a little update although not quite good news.

I visited Chrysler Dodge service today and they're doing some new wheel alignment using some super new digital machine. I will post an image of the alignment results. It looks like they set it right this time. But there is still a big problem with my van pulling to the left. And not just that. I've noticed now that I have to keep my steering wheel turned slightly to the right (let's say some 10 degrees clockwise) so my car goes straight. If I release it, car starts pulling to the left slowly.

The good thing is, these people were unbelievable polite, I've talked to the manager of the shop and to the mechanic who was doing alignment procedure. They took my car for the test ride after everything was done, and they said it still pulls to the left side. But at least they admitted it immediately, I didn't have to go through everything all over again explaining what's happening etc. It was almost closing time, so they weren't able to play with adjusting it some more to get some better results, so they told me I can come back whenever I want, first thing Monday morning and they will see what can be done to make things better.

So, I'm going back there on Monday and I'll see what's happening from there.

I'm just wondering, why do I have all these trouble when I have a proof that alignment was done properly now, and my wheels are aligned as they should be? What else could cause these problems?

Thank you in advance and thank you again for all your help people ! I really do appreciate your effort!

Here is how my steering wheel looks like when I want to keep my van going perfectly straight:

Oh I forgot to say that they rotated all 4 tires, they changed positions front to rear, left to right and nothing changed.

I'm just thinking. Even if there was something wrong with one of those tires (left/right), my steering wheel shouldn't be this much off. I mean, I have to hold it 10 degrees clockwise in order to keep my van going perfectly straight. Why is that happening now?

I guess they have to compare old alignment results those guys from Firestone did, and these new ones from Peel Chrysler Dodge shop, and do some realigning but more towards the right side. So I guess my van will go straight again. It looks like it doesn't go straight when wheel alignment is done perfectly as it should have been done.

I will really need some clue on what's happening here. I already spent more than $400 on checking this alignment.

I started to believe that this problem has nothing to do with alignment. Why? Well, I'll try to explain.

First of all, just want to mention that this van has never been involved in any kind of accident, so that's covered. Did alignment in two different shops, both pretty respectable in this area (Firestone Auto-Moto Service and Peel Chrysler). At Chrysler they even did alignment with some super new digital equipment. So I believe alignment is OK after all.

What I have noticed this afternoon when I was on my way home could give some clues to someone who is good with solving this kind of problems.

I was on a highway, perfectly even road. Traffic was incredible, we were barely moving. Stop - 1 meter forward - stop - 1 meter forward and like that in circles. When I was at stop, I left my wheel perfectly centered, so car is supposed to go straight forward. As soon as I start moving even if it's as slow as 2 meters per hour, my steering wheel starts to move to the left. It looks like there is some kind of huge amount of pressure coming in from the right and turning my steering wheel to the left. Could that be the reason my van tends to go left all the time. I've also noticed that turning my steering wheel to the right is a little bit harder than to the left. Like I have to use more power to turn it to the right than turning it to the left side.

What can cause that? Could it have something to do with power steering pressure lines losing the pressure or something. I've checked the power steering fluid level and it's little bit over the optimum, so it's good.

They also told me at the service that they have noticed my water pump has a small leak, nothing urgent but I will have to replace it before winter.

Is there anyone who can help me here so I don't go around spending my money on this like crazy please? I have 10 months old baby, and for sure I could have spent all that money a lot better way. :(

Please, there must be someone who can come up with some advice. I came few years ago, from by the war destroyed European country, lost everything over there and practically started my life from the scratch. It was a struggle and it still is, so spending all this money on something that doesn't even solve my problem with this van is plain crazy.

Thanks to everyone who can help me with advice, I truly appreciate it.

Best Regards

Big update. :)

Problem solved. I went back to Firestone service for the third time. Hate doing this because I am not one of those bad customers that keep bugging and coming back for nothing, but this wasn't nothing. This was a big deal, van was pulling hard to the left and in just 10-15 meters it would completely switch the lanes. With little baby inside, that's a crazy thing indeed and it shouldn't happen.

So, I've contacted the manager himself directly (even though employees at the shop refused to give me his contact info, I found it through some other channels) and he arranged same day appointment for me, so they put another guy to do necessary adjustments.

When he was done, he told me that it wasn't done properly first time, and whoever was working on my van, wasn't doing it properly. He had to adjust Camber on both front wheels, as well as some toe adjustment.

I am happy to say that my van runs perfectly straight again.

Long way I had to go through to get what I paid for, but at the end it was worth it.

Cheers!

Yes, I am glad too! And I want to thank you for your generous help and leading me through all this. I really appreciate it. People like you make this World a lot better place to live in.

Thanks again!