[BTRowan]

2003 Odyssey EX. 166,000 miles. Original owner.

Assuming everything else is equal... and no other problems exist with my van... what will happen in the following scenario?

My van pulls to the left.

I have the steering wheel straightened out. I have determined that the toe of both front wheels is slightly, and equally, to the left (when sitting in the van). If I adjust the toe of each wheel the exact same amount... slightly to the right... will this fix the pull? Or, will this simply make the steering wheel no longer straight AND the pull will still exist?

This is somewhat of a theoretical question, so please take it that way.

Thanks for any help.

 

[Neo Fender]

Any objection to having it aligned by a shop that is equipped to do so?

 

[BTRowan]

Maybe. Maybe not. Primarily, I'm interested in DIY. Thus, I like to learn as much as possible. So, what do you think... will it fix the pull... or, will it simply misalign the steering wheel and maintain the pull?

 

[Buffalo4]

That should make the steering wheel centered when the wheels are straight, but it will not take care of the pull to the left.
Do more searching on the Internet to try to establish what can cause the vehicle to pull to one side.
This is just a guess by me.
BTW, does it pull to the left while just cruising down a flat road, or only under acceleration or deceleration or?
Are the front tires wearing evenly across the tread?
Is your tire pressure proper (36 psi) in all the tires?
Buffalo4

 

[diver dave]

Toe - in is a piece of cake on these for DIY. Straight steering wheel, flat concrete. Adjust both sides tie rods for tire walls essentially straight back at the rear tires. No optical tools needed. You do need good lighting, all that flat black...

 

[greenodyssey]

BTRowan,
Im going through something similar.
My Ody pulls to the right when accelerating then levels out when cruising.
Checked tire pressure, then started to check the outer tie rods on both sides.
Notice right side outer cv boot is cracked.
Hopefully when i replace the right side half axle the vehicle will not pull in either direction.

 

[oldskewel]

To answer the original question - no, your plan will not straighten the pull to the left. It will just adjust the steering wheel (to first order).

Think of it this way - when your car is aligned perfectly, you should be able to point it in a straight line, hands off the wheel and then sit back and watch it go straight. If that is true, you should be able to take the steering wheel off too. So don't think about the steering wheel as affecting alignment. Front toe is almost the same thing.

It is something other than your front toe or steering wheel that is causing the pull to the left. Caster is not adjustable. Camber is barely adjustable in the front (needs smaller diameter strut mounting bolts). Camber adjustment in the back requires a special control arm to be swapped in. But you CAN adjust rear toe!

I admire the desire to DIY on this one. That's what I did for my '99. Aligned it better than it ever was, after buying it new in '99. I used an L-square and laser pointer to measure the camber and toe, front and back. You might also want to check ride height at each wheel. E.g., gap between top of tire and wheel well - make sure it's same left to right, otherwise could indicate a problem with spring/mount/etc. If that makes the car "sit" asymmetrically, it may cause a pull.

You say the car is otherwise good, but I'd give extra attention to the suspension components. I believe some years had problems with the front struts being mounted incorrectly (a subtle error) that would cause a significant pull.

You'll need to figure this out yourself, but I figured I'd throw a bunch of information at you to help you figure things out. Good luck.