After doing all of my bushing work I took the car in to be aligned today. My caster is out of specification on the left side at 2.7 degrees. Right side is 3.2 degrees. I don't seem to have any major pulling or drifting problems.

The shop I went to - actually a SCCA race prep shop - said that the 2.7 degrees wasn't that bad and that they wouldn't worry about it yet. I think it needs to be at least 3.0 degrees to be in spec. His guess to a cause was that the strut mounts are looking pretty worn and in fact show cracking on both sides. He said that would be the most obvious thing to address first, but suggested I wait until they start making some noise.

Anyone have any experience with caster issues?

The other possibilities are ball joints (still seem ok) and "something bent"

I am never impressed with a shop that claims to be a "race" shop. Alignments are alignments, and what you need is a tech that understands the process.
Caster is fixed on the 240. What that means to a good tech is to adjust in ways the factory didn't intend. Usually releasing the ball joint bolts on the control arm will give enough wiggle to get what you need. A half degree split side to side is no big deal, but I like them even. I don't go for the "climb the crown" stuff - on a level road I want the car to track straight. On a cambered road I expect to steer up it. Use a caster angle close to what Volvo specs. Three degrees would be fine.
Camber is best at 1/2 degree negative if you are after handling. Volvo normally spec'd positive, and I never liked the way they feel with positive camber.
Toe-in should be 1/16 inch. Worn bushings may be helped by more toe-in, but the real solution is to replace the bushings.
That's it. These angles work for lots of cars. Angles don't care what the nameplate says. It is just geometry.

Thanks. I went for normal alignment spec rather than handling tune.

I use this particular shop, because the are capable of doing tire/wheel and alignment work without scratching up the wheels. I work with the owner and keep him company out in the service bay. No Gorillas there. Prices are close to anywhere else.

If you ask me your caster is about right. There is a lot more to aligning cars than just setting them up to the numbers that are printed in the book. First things first you are going to drive the car and assess how it drives, then give it a thorough visual inspection up on a hoist, address all suspension, steering, and wheel and tire issues, align vehicle and road test again. Let's say it is just a routine alignment with no worn components and the vehicle drives straight. Let's also say that the caster is not dead nuts on with what the book says, are you going to attempt to change it? If the car has 2-3 degrees of caster, it drives straight, does not drift, and the steering wheel returns to center just fine then there is no need to mess with the caster. Most roads are crowned and not flat so this means that if the caster is set dead even on both sides the car can and will have a tendency to drift to the right due to that crown. Most front end guys will tell you that if the caster is adjustable that you want to set it up with a 1/2 degree more caster on the right side as the vehicle tends to pull to the side with less caster. If you look at your numbers you are set up with just that. While excessive camber or toe are wearing angles caster for the most part will not cause the tires to wear but will cause it to pull bad if not set up properly. So, make sure that your camber is between 0-1+ and your toe is set around 1/8" positive or toed in and that your camber is around 2-3 and hopefully it is a little higher on the right to counteract the road crown. So, for the most part, if it does not pull and the wheel returns to center do not worry about the caster.


Mark

Thanks