Most of this has been said already, but here's what I would do.
1. check tire condition - even a small amount of out of round or tire belt separation will cause a pull
2. tire pressure
3. condition of ALL suspension components - mainly bushings
4. alignment

worn strut/radius arm bushings will change caster, bent control arms/struts will change camber, incorrect toe will screw up your tires and will not cause a pull, per se, but if the tires have a lot of "toe wear" from the alignment being out of adjustment for too long, it can cause a drift, not as bad as a pull but noticeable

be careful of the alignment shop you chose because a lot of them don't even listen to your complaint, they just set the adjustments so everything is "good". I was an alignment tech for some time, and I would have to say that tires and worn suspension cause more pull than cars being out of adjustment. Castor or camber difference from side to side usually needs to be more than 1/2 a degree of each other to cause a pull. Sorry for rambling, just trying to help =)

By Yellowcivic (65.73.198.112) on Thursday, January 27, 2005 - 11:25 am:

Mine pulled and with a bad lower control arm. Now with a new one it drives streight. Alignment will show if there is anything bent from hitting something. My sister had a Fiat that would drift one way and when she would shift it would drift the other. Standing behind and wathcing the car as she drove down the road was amazing. She put new tire on it twice in just a few months even after alignment. (The guys at the tire place didn't know squat!!!) So I looked at it and all the front spotwelds were broken and there were two cracks that were starting up the rails. I welded it all back and got it alingned and no more problems.
David

By Jdupre (Jdupre) (208.176.144.238) on Thursday, January 27, 2005 - 09:34 am:

The limited adjustments on the civics is the point I was getting at. All you can set in terms of alignment is toe in. Everything else is fixed. It seems to me that toe in alone, if not equally set left and right, would not cause the car to pull in any specific direction. All it would do is make the steering wheel "off center"

It is a relatively new vehicle to me, and it was always pulling to the right. I will take a closer look this weekend for any obvious damage or discrepancies.

By Bryan (66.32.243.18) on Thursday, January 27, 2005 - 07:22 am:

Oh, and try rotating the tires and see if it goes away

By Bryan (66.32.243.18) on Thursday, January 27, 2005 - 07:21 am:

in case you don't know, early civics don't have much to adjust in the way of an alignment. Pretty much you set the toe and let it go. If the front tires are good, then I would suggest checking for bent front suspension parts, or bad calipers like earlier suggested. If you don't find it there, have an alignment shop check the alignment and they can tell if the caster or camber is out enough to make it pull.

By Darrell--Arizona-- (68.109.151.121) on Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - 04:20 pm:

If one of your brake rotors isn't as smooth as the other, your car will pull to on side when breaking.

If you alignment is bad, have your baljoints checked for play before your alignment is done.

By Ed (66.185.85.72) on Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - 03:37 pm:

if it's not the tires... it could be a seized caliper.

How bad does it pull to the right ??

Jack up the car on that side, and see if the wheel spins freely, with little resistance, or with a lot of help .

My caliper seized on my back in 1982, and forced me off the road in a snow storm, right into a tree.

Ed

By Jonathan (68.193.6.173) on Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - 03:16 pm:

I'd say alignment too. One check to rule out tires is switch the front two tires, see how the car pulls. If the car pulls the same way, it's not the tires, if it pulls the opposite way, I'd say it is the tires.

By Vccivic (24.85.232.159) on Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - 01:27 pm:

I would say check the alignment as well make sure the ball joints are still good. Check tire pressure....that should be a start anyway...

By Vccivic (24.85.232.159) on Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - 01:24 pm:

I would say check the alignment as well make sure the ball joints are still good. Check tire pressure....that should be a start anyway...

By Jdupre (Jdupre) (208.176.144.238) on Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - 01:14 pm:

What causes a car to "pull" to one side or the other, and how would I fix this on a 1st gen civic?

I'm not talking about durring braking or acceleration, just driving in a straight line at a constant speed. If I let go of the stering wheel, the car definately wants to move to the right.

- Joe