91RS

Well, I got my new wheels on and my alignment "done" today. All I can say is... WOW. What a pain in the ***. This adjustment bolt thing is absolutly retarted, there is nothing wrong with having a damn bolt with cams on it to rotate and have adjustment. Getting the bolts in was no fun at all, since the bolt was put in the wrong way I had to unbolt the steering gear and pull that forward to get the bolt out and then I had to fight the arm to get it in the perfect position to get the bolt to line up with those stupid grooves. It took about 2.5 hours beginning to end. So, what did I get for all my efforts? The right side camber went from -2* to -1.6* and my steering wheels is off-center the other way. I did manage to get the cross caster perfect though. Something is definately bent or knocked out of wack on the right side. Maybe when I take the car to the dealer for my $400 second key and my $400 transmission service they'll be willing to look at it and tell me whats ****ed up.

Glyn M Ruck

Sounds like you need to get the car on a chassis alignment jig unless the strut, axle or camber arm are bent. Why did you battle with the 3 position bolts? That's the job of the alignment shop to slot them in & out 'till they get it right if they provide sufficient adjustment, which in this case they did not if you have used their maximum movement.

Good luck - accidents are a pain

BTW - Those castor settings are no good - the car will pull right - your LH castor is 9,8 - your RH castor needs to be 10.8

91RS

Since I was doing the alignment myself, I had to do the bolts too. The dealer told me it was going to be $50 per bolt kit installed, so I bought the bolt kits myself for $14 each. Though they told me it would still be $110 for the alignment if the bolts were already installed. But obviously that would have been a huge waste of money since something else is amiss. I at least got the toe set within spec so my left tire won't get eat up on the outside edge again. It's also funny how the left side camber and caster changed when I didn't even touch that side. After I got the bolts in, I took the car completely off the rack to make sure the suspension was settled properly. The car actually pulls to the left still, just not as bad now since I got the camber up a hair.

Glyn M Ruck

Understood! - So the car pulls left on new tyres? - something is definitely screwy - with equal castor left & right the car should drift right with the camber of the road. Hence Benz corrective castor settings.

91RS

The pull isn't at bad as before though, I'm thinking it's just because of that negative camber and it's riding the inside of the tire and pushing it left a little bit. With everything else set properly the car doesn't fight itself any more. I got to thinking about it last night, and if something in the suspension is bent it probably is the strut. If one of those control arms was bent, I should have too much positive camber.

RedG

9 out of 10 times if something is bent it leads to noticeable negative camber, not positive.

Glyn M Ruck

Yes - with the 203 set up a bent arm would effectively shorten the arm & tend to pull the base of the strut inward thus achieving positive camber. So likely bent strut or axle.

Examine the body mounting points to look for signs of damage - although my experience with the 203 is that the mounting points are very strong. I've seen destroyed wheels & bent suspension components & the mount points have not moved or if they have never by more than the 3 position fluted bolts can correct. - check anyway.

91RS

The mounting points for the top of the strut (in the engine bay)? I know there was no damage where the two lower control arms mount to the cradle (also, my bushings in the control arms looked pretty good). So far the only damage repair I've been able to find was the right front frame horn, the impact bar has evidence of repair on the right side, the bumper has been painted (whether it's a replacement or not I'm not sure), the fenders have been adjusted, and just the right side of the hood has been adjusted. I just went and looked and there's is something around the top of the strut, but whether it's crash damage/repair I'm not really sure.

Right side:













Left side:

Glyn M Ruck

I don't like the signs of adjustment to make things fit but I see no signs of major damage repairs to the strut tower/s. The strut towers are pretty strong. You need to get things measured up & have a close look at that RHS strut. Try & take a measurement between the centres of each strut tower versus a car that has never been in an accident to see if there has been any reduction of that distance on your car.

91RS

Yeah, but at least all the panel gaps are even and straight. I'll try and get the car up in the air sometime in the week and pull that wheel off and look at the strut, hopefully that's what it is since that's only a $200 part.

Glyn M Ruck

see my edit

91RS

Alright, I should be able to do that. We still have an 2006 C280 on the lot and we also just took an 2007 C230 on trade, it's been in an accident in the front (condenser is pushed in), however I sold an alignment on that one and all it needed was toe adjustment.

Glyn M Ruck

Great. Centre of strut shaft to centre of strut shaft should be OK but measure from tower hole to tower hole as well just to be sure.

91RS

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. I was going to measure the top of the strut where the nut is side to side, but that's not where I need to measure?

Glyn M Ruck

Yes - that's what I mean - just remember that it is mounted to a rubber hat with a bearing in it so some movement is possible. All I was recommending is that you measure from the edge of the hole in each strut tower that the shaft with the nut sticks through as well because it gets the rubber out of the equation.

91RS

I gotcha, I'll probably measure from a few spots to make sure. This is the **** that makes me glad I'm not a body man. I could not deal with crap like this every day.

Glyn M Ruck

Yes - heaven forbid! - Here is a strut diagram so you know what's there.

91RS

Alright, I'll try and go look at those other cars tomorrow. I'll let you know how it turns out.

pogijeffrey

my front passenger wheel has more negative camber than the driver side. even when i drive i could feel a little lean towards the driver side. dont know what the problem is. at first i thought it was my lowering springs and that they were cut unevenly. but i had replaced them with new lowering springs and still the same. then i started to think that it could be the shocks on that side that were blown out or somewhat. so i then replaced the shocks too and still the same. more negative camber on just that side. it lower by 1/2 an inch on the passenger side. doesnt seem much a difference. but i could feel a lean towards the passenger side while i drive. and when parked i could see it sit a little unevenly. what could be the problem.? alignment shop wasnt able to adjust camber because i couldnt. i was told that i might of of hit a really huge dip that cause a bent in my suspension. all i remember is running over a big rock on the freeway which bent my wheel badly that it could not be fixed.

Glyn M Ruck

If you don't have a soft sring or damaged damper then something is bent. Do you know the present position of your camber bolts? Pity the C class does not use perch pads/shims like the E class or you could correct the ride height that way. You are going to have to check out everything.

pogijeffrey

would installing adjusting bolts help correct it in some way.

pogijeffrey

this is what i got

Glyn M Ruck

All the adjustment bolts can do is pull the bottom of the wheel in within limits & improve camber. Do you have them already? Might be at maximum adjustment already. They can't really do anything for ride height apart from the slight improvement due to correct camber.

91RS

Well, it looks like my strut towers may be about a half inch closer together than the other car. I'm going to measure the other car again tomorrow, it was raining to maybe I measured wrong. Lord this is going to be expensive. I guess I'll be calling the Mercedes dealer tomorrow to see how much a frame check and pull would cost.

Glyn M Ruck

Yes check to make sure - looks like we may have a bent car - must have been a hell of a knock. If you can pull it back into alignment, it may be a good idea to fit a strut brace - Good luck

BTW - do you have any recourse on this car?