I have searched and searched but i cant find a definitive answer.

Can you Align the Front Castor and Camber without the fluted bolts? I previously had an alignment done from a general mechanic shop and they said that they could not be aligned.

Is this because i don't have the fluted bolts or that i went to an inexperienced mechanic?

I am confused as the the fluted bolts give you 2 absolute positions in the groves of the control arms, however if you put the bolt in the middle of the grooved like the standard bolt then what happens?

My last alignment was apparently within the acceptable range and would just require minor adjustment between the groves to get it bang on, so what's the difference here between the fluted bolt and the standard bolt?

 

My understanding is if your Castor/ Camber is too far outside acceptable limits the fluted bolts allow greater adjustment.

Search the W204 for more info.

 

This is what i also think should happen. So my alignment is in the acceptable limits and a competent alignment shop should be able to get it right with the standard non-fluted bolts...

 

Click on Wiki at the very top of this page. All the info you need.

https://mbworld.org/wiki/index.php/W203#Suspension.

 

What i don't understand is that the bolt doesn't fit tight in the central position like the diagram, there is lots of adjustment between the grooves in the control arm, the fluted bolt and standard bolt will act in the same way:



The fluted bolts surely just allow you the extreme grooved positions, which the standard bolts dont...

Or is the idea of the fluted bolts that you have to use the grooves and you do not use the central position like the standard bolts?

 

[QUOTE=jarvace;5808597]I have searched and searched but i cant find a definitive answer.

Can you Align the Front Castor and Camber without the fluted bolts? I previously had an alignment done from a general mechanic shop and they said that they could not be aligned.

Is this because i don't have the fluted bolts or that i went to an inexperienced mechanic?


QUOTE]

K-MAC manufacture front Camber and Caster kits and rear Camber and Toe adjuster kits to properly compensate for premature edge tire wear and improve traction. Currently front and rear Toe only adjustment is available OEM on virtually all Mercedes models.

 

That's how I read it.

 

I replaced mine, and this is what I found --

I think the diagram is misleading. The bolts in both diagrams are exactly the same diameter. The bolt, with or without flutes, will fit into the center position in between the two sets of tabs.

If you choose to use a fluted bolt and want to place it in the center position, you just have to be careful to rotate it into a position where the tabs will not slip into any of the flutes, thereby allowing the bushing to slip to one side or the other before you torque it down.

These flutes and tabs are there only for the purpose of roughly positioning the bolt in the hole before you put the load on the suspension and torque down the nut. The tabs do NOT look like they would stand up to substantial pressure -- so it is the torque on the nut that is holding the bushing in place under normal driving conditions, not the flutes and tabs.

A bolt without flutes will only fit in the center position and has almost no play in it.

So, to answer the questions that were originally posted:

No you cannot. The non-fluted bolts have virtually no play in the bushings.

It is because you did not have the fluted bolts (, and the mechanic wasn't about to grind off those tabs

You should have all three positions available with fluted bolts. Just be careful where the flutes are positioned when you use the middle position.

The standard bolt can only sit in the middle position and gives you essentially no adjustment capability.

The flutes in the fluted bolts will give you a bit more movement in the center position if you position the tabs over the flutes, even without placing them in the flutes. That's kind of fudging it, but I think that's what was done on my car before I changed the control arms.

 

Good write up. I've saved it for future reference.

 

I just had an alignment done yesterday and they were able to do it with the standard bolts. There is plenty of movement for the standard bolt in the central position between the grooves/tabs in the bushing, probably about an inch.

As I don't have a bent chassis or bent suspension parts etc. I don't need the fluted bolts, as these just allow an alignment shop to get an extra a bit of alignment they wouldn't have with the standard bolts.

The alignment shop had the fluted bolts on the shelf and they did not need to use them.

 

Uhmm ... according to the specs the variation in position of fluted bolts is +- 4mm ... that's a total of 8mm range, or about 3/8". Please refer to this thread/post ...

https://mbworld.org/forums/4918205-post14.html

And if you look at those pics, a bolt in the center position will have virtually no play.

So the only plausible explanation for what your shop did was to either install a smaller diameter bolt, or grind out the tabs ...

 

I fitted the control arms and the standard bolts myself and i can confirm that the bolt does not fit snug in the bushing when in the central position between the grooves. There is plenty of play.

The standard bolt is the same diameter as the fluted bolt and fits snugly and tightly into the chassis holes, but there is about half an inch of movement in the bushing hole.

This is what got me confused in the first place, what's the point of the fluted bolts when my standard bolts give me enough adjustment in the first place.

The alignment shop told me that i only need them if they cant get things into specification in the central position.

That WIS diagram is very misleading and not accurate.

I went to a reputable alignment shop who has aligned many Mercedes before and even had the fluted bolts in stock should i of needed them.

http://www.richmondalignment.ca/

 

When you are wiggling the bolt in the bushing hole, remember the tabs are only maybe 3/4" apart, so you can probably angle the bolt 10-15 degrees off perpendicular from the bushing ... don't confuse that with lateral play in the bushing while keeping the bolt perpendicular.

 

No, i had the brand new control arm in one hand and the bolt in the other and there was definitely side to side play of half an inch.

If it was a tight fit i would not of started this thread.

 

Does the attachment help?

 

That diagram is for a w204, anyways i wish i took pictures as they speak louder than words. But i assure you the bolt is not a tight fit in the center position between the grooves of my control arms, both upper and lower were the same and had the same amount of play.

 

To my knowledge w203 and w204 have identical front suspension.