I went to the dealer and they claimed a "basic alignment" would do no good since I replaced struts and rear shocks.

The SA wanted to charge $299.

I’m at firestone for $93.99. Waiting to see what they say.

Can someone advise when you need new bolts? Seems like a money grab by the dealer..

 

You just need a 4 wheel alignment, I recently completed installing front struts/rear shocks with sway bar end links as well.

Im sure the Firestone 4 wheel alignment will work perfectly.

 

That’s b.s. I hate how people try to lie in this business 😠! Hard to find honest people in general.

 

I went to firestone and they has me waiting for 1 hour 10 and never touched the car. The dudes were acting weird from the moment I walked in.

I took the keys and left.

I wrote the Mercedes service manager and he's offered to do it free of charge. I would think bolts would only be needed if you damage something....

Anyone else with feedback would be appreciated...

 

The eccentric washers can elongate more than needed and is definitely a wearable item. Same thing happens on the Nissan 350z and people use square lock washers with aftermarket camber arms to correct the useless alignment from the factory camber bolts and eccentric washers.

EDIT: When the dealer says “basic alignment”, they are most likely referring to a 2 wheel alignment or front wheel alignment which is not going to help you in this case. You will definitely need a 4 wheel alignment to get all 4 tires lined up with each other properly as your Camber is probably way off in the rear.

If you check out my thread in my signature, I was able to get a 4 wheel alignment and my wheels balanced for $338 CDN from an independent tire shop.

I suggest going to get it done for free at the Mercedes dealer, at least they’ll do it properly and without any cost to you!

 

The only adjustment designed into on our cars (and nearly all mass-produced cars today) is front toe, period. The manufacturing process is so precise that the mounting locations and dimensions of the suspension arms are exactly uniform, so that no adjustment other than front toe is provided for. A so-called 4-wheel or thrust alignment just sets the front toe to match the toe angle or "thrust" in the rear wheels - which again, is factory-set and not adjustable.

On my 1994 Porsche, every angle is adjustable by design - front and rear - so that someone who wanted to could do a custom set-up for track use or just for their personal preference.

Yes, you can use camber bolts to add adjustment to that setting if it got off somehow, but that would be unusual. Any other alignment correction would mean replacing suspension components that were bent or damaged in some way.

I've changed lots of struts and shocks on my mass-produced cars - including my C350 in 2017 - and never done more than a "basic" alignment (toe angle check) afterwards. None have ever had any unusual tire wear or steering problems.

 

$200 at dealer for 4wheel alignment here

 

Toe/Camber/Caster is definitely adjustable on the W204

 

Many thanks for your explanation. I have a basic knowledge at best. Classic example of bait and switch.

 

It’s not a “bait and switch”. Here is an actual alignment sheet from my last visit showing everything is adjustable. You need a 4 wheel alignment or you’re going to be out of spec.

 

Ok, but not exactly transparent either. All I'm saying is that to go from $99 to $299 is a tactic.

My sense is they'll try to get $100 out of me. But for that price, I might as well go to Firestone with lifetime warranty.

 

Only sort of. There is no adjustment for camber or caster on the car. If one or both are out of spec, special bolts and washers have to be installed to allow adjustment. Slight changes may be noticed without the use of camber bolts and adjustment washers merely from changing toe. If your alignment included camber bolts, it would be listed as it's not cheap. Springs have to be compressed to install them so there's additional labor as well as the cost of the bolt kit.

 

This is what I understand for all W204. I read the W204 Camber Castor thread but it did not elaborate as to why this is needed or how this happens.

I presume you would have to hit something underneath?

BTW Autohauz has Front Inner Camber/Caster Bolt Kit for $12.41 each. I think you need 4.

 

In my case, I got tired of my '13 C63 eating the inside edges of front tires after 5,000 miles. The dealer said the camber was within specs. I finally insisted they adjust the camber to the lower limit of the spec (it was close to the max). Problem solved.

 

Correct. You still need to align the rear as well. I was just making sure TC isn’t going to only adjust in the front as the other user suggested, the rear definitely needs to aligned as well, hence the 4 wheel alignment.

 

"You still need to align the rear as well" ... what exactly are you suggesting be aligned in the rear? Toe? Camber? Caster?

 

Yes.

 

Torn in Austin is Correct!

The often quoted, re assuring "FULL 4 - WHEEL ALIGNMENT" is only front and rear directional adjustment (TOE).

There is no front Camber (or Caster) and no rear Camber allowing to adjust tire contact angles. It is new car industries best kept secret.

Excess adjustment of Toe to resolve premature edge wear only increases the overall wear rate.

You can fit (front only) inaccurate "one offset position" bolts
But they only provide this one position with a minimal 3 mm (1/8") setting change!

We saw the need therefore to fix it right the 1st time - to re-instate from the early 90's once again precise front Camber and Caster, rear Camber (and with extra Toe to compensate).

The front kit providing more than 4 times adjustment of the inaccurate "one offset position" bolts (available front only) and is PRECISE SINGLE WRENCH - ACCURATELY (UNDER LOAD DIRECT ON ALIGNMENT RACK).

Allowing to cater for other than showroom height conditions. Day to day commuting encountering high cambered roads, altered height through load carrying, lowering, fitting wide profile tires/wheels. Adjusting for curb knock damage, correctly resolving steering pull.

Kits at same time replace the 4 front and rear main highest wearing bushings (1st vehicle item to fail - resolving also rattles squeaks).

Front Camber and Caster kit #502616 K $480

Rear Camber (and extra Toe) kit #502226 K $480

The 6 rear multi link arms Uprated bush kit #502628 K $480
(less twitch/flex, loss of traction)

Front replacement top strut mounts - extra adjustment track days
(Camber and Caster adjustable)

Stage 2 (Street/Race) #503016-2L $545

Stage 3 (Full Race) #503016-3L $545

Rear uprated subframe bushes (4) #503028N $695

Rear Self align diff mounts (2) #503228 K $480

ALL KITS DESIGNED SO NO SPECIAL TOOLS REQUIRED

Delivery one kit $30 (Each extra $20)
PayPal, Visa or M/Card

 

The basic alignment was for 4 -wheel alignment.

Only the front right toe need adjustment according to the alignment sheet.

The special was for $99 down from $139. I love how the SA thinks I was going to pony up $299 from $99.

So after contacting the manager to let them know their SA tried to dupe me, it was no charge.

See attached for the readouts. They had it done in 1 hour and 30 min.

 

Current Mileage: 125k

Replaced struts and shocks with Bilstein B4.

THE GOOD:

The car handles better after the alignment. The creaking noise, when turning around in driveways, is gone.

THE BAD:

The creaking noise is still there when going over uneven roads. It's hard to replicate.

I had a mechanic inspect the front suspension but found nothing.

Q. Could this be sway bar bushings? I feel like I can't get out of the woods....

 

Glad to see the alignment sheet and to see that it has resolved your ride quality issues!

As for the creaking, when I did my suspension the sway bar end links were a little loose at the top.

Try tightening them and go for a drive while hitting some bumps, hopefully the creaking is gone.

If not, I’m sure if you get some lithium grease and spray/apply to the sway bar bushings, you’ll be able to see if the sound is still there or not after another test drive.

 

Makes sense, do new shocks and struts require a break in period?

 

Those sway bar mountings are tough little buggers .. they require a lot of torque and sit back in there where you can't easily get a big wrench on them. Mine clunked a lot after I did my struts and I finally took the car to my indy mechanic to shut them up.