mchang18

Hi all,

I've owned my vehicle for over a year now and ever since I purchased it it has had steering issues.
I figured it was out of alignment so I wasn't that concerned. After an alignment attempt at the Volvo dealership I work at we determined it was more serious.

It seems the right wheel is farther back than the left towards the inner fender.
:
: About 2 and a half inches.

the car consistently pulls to the right and when turning slowly the steering wheel will turn on it's own. There is no accident history in North America but I don't know about it's original location. Didn't look like it underneath as far as I could tell.

My question is, how do I adjust the suspension to straighten the problem out?
I myself and the tech I was working with couldn't spot anything.

Any help would be appreciated.

Pagz

Hello,

2.5" seems a lot, is this correct?

You can purchase repair bolts from MB which allow some caster/camber adjustment for the lower arm, this can help correct your wheel alignment but this is limited

Edit: I had a similar problem on mine where somebody had installed a repair bolt on one side only, which caused the drivers side wheel to be further back, when I replaced the bushes I measured everything and found no faults, so I reinstalled a stock central locating bolt(torx head), when Mercedes did the alighnment it was perfect!.

Maybe it was done to counter road camber?..


Cheers

mchang18

It is a lot yes.
You can't adjust without the specific bolts?
Thanks for the quick reply.

Pagz

Sure no problem, unfortunately you cannot adjust the stock bolts.

The repair bolts are slotted to allow either max pull in or max push out on the bush. so with a combination of either one stock central bolt or two repair bolts you can have 8 configurations/adjustments per side

If it is 2.5" would this be rubbing on the fender?, or are you saying this in the distance between wheel and arch?

mchang18

Doesn't rub no. Distance between the wheel and the arch.
I can hear the tires grinding against the ground when turning slowly but not against the inner fenders. I guess I'll contact my MB dealership and get a price on the bolts.
Cheers

Pagz

Have you checked the condition of your rear lower arm impact bushes?, also check to see if you already have any repair bolts. Repair bolts don't have a torx head and usually come with Nylock nuts.

mchang18

Hey Pagz,

Thanks for all the info. I have an appointment at my local MB specialist tomorrow and i'll see what's what with the caster/camber adjustment. I imagine the repair bolts are already installed since the car has been lowered but if not they are only $18 a piece.

I'm also getting a trans flush and all of the bulbs replaced in the cluster. I already tried removing the cluster myself and ended up breaking a piece of the plastic edging so ill leave it to the professionals. My trans shifts funny for the first 2 minutes after a cold start so I'm hoping a fresh flush will rectify it.
Cheers

mchang18

Control arm bushings are worn. Retail is $118 a piece but through my work I get cost plus 10%. $38. Mark up on this stuff is a huge racket. Thanks for the suggestions.