2005 E320CDI alignment issue
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 40
Likes: 1
E320CDI, ML350
2005 E320CDI alignment issue
Hello. Recently had an alignment and was told that they cannot adjust the camber anymore and that as a consequence that my tires would wear in the inside of the tire (all four tires) -- I apologize that I do not know the correct terminology. They offered to heat something up on each tire in order to bring things back into recommended specs (bending something), but when I asked how long that would last, they said as long as whatever Mercedes would do to the car (I don't think he was expecting that question from me). They also said that this was a common issue with this model of Benz. My car has 59,000 miles on it. Each of the tires would have to be done at the cost of $150 per tire. Is there a part that can be replaced that would bring back the adjustments -- am I clear as mud here? I am not a mechanic and know nothing about how this car is constructed except that this has been my FAVORITE Benz so far. Thank you for any suggestions or for clearing this up.
Super Member
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 563
Likes: 31
From: The Villages, Florida
2006 E320 CDI
My take on this is that you need to have your MB dealer perform the alignment, or at least someone who is very familiar with MB. Typical alignment shops, or I should say independent alignment shop mechanics cannot perform the alignment. They do make camber kits to help in the alignment. With only 60k miles on your vehicle, you should not need anything "heated", unless your MB was damaged in a front end collision. Read this post for more information:
https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...ment-shop.html
Mike T.
https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...ment-shop.html
Mike T.
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 337
Likes: 20
From: Charlotte, NC
2005 E320 CDI, 2015 GLA 250
I am a professor and did wheel alignment studies particularly focused on my '05 CDI. It was measured over 180 times.
To answer your question, there are many things you cannot adjust on the E320 and things like front camber, have a very limited change ability.
My experience is that the greatest wear problem on the CDI is rear tire shoulder wear due to over excited acceleration causing tire spin at traffic lights. Since there is typically a lot of negative camber, this burns off the inner shoulder of the tire. There is no rear camber adjustment.
My solution to all of this wear was to control my right foot and rotate tires regularly. Wheel spin wears the tires 100,000 times faster than camber alone.
Good luck,
Peter
To answer your question, there are many things you cannot adjust on the E320 and things like front camber, have a very limited change ability.
My experience is that the greatest wear problem on the CDI is rear tire shoulder wear due to over excited acceleration causing tire spin at traffic lights. Since there is typically a lot of negative camber, this burns off the inner shoulder of the tire. There is no rear camber adjustment.
My solution to all of this wear was to control my right foot and rotate tires regularly. Wheel spin wears the tires 100,000 times faster than camber alone.
Good luck,
Peter
