Milton Chadwate

I have a C55 and the car constantly pulls to the right. Took the car to the dealership to get aligned. The dealership said they aligned it twice and that the alignment is spot on. Cause for the pull is "unapproved" tires. I have BFG sport tires on the car now (can't recall the specific type at this time). Question is, can this be the case? I find it hard to believe that the car pulls to the right because of a "unapproved" tire. I posted this question in the AMG forum and no one had an answer. Bottom-line is the pull is making the car very unenjoyable to drive at this point. I would greatly appreciate any one's help and/or feedback.

mleskovar

An excuse because they can't fix it. Did it start pulling immediately after the current tires were mounted or did it always pull from new? Was an alignment done when you got these tires? Have you ever had the strut bushings replaced?

Milton Chadwate

No it seemed to begin pulling a few months after the tires were installed. Definately didn't pull like it does now prior to tire change. And yes an alignment was done when the tires were put on. The car only has 33K miles, so the bushings were never replaced. i am thinking of buy "approved" tires just so when the problem reoccurs they will be responsible to fix it. The car starts straight then around 15 mph the wheel begins to turn to the right and the car drifts off.

mleskovar

I was thinking maybe they screwed up the alignment when the new tires were installed but if it was OK after the installation then that's probably not it. Hit any bad potholes, curbs, or debris that you are aware of? Any uneven wear taking place (look very closely)? Something has to be bent, broken, worn, or an adjustment moved for it to start drifting...someone would have to explain how tires could do that on their own for me to believe it's the tires.

Once out of warranty they have no responsibility to fix it other than protecting their good name. Warranty on alignment here is one year or 12K miles. Have you tried putting the tires in different locations....like swap sides...and see if the problem is still there?

My car drifted left when new. MB fixed it under warranty by changing the camber bolts. Different bolts give you adjustment to the alignment. The castor bolts are the same and are also sometimes changed to correct drifting problems. I'm assuming you did not buy the tires from the dealer and that whoever you bought them from did the alignment. If true, have you gone to them yet?

vettdvr

I gave up on that battle. I only run Michelin Pilots and they drive great.

When the dealer said the alighment is spot on it probably is. However there are RANGES for settings to compensate for chassy issues. The caster can be set with the right front wheel leading the left by a (MB allowed) amount to get a right drift corrected.

It could be the tires. So rotate them to see if the problem changes. If it does it is tires, if not alighment.

If a range is -2 to +2 and the dealer sets alignment on 0 it will be dead on alighment. It just might not drive straight. This is why there is a range. Caster can be adjusted with a maximum cross camber range to allow one side to lead or lag depending on the individual vehicle.

My guess is:

1) The dealer won't help without tires the car came with or at least tires same as on new show room cars

2) If you have correct tires and it is set "spot on" but the alignment guy doesn't compensate for chassy based on customer feedback you will have the problem.

3) You need a really savy alignment shop that understands MB preloads front wheels for toe in to compensate for Autobahn driving. If you drive most of your driving below 100 mph you might want to us a US setting on toe in. Toe in won't cause it to pull to one side.

4) Get over the myth of pot holes knocking out of alignment. If you hit something hard enough to knock it out of alignment you will have to replace a broken part. These front ends are tough and drive at speeds up to 150 mph in Germany. Don't even think they put cheap front ends in these cars.

Best of luck.

99CLK320lover

My '99 with 94,000 miles also pulls to the right. It just started one day on the way to work. I also noticed that on long trips (~100 miles) the car will track straight. I am at a loss?

vettdvr

This sounds like you have one tire with low air pressure and as it heats up it changes it's profile on the road. Caution... if it is not a differential pressure you may have a bad tire. Consider rotating front to back and cross the front to the rear to see if the car drives straight. If it does it is a tire issue. If It pulls to the left on the back you will know it is a tire. However on the rear it might still be a bad tire and not pull.

The other thing you could do would be swap LF and RF to see if it pulls to the left. If it does this will also confirm a tire issue.

If you find a bad tire don't risk your family safety pull and replace it asap.

Milton Chadwate

I had the Benz Dealership do the alignment 3 times and the problem was not corrected. Not sure how much more savy of a alignment shop I can find who in turn should know how to correctly align a AMG Benz. My guess is I am screwed. This seems to be a problem with no solution. I appreciate everyone's feedback and info, greatly appreciated.

vettdvr

You must be dealing with a knuckle head who does not know how to set the cross caster to get the car to drive straight. If it is pulling right the right wheel will need to be set at a higher + caster. This could be as much as 1 to 2 degrees. Caster does not result in tire wear. Camber and toe in are much bigger factors. If the dealer can or will not do this you will need to find a specialty shop that can do it. For me the local (believe it or not) Firestone dealer has a alignment guy who is savvy enough to do our E500 which I can assure you is driven very spritied and the Michelin's Pilots wear well with even wear.

mleskovar

Good advice. Don't give up, go to someone who knows what they are doing. Pulling, especially on long trips, is a real PITA. Don't put up with it.

Milton Chadwate

PITA, your not joking! I have to drive with the wheel tilted to the left to go straight. And the minute I let go the car immediately drifts to the right. Plus the C55 has heavy steering as it is, so the last thing I want to do is wrestle with the steering wheel all trip long. I'll be honest, I am at my wits end with this car. I am going to make calls tomorrow and see if I can find someone who is knowledgable and can correct the drift.

mleskovar

Was the wheel ever "straight" or did the wheel start pointing left to go straight when this problem started? Sudden change like that means the suspension/wheels got wacked. If alignment doesn't fix it then they are missing something damaged.

Milton Chadwate

Yes, when I bought the car, the wheel was straight and the car drove straight. If i put the wheel straight the car pulls to the right and the wheel follows. With that said, to go straight i need to have the wheel slightly angled to the left, if that makes sense?

mleskovar

Makes sense, and that's what I thought you meant originally. Your tires aren't causing the problem, something in your front end is broken, bent, or out of alignment adjustment. You need to find someone capable of correcting it. If you hit a large pothole/debris/curb etc/ and now your previously straight steering wheel is slightly (or more if bad enough) off center that means something in the mechanism has changed.

E3002.8

I'd be thinking seperated tires, by the dealership meaning the tires are not aproved i'd ask how? weight rating possibly? seperated tires will cause a pull, and there kinda hard to spot. I have seen this lots on vw's with the wrong weight rated tires. And being a guy who hates doing alignments cause there kinda a pain, i make sure it's done right the first time cause half the battle is setting up the machine. and if it still pulled, i'd double check with another alignment to confirm my numbers are on. I'm sure the dealership did not screw up the alignment, but then again, it's still possible.

Milton Chadwate

Seperated tires, not sure what that means? The dealer said that BFG's are not mercedes approved, that OEM tires such as Pirelli's is what they recommend. Original tires were Pirelli. I just dont see how I am going to get the dealership to fix this? My car is still under warranty however without replacing all 4 tires to OEM tires I don't see mercedes taking the time to or money to fix my car correctly.

E3002.8

seperated tires is actually the belts inside the tire coming apart. if you have more weight then the tire can handle this can happen

vettdvr

Actually that is close to what I had to do to break the deadlock.

Mine is under warranty and I bought 2 new Michelins and put on the front from the dealer. Dang noise quit and it drove straight. However ,,, when I had the ball joints replaced under warranty the dealer did not do alignment. The car pulled right like someone was tugging on the wheel. I took it to my specialty shop who knows how to do the MB and now it drives ok.

So you might consider just buying the 2 front tires from the dealer to get out of the basket ball game where everyone bounces you around. If you have MB origional tires there should be no issue with the dealer. I also found Sams had the OE mercedes tire. I bought the second two from Sams. This gave me 4 matched michelins. SO you might consider some other source for OE tires if you don't want to go to the dealer. I really don't mind buying from the dealer who does my service and warranty but for me it is 200 miles of driving as we have no local dealer. Therefore I don't mind buying tires locally but I do buy OE tires. Mine came with Michelin Pilots on it and that is what I use exclusively.