aphex

about a month ago i hit a curb while being silly in my car

so...i go to my dealer for an alignment...which they do

but afterwrds i notice the car is pulling to the right...

they do a second one...and then a third one...

the steering wheel was still slightly pulling to the right...

one mechanic there told me that this slight pulling to the right is actually incorporated on purpose at the factory because...if the driver falls asleep whilst driving, it is better to crash on the curb than driving off to the opposite lane and crashing with another car

has anybody else heard about this?

do your guys' cars steering wheel pull (slightly) to the right?

as i do not intend on taking a nap in my sl, is there a way to remove this??

LovinMercedes

The mechanic that told you this is a complete moron with a pea sized brain if any.

The reason you are experiencing a pulling to the right is because most roads are built with the road being slightly banked to the right side. This is for drainage purposes so when it rains the water does not sit on the road but drains to the right side off to the side of the road.

Some roads which are smaller roads are sometimes level and in this case you will find that you car will not pull but most often than not the roads are banked to the right.

You will also notice that your steering wheel is not straight even though you are going straight. This too is as a result of having to compensate for going straight when the road banks to the right.

This is what you will find in your car if it is properly aligned properly. That being said if that same moron that told you what he did is the one that did the alignment, I would find another person.

By the way, you will find this on all cars because all cars experience the same roads. Given the type of car and suspension, etc. you will notice this more on some cars than others. I did notice this often on all three of my previoius SL's and it is perfectly normal.
.

aphex

thanks lovin

i guess these people would come up with anything to compensate for their lack of knowledge

SLcharger

I agree with LovinSL600, but i would be interested in knowing : Was the car pulling BEFORE you had that accident ?

aphex

to tell you the truth slcharger-no, i didnt notice it before, but it doesnt mean that it wasnt there...when i brought the car in for repair after that little accident they ****ed up the alignment because 2-3 days after i picked up the car, a bolt in a linkage (i dont which one) came off. the car started pulling to the right like crazy...of course when i took it back to them they didnt own up to anything-to me its pretty obvious it was one of either two things

1. they didnt see the problem the first time
2. they ****ed it up while "repairing" it(more likely)

after that experience i was obviously much more sensitive to any movement of the steering wheel. so, i took it there for a third time, for what was now a very slight pull. after they did another alignment and i went for a ride with the technician i told him i still felt it...so thats when he came up with the "sleep" story.

btw how can i post some pictures? ( they are much larger than 100x100 pixels)

SLcharger

Try find an even parkinglot, tarmac, runway, etc. The car schould drive perfectly straight when let go off the steering wheel. If it doesn´t do that something is still wrong.

This Dealer is obviusly #%%#!>$.

Find a dealer you can trust, or even better, a shop with special experience in wheel alignment. Is this dealer an MB Dealer with MB trained personel ? Have they done a 4 wheel alignment ?

jonnyml500

i also have the same problm with it pulling to the right. it is very slight but noticeable. Called my service advisor and taking it in this wensday. this is on my 05 . with 2200 miles. it always pulled since i got it but did not have time to bring it in till now.

will update you guys.

craiglieberman

Same problem here. Three times its been in for service, all three times they deny it pulls to the right.

Very annoying. Have an 05 SL600

LovinMercedes

The avitar is 100x100.

I believe the pictures on posts are a maximun of 800x600. If you have pictures larger than that there are several software programs that will reduce them.

SLcharger

I can only repeat myself, cars must run straight on an even surface.

A lot of things can affect that behaviour.

Wheel alignment ( we had that already )
Trammin
Tyre pressure diff.
Camber diff.
Toe in diff.
Caster diff.

Caster, Tyre pressure, and Trammin ,are the ones to look at. If tyrepressure is right on both wheels, and trammin is OK ( done with four wheel alignment gear), then changing caster on one of the front wheel, could eliminate the problem.

I havent done this before, but i think its worth a try. Caster has to be changed, about a few 1/10 degree or so, then the pulling should stop.

A wheel alignment shop who knows their job, will be able to do so, although it will take some testing, readjusting, and testing, before you, hopefully, got it perfectly right. One of you guy´s could try it out, and provide some feedback.

jonnyml500

took my car in the morning and got it back today for the pulling problem.

It was pulling to the right and my service advisor said that all MB's off the truck will pull to the right that is how it comes from the factory.

It will pull very slighly you will not be able to feel it but if you let go long enough you will see the pull.

Anyways got my car back after the alingment under warrenty and it is straight as an arrow. i love it, glad i got it done.