camber is terrifically uneven after alignment - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

ROLLGUY · #16 06-24-2017, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Junkman

The hole in the LCA that the bushings get pressed into are round. The bushing itself is round on 2 sides and flat on 2 other sides. The bushing goes in so that the round ends are in line with the control arm.

If my recollection of a round hole is correct, and if the hole in the bushing is in the center, then installing them wrong would not affect adjustment but would affect how much support the bushing had when any force was applied in line with the control arm.

That is exactly how I understand it, and would explain it. With the weight on the car and spring pressure on the LCA, it will want to pull towards the outboard side of the car. If the bushing is installed with the flat side facing out/in (vertically=less support), then it would take more of the adjustment to bring it into spec, than if the bushing was installed correctly. That may be why the eccentric is maxed out on that side.

Diesel911 · #17 06-26-2017, 07:51 PM

If someone has not mentioned it the eccentric bolt and nut need to be torqued while the car is sitting normally weight of the car on all wheels. That can be on the ground or on a rack at the alignment shop.
If it is on the ground it is difficult to torque due to limited space and the high torque. But I did it when I did it.
The bushings are lined up compared to the flat area on the control arm which is normally covered by the lower spring perch.
　
There is 2 types of bushings. The 2 piece Bushing which is the same as the W126 lower control arm bushing and the stock W123 bushing which is listed as a 3 piece bushing which has an aluminum tube that needs to be flared.

bricktron · #18 06-26-2017, 08:07 PM

thanks everyone. i went back to the shop with documentation, had them mount the bushings over again, and they said the camber improvement was only minimal. i'll post the results when i get it home again.

this is a big commercial shop that has been in town for decades and it's hard for me to imagine them being incompetent at it... unless aligning this car is inherently different from all other cars? i thought i could avoid figuring it out myself by going to a pro... ugh.

97 SL320 · #19 06-26-2017, 08:32 PM

What is the history of this car? Have you had it long? Any crash damage visible?

Are the upper bushings bad? Check closely if someone drilled / moved the upper control arm mounts.

Was the alignment OK enough pre bushing change that it didn't pull?

bricktron · #20 06-27-2017, 07:02 PM

i've had the car for six years. all i know about accidents is one quarter panel is dented and the front passenger door was once replaced decades ago. it never had an alignment problem until i this episode, when i connected the uneven tire wear with the deceased LCA bushings. the upper control arms were replaced in 2015.

i did swap the swaybar for the wagon version along the way, and its bushings seem OK, but maybe the four nuts on it should be loosened before alignment so that it's not holding other things out of whack in some status quo ante position. also, can the position of the steering rods affect the alignment? for all i know those parts are also not in their original positions.

here is the shop's second try at seating the bushings. the rectangular protrusions in the rubber are now more or less lined up. it's an improvement, the car isn't oversteering quite like before.

torsionbar · #21 06-27-2017, 08:05 PM

I don't mean to rain on your parade, but Meyle does not have a good reputation for rubber suspension components. Not saying they're your problem here, just pointing it out in case you happen to remove the arms again in the course of troubleshooting. As a data point, my '04 BMW went 10 years and 120,000 miles on its original bushings, which still felt "ok". As part of a complete suspension refresh, the control arm bushings are the one thing I cheaped out on and bought Meyle. The Meyle replacements are completely destroyed in less than 2 years, and feel worse now than the 10 year old original BMW parts.

I won't be buying this Meyle brand again.

Junkman · #22 06-27-2017, 10:07 PM

There is a very large amount of adjustment available on these cars. Look up how to adjust and measure camber and see how much adjustment is available on this car. Make sure you have the correct eccentric bold. Note (and mark) the current setting then crank it over to the other side.

Here's the 126 FSM (program.rar). There are trans manuals there too. Unzip and run the swf file to bring up the menu. The pdf will show up in your downloads folder.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/5wgmveryif2ijnh/AABn9OEwrQQHYx224rbwS-ZAa?dl=0

97 SL320 · #23 06-28-2017, 04:08 PM

Take a pic of the left adjuster eccentrics and note in the pic from what direction they were taken from and up / down. The LF camber got worse after they aligned it making me think they are turning the adjuster in the wrong direction.

Steering rod / tie rod location won't affect what is going on here.

Was this car wearing out tires on the LF outside as long as you have had the car? If so, something on the car may be bent.

torsionbar · #24 06-28-2017, 11:30 PM

Since it sounds like there is some question as to the shop's knowledge and capability with an older MB, personally I think you should take it to the dealer. MB dealer alignments are very reasonably priced, about $149 around here. And they will have all the correct tools and procedures. The larger high volume dealers often have a vintage guy on staff specifically to handle cars like yours. The big high volume MB dealer near me does, and he's often wrenching on mercedes cars a lot older than yours. I've owned a lot of old european cars over the years, and the only two brands I've ever seen where the dealership is actually a good place for service on an older car, are Mercedes and Porsche.

Junkman · #25 06-29-2017, 12:31 PM

I am suspicious that the shop removed the bushing to check their work. The spring needs to come out to remove the control arm. I've had to cut the bushing out as directed by the FSM. There is no easy way to check that the bushing is oriented correctly. IF they went to the trouble, they would need new bushing and Lemforder is not easily available locally.

Ncbenz · #26 07-01-2017, 10:00 AM

What needs to happen is the shop needs to adjust the caster, than verify the caster after each adjustment. After that the camber can be adjusted but with the caster so far out of spec, the camber will stay far off.
Edit
Also, your thrust angle is way out of wack, which will cause the car to track in strange ways.