I just upgraded wheels and tires on my 1993 190e to 16 inch rims with 205 55 16 tires. I noticed right away when I put the tires on the front driver side that the wheel was not centered, a check of the passenger side showed that side was centered. I got under the car to see if I noticed anything bent or unusual. The only thing I noticed was that on the passenger side control arm (the centered side) the placement of the arm was different then the driver side. I loosened the bolt on the driver side control arm, made the adjustment and tightened it back down. The adjustment seemed to work, the wheel placement of the driver side was very close to being centered. I then took it out for a run and upon my first braking noticed the tire was rubbing on the wheel well. Once back in the garage I could see the wheel was no longer close to being centered... About 1 inch off. Is this an indication that the bushings on the driver side control arm are too worn to maintain proper placement? Or is this a strut issue???? Help someone please! I want to show off my new wheels! LOL

Thanks -

Jody Barry
Fredericksburg, Virginia

Not many people can perform wheel alignment by eye!

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Kent Christensen
Albuquerque
'07 GL320CDI, '10 CL550. '01 Porsche Boxster
Two BMW motorcycles

What do mean by "not centered". Left-to-right? Back-to-front? Top-to-bottom?

As indicated earlier, it's a really bad idea to "eyeball" your alignment.

jp

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Jeff Pierce

Current Vehicles:
'92 Mercedes 190E/2.3 (247K miles/my daily driver)
'93 Volvo 940 Turbo Wagon (263K miles/a family truckster with spunk)
'99 Kawasaki Concours
Gravely 8120
Previous Vehicles:
'85 Jeep CJ-7 w/ Fisher plow (226K miles)'93 Volvo 940 Turbo Wagon
'53 Willys-Overland Pickup
'85 Honda 750F Interceptor
'93 Nissan Quest
'89 Toyota Camry Wagon
'89 Dodge Raider
'81 Honda CB 750F Super Sport
'88 Toyota Celica
'95 Toyota Tacoma
'74 Honda CB 550F

It was very easy to "eye ball" the driver side wheel being off center.... It was off by approx. an inch, front to back. So in other words, when looking at the drivers side wheel, it is aligned more towards the back of the front fender. On the passenger side wheel, I have a 2 finger gap between the tire and the back side of the wheel well, on the drivers side where as I have a 1 finger gap between the wheel well and the back of the wheel well. I made an adjustment on the control arm, which centered the wheel back to a 2 finger gap, however it did not stay in position once I drove the vehicle, the tire on the drivers side rubs on the back of the wheel well when I brake..... This being said, I ask again.... Could this mean that the bushing on the control arm needs to be replaced as it is not staying in the correct alignment???? Or are we talking about needing to take it to get the front end aligned???? I have been of the understanding that there is not much of an alignment needed for cars which McPherson Struts.

I would thank anyone who will answer my question and not make comments about "eye balling" whether the wheel is off center. If you have ever seen a wheel off by an inch, it is VERY obvious that it is off center. The question is WHY is it off center when the frame is not bent, none of the front end suspension parts appear to be bent and I made adjustments to the control arm that did bring the tire very "close" to being centered, however that adjustment did not hold once driven.

Thanks -