W124 Alignement Questions - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

JamesDean · #1 05-15-2014, 09:12 AM

I had my 124 aligned at MBNO in December. The car drove very very well. I was extremely pleased. The alignment degraded (started pulling left on highways) over the winter for whatever reason so I took it back up in April. They re-aligned it and I had the same problem. They adjusted the tow a bit on 5/1 for me.

But...I'm still getting some left pull on the 300D. Its not as aggressive as it was before, but it still present. I still have to hold the wheel to the right in order to compensate for the pull when on the turnpike/highway.

I took a few more videos and pictures to illustrate:

Here is the wheel position when driving on the right side of the turnpike. Centered, no pulling. Drives wonderfully.
http://i.imgur.com/kNY55Fh.jpg

Here is the wheel position when driving in the center lane of the turnpike, forced slightly to the right. You can see that the cruise control stalk is more hidden than in the above picture.
http://i.imgur.com/zapEUoc.jpg

Here are some video showing the pull:
WP_20140502_001_zps3c77bafa.mp4 Video by JamesDean59 | Photobucket
WP_20140502_008_zps49ae4339.mp4 Video by JamesDean59 | Photobucket

All of the above pictures and video were taken on 5/2/14.

I put all the various alignment data into one spreadsheet....
http://i.imgur.com/faF1AzU.png

Additional here is the dates/mileage on all of the car's suspension/steering parts. The oldest parts being the lower control arm bushings (70K miles on them)
http://i.imgur.com/kRyqS5c.png

They suggested I swap front tires left to right. I did this and I don't feel that it had a significant change in the left-pull but I've started to notice some right-pull when in the right lane. Maybe it was there before and I didn't notice or maybe the swap caused it. Its not nearly as strong as the leftward pull.

Can someone explain to me what's going on here?

Zulfiqar · #2 05-15-2014, 10:41 AM

I think it would be best to pry the ball joints with a prybar to check for any slop, even a 1mm wear slop in the joint will cause the car to sit lower on that side.

Tom300CE · #3 05-17-2014, 06:01 AM

Hi James,

I had same problem 1 month ago. I had some cheap new tyres at front for 6 months and 1 day it just started pulling left quite aggressively. I checked tyre pressure and it was at low 20psi, that was strange. Pumped up to 35psi put next day again low pressure, so tyre was ....
What I discovered after removing wheel was that tyre was totally worn out from very edge of inner side ( like I would have extreme camber adjusted). I have absolutely everything new in my drivedrain so at the begginning problem was strange, but pulling shock pump stop down releved reason why wheel has worn out like that. My 6 month old top shock febi mount metal was cracked in half, half was holding and other half was broken what made shock to move under angle. New mount and problem was solved.
As my 300ce runs on amg shock/springs then it needed also lower style pump stops, but I had the highest installed, so I think that made my mount to crack.

I hope this helps you.

JamesDean · #4 05-17-2014, 01:43 PM

Hi Tom,

Thanks for your input. I think my next step is to move the front tires to the back and see if that makes any difference. I've inspected as much of the suspension as I can. The shock mounts are new as of last fall direct from Mercedes. No cracks that I can tell.

I think if the problem is still there with my Michelins in any configuration then I might take my 190E's 16x8 Lorinser's and try them on the 124. They should fit no problem. If the pull is still there then its probably in the alignment or suspension/steering system.

Thanks for your input!

Tom300CE · #5 05-18-2014, 06:03 AM

You can see from picture how crazy this crack actually is and it's hard to see when pump stop is all the way up.

[IMG]

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I'm driving on 17'' rims with Michellin Pilot Super Sport, handling is excelent.
Let us know when you figure it out.

Ferdman · #6 05-18-2014, 07:08 AM

James, a reputable MB Service Department should do whatever it takes to diagnose what is causing the pulling problem with your 300D, especially since they have aligned it twice in 6 months. I would call the Service Manager, explain the pulling problem in detail, and request that they diagnose the root cause of the problem. Typically any good alignment shop will thoroughly inspect all suspension components before doing an alignment to ensure that they are not wasting their time and your money.