Definative explination.... Pull left

[Rupert44]

Historically stock ( center point ) camber positions would work fine. Odd handling like you describe doesn't fit an imbalance in cross camber or castor positions, it reads more like a toe issue which if wrong allows lateral deflection, in this event you the driver needs to correct the deflection.

Imbalance in camber or castor would offer a constant complaint rather than a variant due to road perturbations.

Thanks

A visit to the tracking man in the morning me thinks (Oops monday) I will post the results.

Rup

 

[Rupert44]

Ok had the tracking done by a "specialist" now the car pulls very slightly to the left and still wants to follow the white line...

The fellow checked other things and said all was ok.

I think I need a company who knows whats what....

I would like to get it fixed before I go to France for Christmas.

Any body know/recommend a garage up Telford, Wrexham, Chester etc .

many thanks

 

[Rupert44]

Oops this is for the SLK

 

[WDB124066]

Call the Hunter Rep in the UK find out who has a Hunter Hawkeye ELITE machine in your area and go there. Trust me on this.

http://www.hunter.com/alignment/hawkeye_elite/index.cfm

 

[kamalpatel12448]

I'd take my car to Tony at Wheels In Motion (WIM) every time for something like this in Chesham.
Kamal

 

[neilrr]

Since this is a sticky & going to be at the top of the board forever could one of the mods fix the spelling in the title please?

 

[Rupert44]

Thanks for the advice, I have booked the car in to WIM. It will be next month before I can get to them but rest assured I will report the progress back to the Forum. (Sounds like a Frankie Howard joke)

 

[Rupert44]

Just an interim up date.

After visiting 2 garages who know about these things ( according to them). I took the SLK in to my usual garage for its service. It was duly serviced and it required rear pads.

They also noted on the invoice that there was play in the lower steering joint ( not enough to fail the MOT but just an advisory for next time).

I had both bottom joints changed and the car is 50%better.

I will still be calling into WIM and get it all set up correctly.

And I will report back to you all

Richard

 

[Rupert44]

And the final report.

I visited WIM, wow what a professional outfit. Checked the car over an took me on a guided tour of their findings.

We'll very little wrong but they adjusted the steering to their recommendations and gave me a print out of the before and after.

And at a fair price.

Continued on my way to London and then to France.

Result. Drives like a new one.

We'll done WIM and the forum.

Many thanks to all

Regards

Richard

 

[wheels-inmotion]

Thank you for taking the time for giving feedback. I'm obviously delighted your pleased with the results.

 

[Paparazi]

I really do not want to get into a technical debate with the original poster but as an ex Mercedes Technician (now lecturing in motor vehicle technology) and in charge of our dealerships 4 wheel alignment bay at that time, I do feel that I am qualified to comment.
If all that is being stated here is: that a car will naturally steer with the camber of a road then isn't that like say if you put a chocolate Santa in front of the fire is will melt...PRETTY OBVIOUS! springs to mind and happens with all makes & models of cars.
Would anyone actually want to compensate by offsetting/adjusting to extremes of tolerance...I certainly wouldn't given that you often drive on a flat road 'the crown' or on the continent where this type of compensation would lead to an even greater pull the opposite way.
If however, you are driving on 'the crown' of a road (straight down the middle) obviously only advisable on an empty road....and the steering is still bias towards the left, you definitely have an issue.
I don't agree will the OP when he said: The MB chassis build is superb, tolerance's are minute allowing little future correction at the chassis in the event angles would change. In truth this is a fantastic statement since most modern cars allow for chassis corrections during the cars lifespan.
MB chassis might well be built to a higher tolerance but of ALL the manufacturers Mercedes have always designed their suspension & steering with a multitude of adjusters.
Most other manufacturers have non adjustable Camber or Caster with the ONLY adjustment being Toe.

If I am honest I think that this thread is pointless......it just states the obvious, suggests solutions but then advises not to follow them (thank god).
If it has any point at all, it is to remind owners that the camber built into all roads does occasionally lead to steering pull and not to mistake it for an actual fault. That last statement is 'THE STICKY' just delete everything else.



Martin

 

[alistairgd]

Obviously the transverse geometry of the carriageway profile plays into this as much as the car geometry, surprising then it hasn't been talked about much.

..... that the camber built into all roads does occasionally lead to steering pull and not to mistake it for an actual fault.

Camber is not built into all roads, and even when a road is cambered, the crossfall (%age grade) can be different depending on the required design, which is usually dictated by the requirement to shed water.

So on an incline, there is no need to have a highly cambered profile, as water will naturally shed downhill. However on a flat section of road the crossfall could be anything from 2.5% up to 5%.

Then you have roads which are super-elevated, i.e on bends where to resist the car from sliding off to the outside, one edge of the c.way is significantly higher than the other, but there is no camber at all.

So, there are 3 different carriageway profiles, all off which will cause cars to drive differently.

You have to ask yourself if adjusting your cars geometry to suit one of those three c/way geometry's is a good idea.

 

[johnkyte]

Is it true that a car that pulls to the left in the UK would invariably pull to the right given similar cambered roads abroad?

Yes,,,this is true of all cars and coaches that I have driven
If I wasnt paying attention to my driving,I would rather it pulled to the left than right

 

[WDB124066]

"camber built into all roads does occasionally lead to steering pull and not to mistake it for an actual fault. That last statement is 'THE STICKY' just delete everything else."

You are wrong here Martin and I mean this respectfully. This forum is so far ahead of oh the camber in the road does that, that your statement is just not even funny to us.
Pull and drift are very different.

Would you please think about doing some serious research from a professional engineering standpoint into this [using your position to advantage] and perhaps report back to us. I am not trying to degrade you but I am saying "oh its the camber in the road" is just an excuse that fits so people adopt it. It is wrong, now go find out exactly why - is my challenge to you.

 

[Paparazi]

If however, you are driving on 'the crown' of a road (straight down the middle) obviously only advisable on an empty road....and the steering is still bias towards the left, you definitely have an issue.

I am in no way belittling what can be a very frustrating issue, however, you can see from part of my reply that I wasn't saying all cases of pulling to the left are attributed to road camber.
Clearly there are many instances that need further investigation, some may be cured with a simple left to right wheel swap (I've seen this many times) others may need very accurate 'chassis' datum point measurements against factory spec.

All my 'Full' 4 wheel alignment checks were preceded by lengthy ride height adjustments (changing spring spaces and even springs for different codes) it was only after all the initial checks and ride height adjustments were complete did I proceed with the geometry adjustments themselves.
As you can see a very lengthy process to get everything right.

Done correctly they don't pull....well no more then they naturally should.

Martin

 

[WDB124066]

Yes, it is doing it correctly that makes the difference. But MB themselves recognise the drift problem and have published cures for it very much along the lines of what is being done here to fix it.

Accurate machines make a big difference. The new centreless sensor Hunter Elite is precise!

I have a Toyota Starlet Diesel that tracks straight almost irrespective of road conditions, it even tracks straight on farm tracks.

I've a Merc that the Dealership can't align properly despite several attempts [and a lot of money changing hands]. They refuse to read the MB instructions and come up with the line that is all too commonly heard by the frustrated Benz owner. You need to knock that line on the head and replace it with MB have a fix for that and here is the MB document that describes how to do it.

See if you can find the one for the 124....

 

[wheels-inmotion]

A pneumatic pull is an easy test and the most common reason for a pull i agree there and i agree the road crown will offer a pull but in truth it's not a physical pull it's eventual drift, as you said there's a difference.

FYI most cars without a rear beam are also camber, castor adjustable and manufactures like Jaguar/ Audi insist on a camber/ castor stagger in the UK/ Japan.... I wonder why?

 

[dubsR33]

can anyone recommend a place like WIM, but a lot closer to Bristol?

Cheers

 

[whitenemesis]

MB Swindon did an excellent job on my 219

 

[dubsR33]

how much did they charge can you remember?

ive just had new wheels, tyres and tracking done but mines turning left quite a fair bit etc..

cheers