Tyre wear

[Dunx]

Hi all. The inside edges of my front tyres are wearing pretty badly, suggesting the camber is out. I had a 4 wheel alignment done by the dealer about a year ago and thought would be the end of it, but it would appear not.

Is there anything else that could be causing this? The car ('97 W210 E300TD Estate) has done 130k miles so could worn suspension components be contributing?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated...

 

[280gee]

Did the dealer supply you with a printout of the alignment values? It would be well worth getting a check done now anyway, say at a local tyre dealers that also offer alignment services. One of them local to here will check for free and only charge if adjustments are made. Perhaps you'll have something similar nearby?

 

[kth286]

Not neccessarily camber problem.

Could well be too much toe out. And yes, could be due to lower wishbone bushes worn.

The natural tendancy for a rear wheel car is to splay the front wheels outwards (toe out) when driving.

So if the lower wishbone bushes are worn you will get more toe out than car is designed for.

 

[John Kerr]

Hi all. The inside edges of my front tyres are wearing pretty badly, suggesting the camber is out. I had a 4 wheel alignment done by the dealer about a year ago and thought would be the end of it, but it would appear not.

Is there anything else that could be causing this? The car ('97 W210 E300TD Estate) has done 130k miles so could worn suspension components be contributing?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated...

Hi.I had this problem a few years ago on a BMW .It was the rear subframe mounts worn.On corners the subframe was moving slightly causing the front track to run out.

 

[television]

A toe problem can often be felt on the tyres where the edge will feather slightly on one side of the tread the side depends on if its a toe in or out problem

 

[Dunx]

Thanks for all your suggestions guys.

I took the car to the MB dealer to have a look. They did an alignment check and were unable to bring the camber back in due to worn wishbone bushes at the front, on both sides and a worn camber strut and wishbone bushes (OS only) at the rear.

Is there any reason why they would tell me I need new wishbones, as opposed to just replacing the worn bushes?

Thx,

Duncan

 

[kth286]

probably because the cost of labour to remove and fit two bushes to the wishbone on each side will be more costly than just replacing the wishbones which is much quicker.

You need to get a dealer that will offer 40% discount on labour for cars over 4 years old OR go to an independent Merc specialist.

 

[television]

As Kieth above and thats the only way to go

 

[Dunx]

I presume this isn't something I could do myself, as I don't have proper Merc spring compressors?

 

[television]

Is your car with self leveling or normal suspension ie,the estate

 

[Dunx]

Yes, it's the estate with self levelling suspension...