Strange issue after alignment

[Capra]

Since having this done I can definitely notice that the car pulls ever so slightly to the left if my hands come off the wheel. I was thinking it was camber related but it does not appear to be the case. Since the alignment could this be to tyre wear or something else? It didn't do this before.
The car does not dramatically pull, just enough to notice, if that makes sense??

 

[bembo449]

reads like its not been done correctly to me pal , should improve the drive not make it worse

 

[Capra]

reads like its not been done correctly to me pal , should improve the drive not make it worse

It's odd because the before and after on paper looked better! All greens.

 

[bembo449]

well in that case find a dead flat piece of road and let go of the wheel , if it doesn't stay on course , they have cocked something up

 

[Capra]

well in that case find a dead flat piece of road and let go of the wheel , if it doesn't stay on course , they have cocked something up

I'll have another look later when the roads are quieter, like you say it need to be dead flat on a nice surface.

 

[LostKiwi]

I'll have another look later when the roads are quieter, like you say it need to be dead flat on a nice surface.

Try a supermarket car park.

 

[Capra]

Try a supermarket car park.

So if there was an alignment problem or something else out it would be evident in a car park at slow speeds?

 

[LostKiwi]

Should be.... but you can get up some pretty decent speeds in some large carparks

 

[Capra]

Should be.... but you can get up some pretty decent speeds in some large carparks

Good point, I've seen this with many Saxo's and Polo's on a Friday night!

 

[Uncle Benz]

Pulling left is very common with Mercedes. To counteract the natural tendency you need to set more caster angle on the left than the right on the front wheels. Most alignment shops will set the caster the same left and right, or as close to it as possible. This exacerbates the condition. Special adjustment bolts are needed, the standard bolts allow no adjustment to caster or camber on the front.

Can you show us your print out? Do you have both the before and after sheets? We might be able to see any problems then

 

[Capra]

Here you go. Special bolts were indeed used. I'm probably as usual worrying about nothing and should have my hands on the wheel any way

 

[Flyinspanner]

Did you just get ‘wheels aligned’, or a Hunter Alignment (geometry)?

If the former at a generic tyre place, you will just have a generic factory set up, which as has been said, can induce this due to uk road camber.

Get a proper Hunter set up from somewhere like WIM (Aylesbury) and they can dial this out.

 

[Flyinspanner]

Just saw you prob had camber bolts renewed - probably a proper job, maybe needs a tweak

 

[Capra]

Hi, I may have confused matters, the special bolts I was referring to were for the ones the mechanic uses when calibrating I think.
Yes, this was a Hunter setup, and not at Kwik fit

 

[Uncle Benz]

Here you go. Special bolts were indeed used. I'm probably as usual worrying about nothing and should have my hands on the wheel any way

Looking at your sheets, they haven't adjusted the caster at all, however it looks like it could have been steering from the rear, and that may have been compensating for a natural tendency to drift left. The figures you have now are pretty good. Personally I would live with it if the drift is very minor. Your tyre wear will be best right now. If you can't live with it I would fit caster adjustment bolts and increase the nearside front caster and see if it helps. Obviously the toe and camber will need checking again, and probably a small tweak there too, as they will move when you adjust the caster. A lot of people will tell you that you must have the caster equal on both sides, but that isn't the case.

 

[Glynn350]

Maybe your incorrect toe on one side on both the front and rear were negating the standard mercedes "pull to the left on cambered roads"?

Edit: Put much better above by Uncle Benz!

 

[Glynn350]

Looking at your sheets, they haven't adjusted the caster at all, however it looks like it could have been steering from the rear, and that may have been compensating for a natural tendency to drift left. The figures you have now are pretty good. Personally I would live with it if the drift is very minor. Your tyre wear will be best right now. If you can't live with it I would fit caster adjustment bolts and increase the nearside front caster and see if it helps. Obviously the toe and camber will need checking again, and probably a small tweak there too, as they will move when you adjust the caster. A lot of people will tell you that you must have the caster equal on both sides, but that isn't the case.

Obviously most of our roads camber to the down to the left, but some (motorways mainly I think) slope towards the central reservation. Will these caster adjustment bolts make it pull even more to the right in this situation? Or on the continent...

 

[d215yq]

I've had mine done after tie rods and must admit now it steers much more to the camber of the road and provides feedback of doing so. Before when there was free play it seemed to correct a lot itself...was easier to control on bad/uneven surfaces and seemed to go straight with little effort. Was a different story in gusts of wind though.

 

[Capra]

Looking at your sheets, they haven't adjusted the caster at all, however it looks like it could have been steering from the rear, and that may have been compensating for a natural tendency to drift left. The figures you have now are pretty good. Personally I would live with it if the drift is very minor. Your tyre wear will be best right now. If you can't live with it I would fit caster adjustment bolts and increase the nearside front caster and see if it helps. Obviously the toe and camber will need checking again, and probably a small tweak there too, as they will move when you adjust the caster. A lot of people will tell you that you must have the caster equal on both sides, but that isn't the case.

Yes, it was mentioned that it would have been steering by the rear a little, and I did remember a natural tendency to the left. I can certainly live with it, I just wanted to ask here for feedback.. Thanks Uncle Benz for your help. By chance have you done a wheel alignment before?

 

[Capra]

Maybe your incorrect toe on one side on both the front and rear were negating the standard mercedes "pull to the left on cambered roads"?

Edit: Put much better above by Uncle Benz!

Maybe, I never had a clue that alignment was so complex!! Now I know why getting just the front done is a waste of time.