A bit of toe out, perhaps ?

[grpar]

Hello all,

It seems the senior members can scarcely believe that I paid an MB dealer £760 for new discs and pads all-round on my C180 (54 plate). When the work was done, I also had some suspension components replaced under warranty to cure a hard ride at the front, together with the 30k "A" service for good measure.

A thousand pounds and a thousand miles later, I now find at motorway speeds that the car wobbles and floats a bit, by occasionally pulling to the left slightly only then to swing back to the right. It also catches the ridges much more than it used to. It's like driving in strong gusty wind (even though one isn't).

What's up with the steering this time .... ? All ideas appreciated before I have to part with another four figures of cash ....

 

[JEZ.S320L]

Hello all,

It seems the senior members can scarcely believe that I paid an MB dealer £760 for new discs and pads all-round on my C180 (54 plate). When the work was done, I also had some suspension components replaced under warranty to cure a hard ride at the front, together with the 30k "A" service for good measure.

A thousand pounds and a thousand miles later, I now find at motorway speeds that the car wobbles and floats a bit, by occasionally pulling to the left slightly only then to swing back to the right. It also catches the ridges much more than it used to. It's like driving in strong gusty wind (even though one isn't).

What's up with the steering this time .... ? All ideas appreciated before I have to part with another four figures of cash ....

Easy! Go back to the Dealership, explain FULLY your concerns and then ask him the following:

"How PRECISELY do you propose to manage my expectations"?

Short, polite and straight to the nerve.!!!

 

[JEZ.S320L]

Hello all,

It seems the senior members can scarcely believe that I paid an MB dealer £760 for new discs and pads all-round on my C180 (54 plate). When the work was done, I also had some suspension components replaced under warranty to cure a hard ride at the front, together with the 30k "A" service for good measure.

A thousand pounds and a thousand miles later, I now find at motorway speeds that the car wobbles and floats a bit, by occasionally pulling to the left slightly only then to swing back to the right. It also catches the ridges much more than it used to. It's like driving in strong gusty wind (even though one isn't).

What's up with the steering this time .... ? All ideas appreciated before I have to part with another four figures of cash ....

me again!

Your post has REALLY wound me up! As you can see, I have had a succession of somewhat expensive cars, ALL of which have been main dealer serviced. NEVER, NEVER - EVER, have I had the p**s taken out of me, like you have had!!

TAKE IT BACK and make a fuss - and PLEASE don't offer them another single penny, until they have sorted it out.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr :evil::twisted:

 

[rf065]

I recently had the exact same symptoms on a works Renault. I took it to the garage and explained what it felt like. They replaced the anti roll bar bushes and said they were worn and would cause all the symptoms I had listed.

Unfortunately, it soon became apparent that the fault was still there, so back it went. This time they replaced a worn ball joint and the car is now OK.

Check your tyres too, as the fault on the Renault wore out 2 brand new front tyres in only 4500 miles. Both outer edges worn.

Russ

 

[grpar]

Thanks chaps, the front tyres are being replaced this week anyway as the nearside tyre is a little more worn on the outer edge than the inner. I'm told this is a Merc trait.

I will have to take it back to MB (again), as even my passengers have noticed the twitchiness which is especially apparent at motorway speeds. What do we think it is though ... anti-roll bars, bushes, toe-out ??

The suspension components they changed 1k miles ago included the strut arms (?), torque arms (?) and bushes ......

 

[bigasotonuk]

Hi,
I get this on my w202 ocassionally and i,ve put it down to the tyres tramlining (following wear grooves in the road surface) or wind.
But i,m thinking it could be down to lower ball joints now as they picked up that there is slight play in them at the MOT last week.

 

[grpar]

Ball joints are where ?

Where should I look for these ball joints (upper & lower) on the front suspension, so I can visually check them first ... ??

 

[grpar]

Breakdown of the £760

For a breakdown of the £760, I've put the details in the other thread entitled "Always Change Pads and Discs ?" ... see page 4.

 

[grpar]

Where should I look for these ball joints (upper & lower) on the front suspension, so I can visually check them first ... ??

When I had the front tyres replaced I had a good look around both front wheel hubs. The lower ball joints looked new, and a quick tug of everything showed there was no play in anything to speak of.

I wondering if the shimying ride is actually coming from the back now. A quick press down on the rear end shows there is much more play in the springs at the back than at the front (which are hard as nails to push down).

Is this correct, or should the back end offer as much resistance on the springs as the front ? Help appreciated before I go back to MG again.

 

[rf065]

According to the symptoms you describe, I would still reckon its the ball joints. Mine were checked twice and said to be OK, third time, they changed them and the fault was gone.

The rear springs would not give the symptoms you describe in my opinion.

Russ

 

[grpar]

As I thought, toe out on both fronts by 2'.

Cost 214 quid, but at least I have found a good, competant, customer-oriented MB dealer in west London in the process .... wish I'd found them 3 years ago.