E220 coupe pulling to the left

[skivington]

Hi, my W124 E220 coupe is pulling quite badly to the left - it has done this since I bought it but seems to be getting worse, the pull is constant and does not seem to be affected by acceleration/ braking.
I have had the tracking done but this had no effect.
The front is riding high and I was thinking maybe the shocks are on the way out, would this cause a pull to the left? Anything I should be looking at?

Cheers

 

[television]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

If the car is too high, then maybe the incorrect springs fitted (this is nothing to do with shockers) the effect of too high springs is to throw the camber angle out, and the car will be running on the outer edges of the tyres, making it unstable and camber sensitive.. A correctly set up 124 drives perfectly, I know as I had one

 

[skivington]

AAh, cheers. The front definatley has at least an inch if not 2 on the back and one side is slightly higher than the other. I have to say that the handling is not quite what I expected from the car but I only recently bought it at auction so there may be untold things amiss.
Would you recomend a new set of springs/ shocks/ both?

 

[television]

This has nothing to do with the shock absorbers, and only a spring set up.

These cars handle very well.

Wait till one of the 124 techies and owners come on line, it could well be that the correct springs and shims will solve it all

 

[roofless]

the first thing to check is the left front brake caliper to see if it is seized

 

[skivington]

thanks both.
The brakes were checked out OK (well so was the suspension for that mater although I was informed that it was riding high at the front). If I knew with a degree of confidence that a new set of springs would be a cure I'd have them on as soon as I could get them.

 

[television]

Lets put it this way, the bottom wish bones go out sideways when looking at the front of the car, the wheels are fitted onto the ends of these wishbones via the stub axle. The wishbones are normally sitting something like parallel with the underside of the car when looking from the front, if the car is sitting too high, then the wishbones will be tipped so that wheel will be angled outwards at the top. Add this to the cars inbuilt camber angle, and then the camber angle has become excessive, and the car will mainly riding on the outer edges of the tyres, making it very camber sensitive to any road camber.

I have given you a link where it is all explained, look at the "riding Height" and it say exactly what I have said above
http://www.familycar.com/alignment.htm

 

[meanie]

As previous responses,check everything that you can yourself,but if everything ok,bite the bullet,and have a proper geometry check done at a MB dealer.
I hate giving them money,but all my 124's go there,as they can check ride heights,ball point heights etc properly.
The other little trick we used to use there was to set the N/S camber negative,the O/S camber positive,& add a bit more camber to the O/S.This was all to counter the camber of our roads.

 

[bigasotonuk]

Hi,
You say that the front is riding high compared to the rear by an inch or two, rather than the front riding high do you think it might be the rear suspension sitting too low?

 

[skivington]

Thanks for that Andy - you may be right, I am going on looks alone so I went out and had a measure...
N/S Rear - 26 1/8"
O/S Rear - 26 1/8"
N/S Front - 28 1/8"
O/S Front - 28 1/4"
Anyone out there will a simmilar car able to do a quick comparison?
Cheers

 

[meanie]

This bit should have said....& add a bit more caster (angle) to the O/S.
Sorry!!

 

[roofless]

have you checked for any sign of odd tyre wear or wear in the steering linkage http://www.detali.ru/cat/oem_mb2.as...GM=717.413&CT=F&cat=15T&SID=46&SGR=120&SGN=06

 

[skivington]

They tyres looked good last time I checked them, I was looking for uneven wear as a tell tale sign but found none - probably done 1000 miles snce last check so I'll give it a go tomorrow - I'm not much of a mechanic so wouldnt realy know what to look for wrt steering linkage - but I'll ask someone to have a look for me.
Thanks.
Out of interest I read an earlier thread about road camber affecting it and found on way home that the car pulled *slightly* to the right when I drove on the opposite side of the road (luxury of rural living), no where near as pronounced as the usual left pull.

 

[roofless]

the camber can cause the pulling & to be fair the only way to tell for sure is having it checked for 4 wheel alignment & camber angle

 

[meanie]

Maybe this should be a new thread,but out of interest,what do the forums experts think about the pukka MB allignment check.
I for one am convinced that it is worth it(assuming that it is done by someone who knows what they are doing),as it is a complete check of ALL the geometries variables.
However,they only go in once I am sure that everything else is as it should be.
Back to the original post,pay particular attention to the steering idler bush.If there is even a small amount of movement here,this can allow the N/S wheel to drag slightly,causing it to pull to the left.I would expect to see some wear on the inner edge of the tyre depending on how long it's been like it.

 

[skivington]

From what I'm reading here I am thinking that maybe the best long term option is to give it to MB for a wallet emptying session. Interesting thread above on w124 suspension giving some heart that there may have been a bodged spring change in the not to distant past that is causing my problem, not giving me loads of confidence in using my local garege for a spring change though. Im in Stranraer so no local MB garage or specialist independant in site

 

[meanie]

From what I'm reading here I am thinking that maybe the best long term option is to give it to MB for a wallet emptying session. Interesting thread above on w124 suspension giving some heart that there may have been a bodged spring change in the not to distant past that is causing my problem, not giving me loads of confidence in using my local garege for a spring change though. Im in Stranraer so no local MB garage or specialist independant in site

NO!
Ask about locally for a reputable indie,it doesn't need to be a speciallist as this is fairly basic MOT stuff.If no fault can be found,then take it in for a MB geometry check,but not before.
This is only my opinion & I am biased towards the dealers on this one.The reasons for this is that when it comes to steering geometry I believe that it can only ever be a sum of all of its parts.And,for me,that involves the things such as spring height(not to be confused with ride height),ball point heights & centering the steering box when setting the tracking.Measurements such as this can not be done with laser equipment,only the MB special tools.
In short,for me,it's a reputable indie to check/repair as required,& then MB to set it up afterwards.
Others here will have their advice,listen to what they have to say & then make the best decision for you.

 

[hmang]

one side higher than the other doesn't sound good.

 

[stumpy]

As well as broken springs check the seam around the strut turret in the engine bay. I viewed a car which had a bodged repair here causing a list to one side.

 

[skivington]

The springs are in good order and there does not appear to be any repair work at the strut. At lunch time I will get the car onto a ramp and have a good look at the area - thanks to all who posted diagrams and descriptions this will be a great help.

I'd still be interested in getting ride heights from another owner just to check that it is the front that is high and not back low or combination of both.