E320 CDi Front Tyre Wear

[ShinyF1]

New castor bolts - solved my problem

 

[stivesvelo]

I had the same problem on mine, same year model & wheels, also had the blowout!

Bought the car at 52Kmls, now have about 102-105k on the clock.

Had the wheel allignment checked when replacing the tyres by a place in Barton (Cambs), they said all was ok (4 wheel lazer allignment).

Problem started to show itself again, also bad tramlining & poor directional stability (always correcting).

I jacked car up & found drivers side front wheel bearing loose, corrected this & driving was a lot better but still wearing the inside front.

Went to a specialist who several people had recommended (Cambridge Sports Tyres or some such name, they also claim to do allignment for Mercedes at times).

They found 3 wheels out of line, both front & drivers side rear. After this was adjusted it was like driving a new car, tramlining in the ruts left by trucks on the A14 now not an issue, doesn't wander about as much & the tyres wear nice & even (I swap wheels around once in their life to even things out , front - rear), nothing has needed replacing.

During the icy spell I managed to drive (not hard) over a curb & knocked the tracking out, this was corrected by the local garage & all is good again.

I think it pays to ask around before getting allignment done because every man & his dog claims to have 4 wheel lazer allignment, but I don't think it is all the same thing & also it seems to need some expertise to get right.

Hope you get it sorted

Rob

 

[jberks]

Fully agree - lots of different views on what constitutes 4 wheel alignment - which is why I've gone to the dealer for the full monty.
Unfortunatley they rang to say that the ride height is out as well as everything else. Then they rang again to tell me I need new front shocks. Haven't spoken to them yet and I'm hoping I misunderstood the price he quoted. I'm sure he said £130 plus vat per shock. ECP have bilsteens at £87.50 - and then there's the labour which shoots it out of the park entirely. Don't know what to do now - if I take it to an indie the parts will be the same so I'm probably only saving a hundred or so.
Are Bilsteen shocks really any different to MB badged ones?

 

[toby1]

Went to a specialist who several people had recommended (Cambridge Sports Tyres or some such name, they also claim to do allignment for Mercedes at times).

They found 3 wheels out of line, both front & drivers side rear. After this was adjusted it was like driving a new car, tramlining in the ruts left by trucks on the A14 now not an issue, doesn't wander about as much & the tyres wear nice & even (I swap wheels around once in their life to even things out , front - rear), nothing has needed replacing.

Rob, was this Cambridge Performance Tyres off Cherry Hinton Road by any chance? Ta.

 

[turbopete]

Fully agree - lots of different views on what constitutes 4 wheel alignment - which is why I've gone to the dealer for the full monty.
Unfortunatley they rang to say that the ride height is out as well as everything else. Then they rang again to tell me I need new front shocks. Haven't spoken to them yet and I'm hoping I misunderstood the price he quoted. I'm sure he said £130 plus vat per shock. ECP have bilsteens at £87.50 - and then there's the labour which shoots it out of the park entirely. Don't know what to do now - if I take it to an indie the parts will be the same so I'm probably only saving a hundred or so.
Are Bilsteen shocks really any different to MB badged ones?

bilsteins may even be better than MB ones! they used to be THE shocks to use on uprated performance cars years ago, like the escort rs turbo, mk2 rs2000, capri's etc. they dont seem as popular now as there are many cheaper brands for the boy racer fraternity, who only do suspension work for looks or out of necessity rather than improved functionality

 

[jberks]

Well,
the dealer is putting my car back together again and I'm picking it up in the morning. All credit to them, if I agree to have the tracking / camber etc done there (basically what I'd booked it in for in the first place) and pay that up front on collection, then they won't charge me for today's diagnostics. I think that's very reasonable of them. After all, they're well within their rights to bill me for a couple of hours labour.

So I need to collect it, get the shocks done and take it back for setting up.
Euromerc have some very reasonable shocks on their site but whether they are the right ones I don't know. I've emailed them my chassis number so we'll see what they say. Failing that, maybe the Bilsteens from ECP. Then I just need someone to fit them. I guess any decent mechanic can do that, especially given I don't need it fully setting up, just the ride height.

Why is everything so damn complicated!

 

[turbopete]

im not sure how new shocks will cure a ride height problem though. springs will make a difference, but cant see how shocks can, as theyre only there to stop the bounce that a spring with no shock creates and, in the case of coilovers and mcpherson struts, somewhere to actually mount the spring!

 

[jberks]

im not sure how new shocks will cure a ride height problem though. springs will make a difference, but cant see how shocks can, as theyre only there to stop the bounce that a spring with no shock creates and, in the case of coilovers and mcpherson struts, somewhere to actually mount the spring!

Got me a bit confused too. Springs are fine - they were replaced a year ago. Leeds dealer did it so I know they're ok. What they are telling me is that they can normally adjust the ride height via the shocker but apparently one of them is faulty and won't adjust and the driver's side is too low which in turn is a major cause of my wear problems.

I don't really understand it to be honest but they're letting me take it away to get them done - hardly something they'd do if they were pulling my leg and given the deal they'e giving me, I'm inclined to trust them even if I don't fully understand what they're telling me.

Maybe one of our indie experts can shed some light ....

 

[wheels-inmotion]

High pressure gas shocks aids the body height but the real criminal would be the coils if the trim height is low.

 

[dieselman]

He's changed the coil springs. The W211 uses Macphereson strut front legs with adjustable cup height (Easy Girls.. ).

It sounds like one is U/s so can't be adjusted to spec.

 

[jberks]

Thanks guys
Ok - next question then -
Just been to see the dealer and had a lecture on the difference between MB and 'oem' parts. Assuming Euromerc don't come through for me, I was considering putting Bilsteans on it. Honestly, is there really any difference? Is it all cobblers?
There is a huge part of me that wants to tell MB to get on with it and if there is a difference and I should fit MB parts, then the labour cost isn't enough on its own to swing it. So, what do I do?

 

[television]

With Nick at euromerc if you ask a question,,then you may not get a reply as the searching for part numbers does take a long time,,and I can vouch for that, if you order what he has,,then it will come through

 

[jberks]

Thanks Malcolm.
I think I've come to a decision.
If I go away, get it done elsewhere and there is a problem, leaky shock at the next MOT, alignment issue etc its going to get very complicated. The difference is around £200. - probably not worth the risk overall.
I'm going to give the dealer the go-ahead.

 

[OlafMaxwell]

Reading this today, noted I posted on this one some time back and reread the 17" wheels. I have 16" wheels and never a wear issue like this., I always park the car near full lock and make a point of looking at the wheels after locking up. Are the wheel sizes significant?

 

[jberks]

Reading this today, noted I posted on this one some time back and reread the 17" wheels. I have 16" wheels and never a wear issue like this., I always park the car near full lock and make a point of looking at the wheels after locking up. Are the wheel sizes significant?

It does seem to affect 17" more severly. As overall diameter is the same it must be related to width - the ones that seem to be affected the worst are 245 tyred models - also it seems to be specific to 211s as far as I can tell. The suspension design is quite a lot different to the 210. Handles a lot better but clearly there's a downside!

 

[jberks]

Well - she's back. 2 sets of camber bolts fitted, 2 new front shocks fitted, full adjustment done, £720 paid (plus the £400 the tyres cost me) and ...
too early to tell on the tyre wear. The steering feels heavy and doesn't seem to self centre as much as it should. But then I've spent the last week in the Landrover and that has much lighter steering so maybe thats just me and I need to tune back into the merc. But ....over 55 its got the shakes. Wheel twitches slightly and theres an unpleasant rumble - so not happy with her yet.

I'm going to get the tyres checked first so back to the tyre shop tomorrow - maybe it's nothing more sinister than a weight fallen off or a mishapen tyre - stranger things have happened after all. I'm just struggling to see how, with their fully calibrated high tech gizmo, so accurate they could tell that the drivers side was 1mm too low, MB could get their part wrong.

 

[jberks]

Success !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tyre guy said
1 wheel slightly out of balance
and
Both rear tyres rolling backwards

Could have been him I guess but he thought the dealer had accidentally swapped the rear wheels round and I guess if he thought he'd screwed up, he'd have simply kept quiet. Anyway - whoever was to blame - purred up the M1 this morning.
Steering seems better too but as they haven't touched that, I'll put it down to my paranoia.

Now I've just got to watch the tyre wear.

 

[stivesvelo]

Rob, was this Cambridge Performance Tyres off Cherry Hinton Road by any chance? Ta.

Apologies for no reply but haven't logged in since posting.

Yes it was Cambridge performance tyres (they know how to charge, so maybe a bit of negotiating is due before they start to play)

Rob

 

[toby1]

Right, back from WIM on Saturday.

Looks like both my front springs are looking probably guilty as the trim height (I think that's what he said) is very low and is causing the wear. It couldn't be adjusted put it that way.

There's very little gap between the front arch and tyre.

And for good measure I now have an engine oil leak from somewhere! :cry:

 

[toby1]

Having looked under the car whilst on the ramp (car is being looked at by Pro-Tech MB specialists near Newbury), I have the OSF front spring definitely looking newer than the NSF.

They also say there's excessive wear in the bottom arms' bushes, apparently new arms rather than bushes due to labour costs.

And the NSR spring is not sitting correctly in its mount.

Plus possible front drop-links!

So I'm none the wiser really! I think it takes a real expert to know what to change rather than a "replace the lot" angle.

Anyway, waiting for prices now to see what the costs will be...