R170 SLK Rear tracking adjustment

[sailorP]

I haven't posted on here for years as the car has been running fine without problems, and maintenance has been done regularly without any issues.
But now...
Can anyone advise on adjustment of rear tracking on an R170, in particular the SLK32 AMG?
My car was in the garage for correcting a couple of MOT advisories
(Adjusting front wheel bearings, fitting a new steering box drag link which had some play, and while there, check BAS/ESP fault light intermittently on).
During the process, the tech carried out a front wheel alignment and calibrated the steering (necessary after fitting the new steering box drag link).
It was noted that the rear tracking was out (I don't know by how much).
The garage rep (who I trust, incidentally), stated that they looked for a means to adjust the rear tracking. but couldn't find anything.
They checked on-line diagrams of the R170, and saw that there are rear tracking adjustment bolts, but there is nothing fitted to my car.
The BAS/ESP fault code was steering fault of some kind.
The car is booked in next week at the garage to check the steering calibration again, as the BAS/ESP light came on after I left the garage.
They think that the BAS/ESP light fault is related to the steering calibration, which they will repeat.
But as they are out of ideas, the garage rep suggested that I get on the forum and ask if anyone knows why there is no apparent rear tracking adjustment on my car.
(It is the AMG version of the SLK R170, and was the press demo car when the car was first brought to UK)
Can anyone:
Shed light on the apparent absence of adjustment devices on this model?
Advise if the rear tracking adjustment devices (perhaps a bolt with a chamfered washer etc) can be retro-fitted?
Point me and the garage to a reference which gives a diagram and parts number(s) to obtain the adjustment parts?
Many thanks
sailorP

 

[Uncle Benz]

Rear toe adjustment is here, but honestly you shouldn’t need to touch that for a front drag link replacement. You want to make sure they didn’t remove the steering wheel and move it on the splines. You’ll never get rid of the light if you do that.

 

[sailorP]

Rear toe adjustment is here, but honestly you shouldn’t need to touch that for a front drag link replacement. You want to make sure they didn’t remove the steering wheel and move it on the splines. You’ll never get rid of the light if you do that.

Many thanks for that, Gareth.
My garage is shut over the weekend , so I'll pop down Monday morning with this and ask.
Car is booked in on Wednesday, so I'll let you know how they get on.

 

[sailorP]

Feeding back on this issue, to add to the database of knowledge of things AMG.
Just in case there are any other owners who might suffer the same problem of ESP/BAS then ABS fault appearing after a drag link replacement on an SLK32AMG.
My trusted garage had a good look at finding the fault, and recorded several different fault codes related to the braking, traction & stability systems which appeared over the next week or so.
At one stage they suggested that the Yaw sensor, hidden away in the centre console, might be the problem, as they have a tendency to go to earth. At £702 for the part alone, plus labour, and the mention of brittle plastic clips failing during centre console disassembly, I was not looking forward to that repair.
Another fault code that came up was brake fluid reservoir sensor low level. There were others, all rather weird and random, but all connected to the brake & stability systems, and different every time I took the car in.

My garage was honest enough to suggest that they were happy to continue with fault finding, but that a visit to a Merc specialist with a STAR machine would probably be a more economical way to a more accurate diagnosis.

I did this at my local Merc/Porsche/BMW indie, and low & behold, the issue was a simple fix.
It appears that my trusted garage had not completed the correct road test sequence after calibrating the steering following the drag link replacement. (They aren't Merc specialists). According to the Merc tech at the specialist garage, the road test requires a series of actions to be taken within 10 seconds (ESP switch, steering to 90deg, forward motion etc etc). This cleared to fault, and the car is now fault free.

I am a very happy camper, because the diagnosis and fix cost me £120, (with a 25% discount on labour because it's an old car). Compared to a maybe £1K repair on the yaw sensor, I'm really happy. With summer finally arriving this week, really really happy I can get out in the old girl without fear of warning lights or ABS/ESP/BAS failure.

A side issue...The rear tracking was noted to be out of spec while the trusted garage was checking over the car, trying to find the fault. . It was adjusted correctly by by them by sourcing and fitting cambered bolts, as per the the diagram on the Merc parts website. My car had only normal bolts fitted, not adjustable ones...don't know why. Previous owner maybe? Or because this is an early example of the SLK32AMG? (It was the press demonstrator when the SLK32AMG first came to the UK). Anyway, that issue is sorted.

And fyi:
My trusted garage is Oldfields in Leominster, who won a Garage of the Year competition last year. They look after all my other cars. The Merc/Porsche/BMW indie is Dovermans in Hereford. I had honest explanations from both of them.

But lesson learned, I think. If the car puts up a fault code, go to a specialist with a STAR machine.

Cheers

 

[Uncle Benz]

I’ve never seen an R170 that didn’t have eccentric bolts fitted on the rear toe adjustment. I can’t see that an ordinary bolt could be fitted in that position at all. Anyway, pleased you are sorted, and like I said, replacement of the steering drag link shouldn’t require adjustments to the rear toe really.