Alignment issues 94 E500

[e500.org]

Hello folks

Having to post on here due to unresolved alignment issues with my E500.

The car pulls to the right. It was straight when I first bought the car but shortly after I had some work done (tie rod assemblies, drag link, steering damper, shock mounts) and since then, I've had it laser aligned with two shops and both have not been able to get the car straight.

I've noticed today during the oil change the space between the fender and the tyre is wider on one side (passenger side) compared with the other (drivers side). It is a few mm out but it certainly isn't exactly the same. I would expect it to be exact. Photos attached but quite hard to see.

LCA are original but do not appear to have play with the crowbar. Shocks also original. Absolutely no signs of any damage or accidents.



Any advice would be much appreciated.

Bilal

 

[gsxr]

The air gap can be different left to right, due to tolerance stack. If course now that you've posted this, @Jlaa and others will be out in the garage measuring their cars for comparison.

For a quick test, swap the wheels front to rear. Tires with slightly abnormal wear (which may not be visible to the naked eye) can cause pulling to one side, even if the alignment is perfect. Or try a different set of tires that has not been used on this car, so they should not have any wear issues.

Finally - do you have the printout from the most recent alignment? And do you know if the shop is using the spreader bar when setting toe?

 

[Jlaa]

The air gap can be different left to right, due to tolerance stack. If course now that you've posted this, @Jlaa and others will be out in the garage measuring their cars for comparison.

For a quick test, swap the wheels front to rear. Tires with slightly abnormal wear (which may not be visible to the naked eye) can cause pulling to one side, even if the alignment is perfect. Or try a different set of tires that has not been used on this car, so they should not have any wear issues.

Finally - do you have the printout from the most recent alignment? And do you know if the shop is using the spreader bar when setting toe?

Guilty as charged. My car has approx 0.125”-0.25” difference between the left side and right side on this measurement.

Btw @e500.org, it may be worth asking your alignment guy if they used a spreader bar. Both @kiev and I had the same experience - multiple alignments where the steering wheel was not perfectly centered until the shop finally used a spreader bar —- then perfectly centered wheel.