Car Owners Hub UK - Built by Drivers, for Drivers

A couple of weeks ago, I had an alignment done after replacing the lower control arms and ball joints. However, about a week ago, I started to hear creaking and a pulling to the left when braking. I checked underneath and saw that the bolt on the left side of the control arm was loose; I tightened it, but it is still not to specification. Regardless, the problem is now fixed. The garage is decent, and I use them often, so I'm wondering if this is something that would have been adjusted during the alignment? Thank you

For the record, the 2011 W212 E250 CDI

Have you taken note of any bolts that seem unusual?

If that were the case, the alignment shop wouldn't have needed to loosen them to do the camber adjustment.

I don't know. What if they weren't strange?

Loosening them to tweak the settings would be futile because turning them would have no effect.

If you have a Hunter machine, you can get a free KwikFit but will have to pay for any modifications. I'm not sure who you trust with your tracking, but it's worth it. Before you hire them, look into the feedback the garages have received about wheel alignment. I requested if the diagnostic for this was FoC when I last used them a few years ago, so I don't know if they charge today.

The W212 only has front and rear toe-in-toe-out adjustment unless you modify it. At the front, it's through the ends of the track rods.

Were they too busy worrying about getting the vehicle back on the ground to remember to torque the bolt that tightens the control arms when it's loaded (i.e., rolled over)?

To make it seem as though it's back on the ground, or to use a "drive on" ramp (whatever that may be) or a large jack with a 4-or 2-post lift, they'll often compress the suspension arm.

Exiting the ramp results in four promotional posters.