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84 300 sd alignment question

Submitted by mstern4444 on 6 August 2008 - 3:01pm.

hi all,

how important is proper alignment?

my 300 sd is pulling fairly hard to the right and i'm wondering if it is worth it, or how soon, i should have it aligned. what problems can be caused by poor alignment? i live in the country and drive on a pretty poor road every time i go anywhere, will it become misaligned very quickly?

also, most shops in the area charge 80 bucks for the alignment, including the chain stores like les schwab. another shop that is recommended to me charges 115. 40 bucks just to diagnose the alignment. any opinions here? is there a good reason that they would charge 35 bucks more? is it worth it?

thanks much

matt

‹ 79' 300D Won't start out in 1st gear 1982 240D Low oil pressure repair @ home? ›

hard starting when hot

8 August 2008 - 7:21am
rockcrawler

I have an '84 500 SEL with 105k miles and it starts great when cold and even when hot provided it is started only a few minutes after it is shut off when the engine is hot. However, when you shut off the hot engine, and then let the car sit for about an hour, it is very difficult to start and takes a lot of cranking and holding the gas pedal to the floor. It feels like it is starving for fuel, as upon start up there is no indication of black smoke coming out of the exhaust. There are no issues starting the cold engine, even after sitting for a week.

I was told by someone that the most likely culprit here is the fuel accumulator, which is mounted next to the fuel pump. Is this a good diagnosis?

Yes, wheel alignment is very

8 August 2008 - 7:20am
rockcrawler

Yes, wheel alignment is very important. There are three basic settings: toe, camber, and caster. Improper toe adjustment causes scrubbing and feathering of the tire edges and uneven wear. Improper caster usually causes pulling to one side. Improper camber will cause uneven tire wear, usually excessive wear ont eh tire edges, and in exreme cases, even pulling to one side in cases where there is positive camber on one wheel and negative camber on the other one.

Mercedes cars require special tools for alignment. Many shops do not have these tools. Therefore, it costs more to align a Mercedes car.