Hi,
I have been reading the forums in search of my answer and am more confused because there is so much info and I can't find my specific questions answers:

2005 Limited convertible

Stock suspension

Front tires both wearing inside

Alignment shop tells me it is out of camber {1.75} (the fronts...rears are good)

Question 1) Is there any adjustment with the stock camber bolt? (I read +/- .5, and have also read no adjustment....need clarification)
Question 2) The MB bolt with cammed washers (part number unknown but it runs about $20+/-), I read somewhere it is adjustable to +/- 1.5, but I can't verify thru part supplier
Question 3) Is the KMAC 502016 J the best 'other' option? (At $380, I am hoping there is another solution for less money)

I appreciate your help!

Wheels down.
C-Note

 

I was told by an alignment expert that there are several mb camber kits available each with a different amount of adjustment, that means they are non adjustable, you put them in and what you get is what you get, id like to confirm if that is true and if anyone has the mb part numbers for the various kits, thanks.

 

I bought the front kit from EBay ($350) it is a KMAC kit for a MB part # 502016J for a 202(c), 208(CLK) and it worked great! They are adjustable now!!
The mech said getting the old bushings out was h*ll but he got it.

 

That is correct as to the alignment adjustment, but I know of only one eccentric bolt kit that will work properly on our cars. Read the post DIY Eccentric Bolt Install and some of your questions will be answered. By changing one bolt on the A frame you will have three different positions to use and thus three different adjustment levels. Keep in mind either of the two bolts on the A frame will effect the other components of the alignment. To reduce negative camber place the new eccentric bolt towards the engine side of the car. The original OEM bolt is in the center/neutral position and if you would place the eccentric bolt outwards toward the wheel you would increase the negative camber. NOT what you want to do. So in your case you should use the new eccentric bolt in the inward position. Once in place it is not adjustable and you will get the adjustment of the one bolt. If you do both bolts at the same time you will increase the adjustment, but as to exactly how much I can not say. I had the same problem with tire wear and used both eccentric bolts on the A frame right off the bat. The part number you are looking for is the DYI post. They are available from Needswings or several other sources. You will also see the final alignment numbers near the end of the DYI.

 

This is a great post, but raises a question in my case. My alignment (black srt) is good and was set last year. Now, upon visual inspection we see a deformed lower bushing passenger side, time to change both sides, 150K miles. Will I need the adjustable camber bolts , or, since I had no alignment issues before, should I change out the parts, go get an alignment, and see where it ends up? My control arms are in, but I only found out about the camber kit through the threads here on the forum.

 

Go back with the same bolts you are using now if your tires are wearing evenly. If you do this work yourself DO NOT TURN THE HEAD OF THE BOLT!! Turn the nut! The shank of the bolt is not round. It is oblong shaped near its head which fits into a similar shaped slot in the cars frame. Turn only the nut then remove the bolt by pushing it out from the end of the nut. Search for "DIY eccentric bolt install" for more info and pictures.

 

One other thing after replacing the control arms and installing the bolt through the frame and bushing only torque the bolt a few pounds if the frame/wheel is hanging free in the air. You must place the wheel in its normal position as if the weight of the car is being supported. Then you torque to spec's. That can be done several ways, but a DIY usually will just place a jack under the tire or wheel and jack it up to the normal riding position. that will place the A frame in it's normal position and you can then torque the bolts to spec's.

 

Thanks Zip, we did that before we tightened everything, used the original bolts. Upon removal, we saw that the rubber bushing portion was ready to fall out. The repair, both sides took about three hours...97 degree heat. She rides nice, no alignment problems detected. I think she is ready for a road trip to Georgia now.
~.update...But Alas, now a pothole has bent the rim a little inside...and took it to have it aligned and guess what? Now supposedly only the camber kit will put it back to specs. This should be fun. I have the printout of before and after specs for the alignment, but not in front of me. I'll have the rim repaired down in Orlando and then begin the camber kit procedure in a couple of weeks...Drats!...this takes away from the "Grin Factor" immensely.

 

(BUMPING AN OLD THREAD)
I had to dig a bit to find it, and want to be able to find it tomorrow.

 

OK my 05 SRT coupe L front really eating up the inner side of tire, went to this site and looked at the options. Since I want adjustable springs I went with the K-Mac kit. I know there are cheaper kits but I wanted the adjustability on the car.
Pulled the left front arm this week at night after work. Pull the wheel, caliper, disk, shield, sway bar and shock. Also removed the spring, get the proper spring compressor, it has the two disk with the screw jack that goes through the center.. Get the disk as far apart as possible before compression. The ball jioint was the hardest to pop, rented a tool from the auto shop. Remove the 22mm nuts and tap the bolts forward, the wiggle the arm free.
The parts got here from Australia in four days! Instructions could be better and th3 tubes they send to press out the old bushing are terrible! Metal to soft, we spent all day on one arm just getting the bushings changed. At 12 years old they are corroded in place, I would recommend going to a good machine shop to have them changed, it will be worth the money!
I am waiting for new ball joints to arrive from FCPEURO to complete the job. The new bushings turn inside case to adjust your camber and the rear one will adjust the castor, so now all three settings can be done, also there is a support bar that covers the rear bushings, take out the front two torx and you can hinge it to the rear.
The metal part of the new bushing should be flush with the A arm tube and the black caps will stick out. I will get the right side done and report back with Info on the alignment.
Some photos.



The part that moves in the bushing.



The kit, a big and little bushing.



Ready to put in.

 

DHS Thanks for the write-up on those K-MAC adjustable bolts AND the pictures! Good Information. Your definitely right about getting help with removal of the old bushings. There is a specially designed tool just for that purpose, but few shops have it. One thing you said is a little off. The front bolt is primary on camber adjustment and the rear is primary on caster, but think of the adjustment as a three legged stool. If one leg's length is changed it will effect the angles on the other legs, so it is not just a positive/negative adjustment for camber because that change will also effect caster to a smaller degree.

 

this is all you need for the front ,these are too much money should cost about $8.00 each but you can see what you need and can find them in lots of places including e bay,,, the bolt has a grove just in the threaded end and the washer has a arrow in it to let the control move that little bit but it works. jim

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SPC-FRONT-C...8AAOSwux5YLCby

now i found the ones for chrysler/mercedeshttps://www.ebay.com/itm/SPC-FRONT-CAMBER-BOLTS-SET-CHRYSLER-MERCEDES-28815-BOTH-SIDES/172707947754?hash=item28363224ea:g:qCMAAOSwxu5ZMC5 L&vxp=mtr

 

To clarify amx 1397 post; his link to a bolt kit (the one in red) is not the correct kit for our cars. He has tried to edit with the correct eccentric kit number (written in black) but that did not work for me. If you go to ebay do a search for Mercedes eccentric bolts W170 or W202 and the correct eccentric bolt kit should be found with the Mercedes number 202 330 01 18. The simpler route is to just go to Needswings and purchase from him and you will have the correct kit.
I too fail to see the value of the adjustable K-Mac kit for 99% of us. If you are just concerned with the front tires wearing out unevenly then the eccentric bolts are the easiest and least expensive fix. If you race your car on a road course or track then there may be some advantage to the adjustable bolts, but you spend a lot of time and rubber finding the correct setup for each track.

 

OK more info, after the all day job of removing the bushings and installing the Kmac’s a few weeks ago for just one side I ordered the bushing removal tube by Koch Tools really well made and it is also a insulation tool for new stock bushings. The front bushing is two half’s that are driven out but very hard to do with a hammer since the rubber absorbes the impact. So we used a puller to push out the front half’s.
Putting in the Kmac bushing you will need a BIG press and you must make or find big spacers to press them in. We used 1 1/2 inch socket on the rear with grease to help. The front one we bent and I am trying to see if I can order just one to replace it.
Yes the kit is pricy but I feel that having the ability to really fine tune the front suspension will pay for itself with long life tire wear, and better steering.

 

Got the front bushing in by pressing in with a Big Socket, did the other side much faster since we knew how to do it with big sockets. Went to a shop today, improved the camber setting and toe in, so will put some miles on the car and see how it does. Not a cheap kit but good quality also can change front settings as time goes on.
Dan

 

OK, went to Firestone shop, got the alignment, camber -1.1 and -0.33 toe-in, car tracks straight and after one week things look good. I got the lifetime option so can get the car checked any time free, will have it retested in a month.

 

with my(rudy's rear adj complete everything except control arm) adjustable mine is
0,5 left side 0.6 right side toe in is 0.04 L and 0,05 right side just to show what the adjustable arms can do. jim

 

Keep us updated. Can you post a link or pictures of the tools you used to the do the install? Greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

 

Hi,

I purchased the front and rear camber kits from Needswings. Going to install next week (6/12). I will update on the results.

John

Update 6/12/18
The front and rear Camber Kits worked great. All Cambers are within specification now. It took my mechanic about four hours to install the kits, as he was not used to working on Crossfires. But he is familiar with Crossfires now!

 

Hey Guys,

Been having a lot of vibration on the highway lately (especially between 70-80 MPH). Discount Tire has balanced my tires 4 times now with no success in fixing the issue, so I took it to a mechanic. He is saying that the lower control arm bushings are blown and need to be replaced.

I have read the threads on the benefits between replacing the the entire control arm versus the KMAC Bushing kit. The question I have is.... Is there any difference in ride comfort with these two options? Ever since I replaced my broken motor mounts with the Mercedes mounts, my car has been really rough. She is my daily highway commuter (~140K Miles) and I am just about to get rid of her due to the vibration getting so bad. Just not fun to drive anymore.

Not sure if the stiffer motor mounts are causing the rough ride and vibration or if the control arms/bushings are really what are causing the issues.

Also, is this the right part? I saw that someone mentioned that this person posted the wrong part number, but may or may not have updated it since then.
https://k-mac.com/product/mercedes-r...shing-502016j/

Thanks.