For some time now, my car has been pulling slightly to the right. I drove to a vehicle inspection station, and the service technician said the rear bushings in both front control arms needed replacing.
I found this offer from a Polish seller:
https://allegro.pl/oferta/tuleja-wah...um-16325390481

The offer states that the part fits a Mercedes SLK320 (R170) V6 3.2.
But I wanted to make sure if any of you have replaced these bushings in your Crossfire and can confirm they are the correct ones?

 

it is easier to replace the arms with new bushing already in them
https://www.needswings.com/lower-control-arm-r170r193

 

@NeedsWings Thank you for the offer Rob, but this time I bought the parts in Poland.
Today, a courier delivered new left and right front lower control arms with bushings and both ball joints from LEMFORDER.
These parts cost me $270.
I have an appointment with a mechanic on Monday to replace them in my car.

 

Please let us know the total cost you have paid after this work is done? Reason I ask, the savings you have after doing it yourself and just paying for a 4 wheel alignment. Most of us here have jacks, jack stands, and many have a larger set of tools to self-help a couple of 'FCA's', so a labor charge is only some time and a six-pack or two (after most of the work is done). I had an older backyard mechanic tell me many years ago, that doing your own suspension work and driving a short distance to have an alignment, would save you a lot of $. That same mechanic also gave a few hints to a quick adjustment using a string and a weight/piece of chalk, to get within a darn good window of an alignment (but then get it done right). Good luck, and please keep us members in the loop about your costs?


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@GraphiteGhost You know, people have different passions, and it's good that they do. I realize that most users on this forum probably enjoy fixing their own cars. But not everyone. People with passions other than car mechanics also visit this forum. They come here for advice, like any forum. And as for the costs I'm quoting for individual repairs on my car, I'm only doing so for your curiosity about what it's like in Poland. I hope I explained it as simply as possible. I hope you didn't mean to mock me, because that's unbecoming even for an American.

Oh, and by the way, I also treat this forum as a backup service documentation for my car; I describe each fault and repair in a separate thread.

 

First, I don't mock people, second I am just curious about parts/labor local exchange rate to USD in Poland, third, many people who don't do their own repairs either cannot do them because of the lack of tools/space or are hesitant to explore saving monies (and then) usually get a lot of satisfaction of doing something new with just a little effort and encouragement. I have no idea what made you think I was mocking but if you point it out I can review it and correct as needed (nothing I say or do is intended to insult or mock, just trying to gather information). I parsed my reply just before your post, I could not see anything offensive or mocking, but I may have missed it. All the best for your repairs.

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@GraphiteGhost Okay, if I misunderstood, I apologize.

 

"I hope you didn't mean to mock me, because that's unbecoming even for an American."
Talk about mocking. What does "even for an American" mean. Are we sub human?

 

You are super ungrateful especially for a European. I've never seen anyone get answers for every single thread they have posted even though every single question could be found by actually SEARCHING through the previous posts. i.e. I have never seen anyone more welcomed in this forum before. Some people get so desperate for a response they literally post the same question 3 times!

Perhaps you should go to a European Crossfire forum, https://www.chrysler-crossfire-forum.de/forum/ They should be happy to answer your never ending questions and concerns!

 

@Ronman @M60A3Driver Okay, I've apologized, so let's just leave it at that. I guess I was having a bad day yesterday and I took a simple comment the wrong way.
Thanks for the link to the European Crossfire Forum - I didn't know there was one.

 

We are all here to help each other, this forum is the best forum I have ever belonged to. Originally, there were a few 'cliques', but they have tempered quite a lot. Forum is still the best forum for our unique stepchild of Benz/Chrysler. Too bad they (Benz/Chrysler) don't have a want to raise their offspring they created. Musta been a helluva divorce? Cheers all, and no worries here with any misunderstandings!


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Last week, the mechanic replaced both front lower control arms along with the ball joints with new ones.
The labor cost was $140.
Then I went to another workshop, where they performed a wheel alignment and set the geometry – that cost $55.

 

Hi Myopic,
Did this solve your issue - pulling to the right? or is it too early to tell?
-Jerry

 

Very reasonable! How 'loose' or 'worn' were the rear bushings, was it affecting the drivability? Thanks for posting!


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They did a great job at a very good price.
Hopefully this will resolve the issue that you were having.

 

@red_2005_convertible It's still a bit early as the tires need to adapt/wear down to the current suspension settings.
@GraphiteGhost It's hard for me to judge how "loose" or "worn" the rear bushings were. The car was pulling to the right when driving on a straight road, so I drove to a vehicle inspection station, and their "jerkers" revealed that the lower control arm bushings needed to be replaced. Ultimately, I decided to purchase and replace the entire lower control arm assembly, along with the ball joints.
@M60A3Driver Yes, the repair cost wasn't that high. Tomorrow I'm going on a trip to my parents' house; they live 80 km away, so I'll be able to assess it further during that trip.

 

I'm wondering how long it will take for the tires to wear down to their current wheel alignment.
Do you think a month or two?
I ask because the car still pulls to the right, just like it did before the control arms were replaced and the wheel alignment was adjusted.

Mechanic Artur, who adjusted the wheel alignment and geometry last week, said it would take about 500-600 km for the tires to wear down to the current suspension settings.
He also advised swapping the left and right tires. The wheels cannot be swapped because the tires are directional.
Below are photos of my front tires.
The previous owner of this car bought a set of four new tires in November 2024 when he sold it to me.

 

Today at the vehicle inspection station, I checked the brakes – the photo below shows that the braking forces on both front wheels are equal. The results were similar on the rear axle.
I expected the brakes to be okay because the car pulls to the right in each of these three situations:
1) when I accelerate
2) when I don't accelerate
3) when I brake
Next week, I have an appointment with a tire specialist to swap the left and right tires on the front axle.

 

I've had everything replaced on the front. My car still pulls to the right. I gave up.

 

@bc75 Thank you for the feedback.
I learned from a tire repairer that low-profile tires have always caused traction problems. Standard tires, meaning thicker tires, distribute the forces better, so using them causes significantly fewer problems.
On Wednesday, the tire repairer will swap the front tires, left and right. Then I might re-adjust the geometry and alignment. If that doesn't help, I won't do anything further and just keep driving.