bought 90 tt import from local car dealer 3 wks ago and yesterday dicovered that the welds on the off side wing are not original + it looks like the door pillar + some of the sill has been replaced. car pulls to the left enough to be a bit of a pain and they're going to look at it thursday. I know the front suspensions dropped a bit because of the inner tyre wear but I'm a bit worried that they'll just set the tracking to make the thing go in a straight line leading to all sorts of strange trye wear. I know there's no real answer but anyone got any suggestions, I haven't told the dealer I know about the repair yet and apart from the pulling the car is cool. thanks for any help

Make sure the tracking is checked by someone who REALLY understands what it is supposed to be like. With some systems is it possible to measure the toe-in/out and have it set correctly, without realising that the the wheels are not 'square' - in other words they are not at the corners of the car, more a regular parallelogram than a square. This can happen if one side has taken a knock, enough to twist the chassis or offset the suspension. I can explain better, but I have to draw it.

 

However, it is likely that you tyre wear and pulling to one side is due to faulty tracking etc, rather than crash damage.

OK, I think I see what you mean... the outside of the back tyres are further apart than the outside of the front - the garage it's going to (guys the dealer uses) has been there a while and looks after lots of the cars he sells, Mercs big 4x4s etc so I hope they know what they're doing, is there any thing I can ask to sus this out without sounding like a know it all.. surely tracking on all cars is pretty much the same deal ? the car's great.... but it really doesn't take long to get used to the amount of power and starting wanting a bit more low end grunt

.... thanks !

 

I kind of meant that one of the fronts could be further 'forward' than the other. Some tracking checking systems would not spot this - you would need to perhaps get the car on a jig and check all the measurements, which incidentally are in the workshop manual.

 

However, incorrect camber angle will cause either inner or outer tyre wear depending upon how far out it is. Sagging springs (a bit), and lowered springs (a lot) will affect the camber, as can crash damage, wear in the suspension arms and probably other stuff I can't think of right now.

Thanks, will make sure I get a drive of it before I let them know I'm happy.