Hi all-

I bought a very nice '84 300D a month ago. It had what felt like a 5-10 degree "dead spot" in its steering. When driving on a straight-away, I had to move the steering wheel 5-10 degrees from side to side to make minor directional corrections. It had a very disconnected steering feel. At any speed above 20 MPH, I could illustrate this problem by jiggling the wheel inthat 5-10 degree range without any effect on the car's wheels.

Following much research on this board, it sounded to me like the problem was the idler arm bushing and/or generallt worn front end parts, and that simply tightening the steering box would help.

I took the car to a well-known and respected Mercedes mechanic. He said it appeared as if the car had been tied down to a flatbed by the control arms, which were slightly bent.

The receipt says the following (excluding some other work he did):
Replace Idler arm bushings
Replace both lower ball joints, both caster supports, replace both tie rods
Align front end
Steering PCAT (?)
Adjust steering box

On the parts list, I see (among others):
2x Tie Rod
2x Steering Joint
1x Steering arm

After the repairs, the steering was improved. However, there's still about 3-5 degrees of play. It's starting to get annoying. Another symptom is that if I let the wheel go, the car will very slowly drift left or right, depending on the conditions.
The play is exceptionally annoying during some turns, like on the highway. If I am taking a broad right turn followed by a smaller left turn, that play allows the wheels to go too far to the left, which means I then have to overcorrect to get back on track.

Any ideas? I'd like to take the car back to the mechanic before too much more time elapses. Whunter suggested in another thread that the guide rod mounts might need to be replaced. I'm willing to pay the mechanic to do the work. I just want it fixed! If it's gonna take a new steering box, that's fine, just let me know!

Thanks for all your help!

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Aaron
'84 300D 267,000 - Running WVO - Rice Bran Oil - Mmmmmm, fishy...
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