I took the lock nut off of my steering box. Then when I attempted to turn the adjustment screw counter clockwise. I stripped it pretty good. It didnt even budge.I had a 6mm hex on the end of a few extensions. I still have abut 2 in. of play in the wheel. I feel as though I may be stuck in a catch 22 situation. If you guys have any ideas or suggestions I am all ears.

Replace the gearbox.
This is safety = yours and others.
Sounds like you have bad rag joints in your steering column and/or bad steering parts.

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Is it completely rounded? You needed a new gear box anyway right?

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Did you strip out the hex hole or the screw itself?

If you stripped out the hole...tighten it back up and live with the play (although that is quite a bit of play and SHOULD eventually be taken care of).

Now if you stripped the screw threads...thats another story.

Please clarify

i tried this adjustment once but i never could break the bolt loose

maybe that was a positive thing? im pretty inexperienced with tinkering.

get to the u pull it yard and get one! itll likely have just as much play, but thats easily tested, huh? itll be cheap too.

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I srtipped the hex hole not the screw its self. I do have another problem. I live on the island of Maui in Hawaii.I think that I might have a little trouble finding one localy.Ill still try finding one here anyway.Thanks for all your help fellas. Although I didnt want to admit to myself I had to find a new one but now I can see that there is no getting around it.

be nice to the boys here and theyll surely help ya out

i think i am going to pull a part tomorrow, would you like me to check the steering boxes they have for play? now that i think about it... i might do the same thing for my shlomo, they ought to not be too high.

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Just becuae the hex is stripped otu doesn't mean that the bolt is toast too...it jus tmeans you can't adjust it.

So the car is atleast mobile...obviously the steering play is pretty excessive but it should not change adjustment on you if you lock the locknut back down while looking for a new box.

I'm going to ask at the dealer today if they can try to adjust as much play out of my wheel with that as possible....hopefully they can get rid of some, I have around 1" of play.....

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Don't forget to crawl underneath the car and look for play in all the track rod joints and etc. , my '78 300CD had a loose steering box so I adjusted it and then felt a bit of play and found the center track rod had a bad end on it , took me all of 30 minutes to change it out last night including clean up time , of course I also discovered a bad steering dampner so I'm going back in soon .

DON'T buy a used steering box unles the seller has adjusted it to _ZERO_ play 1st. ~ there's far too many good used ones in Pick-A-Part yards and one of the guys here will help you out , if you find a junker , try adjusting the box _before_ you pull it out.....

2" of play is serious , get it fixed before you wreck and kill your self or some kids

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1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

2" of play is so not dangerous. what i find dangerous is getting into a car that doesnt have the play, i wander all over the road in my neon and it has perfect steering.

my car has pleeeenty of steering play and ive never even come close to an accident in the year ive had it.

i almost dont want to repair it. i feel like itll lose some of its charm(am i nutty?)

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The car is mobile for the moment .If any of you guys find a good deal on a 123 steeringbox for my '82 240d, I would be most greatful.

When looking for a donar cars steering box do not neglect the gas 123 cars. A lot of them have far less total milage and are scrapped because of mechanical/ accidents /rust issues. In my opinion they might have a better steering box. At least worth checking.

that you cant wear out the steering boxes (or nearly so). i would try to force a slightly bigger us allen into the hole and try again. be sure to get it all the way in. this is why you buggered the first one. use pb blaster and let it soak overnight and try again. changing them is a lot of work and they usually will adjust.

tom w

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Not sure how much, but 123s are designed to have a certain amount of steering wheel play. My father told me a few times about how he was looking over the records on the car, and found that MB checked the play with a special tool. Excessive play is not good though. Get under the car and start tugging around.