on my 83 300SD i have a sqeaking/groaning noise coming from the right front wheel. It only occurs when the wheel is being turned. It's not the power steering, it has a differant sound, more like a sqeek then a groan. The steering has virtually no play, but i was told once the ball joints need to be replaced. I thought however that when ball joints start to go the steering gets alot of play in it. IS it possible i just need to give something a shot of greese? thanks
R

Have you ever changed your power steering fluid screen/filter? My 77 300D had a noise while turning, and replacing this part solved it. It was also gushing PS fluid out the top of the reservoir. (Not sure if the 126 is the same.)

You probably want to have a professional tech look at it, just for peace of mind. Some of these suspension parts do fall under the "safety" category, and they do wear out over time.

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Bob Roe
Lehigh Valley PA USA
1973 Olds 88, 1972 MB 280SE, 1978 Datsun 280Z, 1971 Ford T-Bird, 1972 Olds 88, 1983 Nissan Sentra, 1985 Sentra, 1973 230.6, 1990 Acura Integra, 1991 Volvo 940GLE wagon, 1983 300SD, 1984 300SD, 1995 Subaru Legacy L wagon, 2002 Mountaineer, 1991 300TE wagon, 2008 Murano, 2007 R320CDI 4Matic 52K, some Hyundai, 2008 BMW 535xi wagon, all gone... currently
2007 Honda Odyssey Touring, 2014 E350 4matic

thanks, i think i'll have my local non-mbenz mechanic look at it soon. I have ruled out power steering because of the location of the sound, and i have heard power steering before and this noise is much differant. We used to have a ford aerostar that used about 1 pint of p/s fluid every tank of gas. thansk for the replies, have any other thoughts?
R

Just thinking that maybe you'd want a tech familiar with MB suspensions take a look at it, just to the point that they are most familiar with what wears out on these 20 year old cars... and get some estimates for replacing what needs to be replaced right away. Right now I'm waiting for my local shop to get a steering box, and my rear swaybar links are bad. I've already done front caster joints, and a couple other parts which I forget now because it was 18 months ago (1999 Christmas gift to myself and my Benz.)

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Bob Roe
Lehigh Valley PA USA
1973 Olds 88, 1972 MB 280SE, 1978 Datsun 280Z, 1971 Ford T-Bird, 1972 Olds 88, 1983 Nissan Sentra, 1985 Sentra, 1973 230.6, 1990 Acura Integra, 1991 Volvo 940GLE wagon, 1983 300SD, 1984 300SD, 1995 Subaru Legacy L wagon, 2002 Mountaineer, 1991 300TE wagon, 2008 Murano, 2007 R320CDI 4Matic 52K, some Hyundai, 2008 BMW 535xi wagon, all gone... currently
2007 Honda Odyssey Touring, 2014 E350 4matic

i would love to be able to take it to a mbenz mechanic, but the fact of the matter is this local guy is my parents friend and will most likely pop it up on a lift for free. I'm a broke 17 year old working 40 hours a week at 6 bucks an hour to try to get the car to how i want it before school starts, so whatever can wait is going to. i'm going to fix the alternator shortly so it operates at full power, and then look at a couple of vacuum valves, if that doesn't fix my rough shifting from N to drive i'm just going to leave it alone. I need to have a better sound system in that thing then 4 four inchers by the time school starts. once again thanks for the help.
R

Have him check the ball joint and track rod bushing. Do you hear the groaning when you accelerate and the front end lifts up? If so, it's the track rod bushing.

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Regards,
Aaron