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#16
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Does the steering box on its own have a tendency to center? If not, what's the point of the alignment locking pin?
Sixto 87 300D |
#17
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unbolt the steering damper, throw it in the trunk and drive around to see if the problem goes away.
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#18
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Interesting....that's exactly what my indie said he was going to do next.
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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles 06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU 91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion 19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi Fourteen other MB's owned and sold 1961 Very Tolerant Wife |
#19
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Apparently steering damper is fine....I guess I'll go get the alignment done.
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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles 06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU 91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion 19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi Fourteen other MB's owned and sold 1961 Very Tolerant Wife |
#20
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Quote:
Not enough caster will cause this.
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2001 SLK 320 six speed manual 2014 Porsche Cayenne six speed manual Annoy a Liberal, Read the Constitution |
#21
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Haha....the authoritative young man at the alignment shop assures me that alignment being off could NOT cause my symptom. We shall see....
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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles 06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU 91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion 19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi Fourteen other MB's owned and sold 1961 Very Tolerant Wife |
#22
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Interesting....the alignment shop found that when they disconnected the damper the problem went away and thus recommend replacing the damper (for an outrageous price, I might add). My indie, who took the damper off and inspected it, contends that removing the damper could simply be masking the cause of the problem, which he suspects to be the alignment. So, I'm just going to get it aligned; and, if that doesn't solve the problem, then I'll replace the damper.
Alignment shop wanted to charge me $117 for the damper...just for the part!
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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles 06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU 91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion 19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi Fourteen other MB's owned and sold 1961 Very Tolerant Wife |
#23
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I want a lot of things. Don't always get them but it never hurts to ask - unless I get slapped.
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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do. |
#24
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The whole package.
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#25
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Quote:
The correct way from my perspective is the sector should just present a small additional resistance when passing through the centre area of the steering. If you have heavy resistance in the centre and still fair resistance turning off centre with the wheels in the air something mechanical is amiss. If you have a pitman arm puller or a way to disconnect the linkage from it the steering box. This can be checked out better. Also if the pitman arm is diconnected from the linkage you can check for binding easier usually. Even tie rod ends will bind on occassion. With one guy turning the tire side to side. Another guy watching and examining joint movement might pick it up. Of course it could also be alignment but it would have to be quite a long way off I imagine. Someone might have cranked the castor out or a really poor alignment shop perhaps. There are some real clowns working out there on cars for a living. |
#26
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________________ punkinfair |
#27
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Since it looks like I'll have to get the alignment done at the dealer ($150), I'll just go ahead and replace the damper first just for the heck of it. At least rule that out as a possibility....can't hurt to have a nice new damper.
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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles 06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU 91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion 19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi Fourteen other MB's owned and sold 1961 Very Tolerant Wife |
#28
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The thing I don't get about the steering damper explanation (and apparently the problem DID go away when it was removed) is how a bad damper would account for the symptom of not centering. When dampers go bad, don't they get "looser?" Do they ever tighten/stiffen with age? Maybe that's my problem.
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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles 06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU 91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion 19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi Fourteen other MB's owned and sold 1961 Very Tolerant Wife |
#29
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Quote:
This basically is having hardly any resistance pushing it in or pulling it out. It almost sounds like yours has developed far too much resistance to movement. Like it somehow at one time jammed internally and bent the shaft enough to create problems. Or a valve internally is not opening when it should. So now the effort required to move it is excessive. An internal seal out of its groove or whatever for example is a sane possibility as well. The seal between piston and cylinder in there could be the culprit. Last edited by barry123400; 11-07-2011 at 12:28 AM. |
#30
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Replaced the damper this morning. Still won't self-center. But I guess, after 20 years, I'm happy to have a new damper.
So now it's off to the dealer for an alignment. It's a great dealer as dealers go....but I still feel like I need to brace myself for all sorts of recommenced repairs I don't need.
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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles 06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU 91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion 19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi Fourteen other MB's owned and sold 1961 Very Tolerant Wife Last edited by shertex; 11-07-2011 at 09:46 AM. |
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