Hi everyone. Well I'm back in my 1999 e300d again. I had a brief foray with a 2005 VW Passat wagon which was nice but the engine went on me. I spent 2000 on a camshaft and balance shaft delete did the repairs and it ran perfect for a few weeks and now has a broken ring and tons of blow by. Sad. That car hates everyone who ever had it. (It was my sisters before me ).

Anyway , good to be back in an old reliable Benz. the 1999 hasn't let me down ever and runs strong and I'm going to give it the attention it needs. Namely I'm wondering what front end parts would cause a shake at 65 mph - 75 mph range. I've tried changing tires , had it aligned at a tire shop and checked for front end play. Nothing seems wrong when it's on the lift.

I'm thinking of getting it aligned at the dealer. I thought I would post here first.

Another issue is the drivers door lock sticks when locking it with the key fob.

And the steering started to get hard when turning to the right. I read this is common and it's the rack. That may be a spring job. I'm going to try to flush the power steering. Is there any fluid that might be better than others for flushing ? I was thinking of trying good ole atf. I've never had a problem with cars that used atf.

Thanks. happy cruising.

Bad tires / out of balance / out of alignment / worn bearing (s) / loose bearings (s) / lower ball joints.

No idea.

Weak - leaking power steering hoses / low on PS fluid.

Glad to have confirmation on what a POS many VWs can be. #LOL 😃

This car needs the proprietary MB power steering fluid.

MB Power Steering Fluid
MB Part No. BQ 1 32 0001
Pentosin CHF 11S

This is per the latest MB book, which only goes back to the W211. I would confirm this with the dealer parts counter.

But it definitely does not like standard PSF.

As for the shake I would go over the entire front (and rear) ends, the car is 16 years old and rubber is starting to go.

Also know that this car does not tolerate tires of different sizes front and back, it drives the computer insane, the car cannot figure out why the back is going slower than the front.

Sticking door lock, you may have a leaky vacuum pod. Does it operate smoothly when you pull up the "golf tee"?

If it sticks manually, try disassembling, cleaning and lubricating the mechanism.
If it is smooth manually, you probably have a vacuum leak.
Lock and unlock the car while you are sitting in it, with the engine off, if you hear the PSE pump under the right rear seat run more than a second it is because you have a leak. Check the line from the PSE to the front door with your MityVac. It may be the line or the vacuum pod.
If you end up needing another pod, I would go to a JY and pull another actuator. Bring your MityVac with you to confirm the donor holds vacuum.
Know that you will have to drill the pop rivets out that hold the air bag in place to be able to work on the door lock. They are special steel rivets that a normal home center pop rivet tool can't pull. Do not use alumuinum rivets here!

I've had lots of experience with my W210, I have had it almost 3 years and it's been great.

Do check a couple more things based on my lessons from the school of hard knocks:
- remove the black cover on the engine, confirm your valve cover gasket is not leaking into the injector wells, the return lines are sound, and all the high pressure lines are properly supported.
- go ahead and proactively replace the front wheel bearings. They tend to go without warning and trash the spindle. Easy repair if you catch it in time.

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The OM 642/722.9 powered family
Still going strong
2014 ML350 Bluetec (wife's DD)
2013 E350 Bluetec (my DD)

both my kids cars went to junkyard in 2023
2008 ML320 CDI (Older son’s DD) fatal transmission failure, water soaked/fried rear SAM, numerous other issues, just too far gone to save (165k miles)
2008 E320 Bluetec (Younger son's DD) injector failed open and diluted oil with diesel, spun main bearings (240k miles)

1998 E300DT sold to TimFreeh
1987 300TD sold to vstech

Please don't think I am beating a "dead horse", but I would have a careful inspection of the spring perches. On my 96 E300d, the driver side perch failed while the car was parked overnight. One week prior to this event, the car was up on a lift to have the tires rotated, and all looked well to the naked eye. Good luck...........

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96 E300d

Forgot about the suspect spring-perches. Good input/advise.....

Thanks all. I'll give it a go. Chf11 I have some of.

Re VW , the engines are generally great. The 2005 Passat diesel Tdi with the bhw engine was a exception and had serious design flaws with the camshaft and chain driven balance shaft. And the Transmissions go at about 150,000. My sister replaced that for 2500, so thought I'd be in good shape once I addressed the engine. Other than the engine and Tranny , great wagons. Roomy , nice heated seats, 35 mpg avg. I loved it.

Anyone interested in it shoot me an email or pm.

W210 dont use CHF in the power steering, they use ATF or the yellow/amber PSF sold by Lubro moly (undyed ATF DII)

if its hard on one side only then the spool in the pinion valve is plugged with gum or debris, you can use a product called trans tune by seafoam and run it for about 30 minutes and work the steering left to right, then flush the whole thing out with a quart of ATF or the lubro moly PSF - you can even use GM spec PSF if the unit is tired and old (GM PSF is thicker when cold by has excellent antifoam) - If you live in super cold weather ask your GM dealer for cold weather PSF, its very good stuff, OR simply use a synthetic ATF.

flushing is easy, raise the car, disconnect the return line, steer the steering left to right to purge old fluid as you pull new fluid in. Replace the fluid container on the pump as it has a filter built into it, allow the new container to soak the fluid for at least 20 minutes before starting the engine.

the shake between 65-75 mph is from sloppy lower control arm bushings (the front ones). If you put the car on an alignment rack type lift you can use a crowbar to lever the bushings, you will obviously see them flex if they are shot, they are hydraulic though.

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2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

Thanks Zulfigar. Great info. I'll let you all know how it goes.

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What Would Rudolph Do?
1975 300D, 1975 240D, 1985 300SD, 1997 300D, 2005 E320 , 2006 Toyota Prius

Also the LCA could be rusting, un-noticed, from the inside near the ball joint, if/when it fails there, it could end catastrophically.

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1999 E300 Turbodiesel 169,000 miles
1986 Porsche 944Turbo 20124 miles
1948 Dodge Deluxe 4 door 66521 miles

If that car's got over 70K to 80K, the lower ball joints are almost a slamdunk needing to be replaced.

About the shake @ 65 to 75 mph. Could be the front bearings were installed too loose, last time they were R & Red / greased.

The PS leak can also be when/if one end of the high pressure lines was installed improperly, thereby not seating it's inside components properly.