Discovery:

All three ball-jointed steering rods were floppy. The passenger tie rod was even bad enough to allow some horizontal-axis play with the tire off the ground. The dampener had shot bushings at both ends. The rubber guibo looking thing between the steering shaft and box was not cracked or otherwise broken, and the rubber was firm. The idler arm bushings were tight and had no play. The upper and lower ball joints at both wheels had no play and the rubber looked supple on both -- someone replaced those in the not-too-distant past.

The mounts are completely flat, but the rubber is not cracked or denatured like I saw with the old ones before replacement. At any rate, I couldn't confirm whether the noise I'm hearing was coming from them because I only hear the sound while moving. If I still hear it after replacing the steering parts, they're next on the list. The most important thing is to get the wheel movement solidified so I can get new meats and not ruin them instantly.

So, I've ordered both tie rods, the dampener, and the center link, and hopefully can install this weekend.

Motor mounts: There is a procedure for measuring the clearance between the edge of the upper body of the mount and the subframe. I believe the lower limit is 13mm. Once the mount has collapsed past 13mm, it should be replaced.

There is also a factory procedure for checking for play in the ball joints. If you did not use that procedure, you may have a ball joint or two that could fail. When that happens, the front wheel comes off, and the driver rapidly transitions into a passenger, unable to control the direction of the car.

__________________
Respectfully,
/s/
M. Dillon
'87 124.193 (300TD) "White Whale", ~392k miles, 3.5l IP fitted
'95 124.131 (E300) "Sapphire", 380k miles
'73 Balboa 20 "Sanctification"
Charleston SC

Replaced the drag link, both tie rods, and the steering damper.

The steering felt much more precise than before, with very little play. Drove straight to the shop for tires and alignment this morning. Steering wheel was cocked about 10 degrees to the right, which was better than I thought it would be with my eyeballed "good enough for a short drive" driveway alignment.

I still need to replace my PS lines, as they're leaking all over those links. I could probably stand to rebuild the steering box itself, too, but one thing at a time. I would REALLY love to just ditch the PS and get a manual box. Is there a model from which I could steal a manual box?

Downside: still hearing the racket. It's gotta be the motor mounts. I reckon I'll spend the $19/side to get the Lemfoerder mounts instead of the no-name Chinese-made $4 mounts from ******** that lasted all of 5k miles. Old Mercedes do not always play along when you want to put cheap parts on. I probably need to add shocks to my to-do list, too, to best preserve the new tires, which cost 1/3 of what I paid for the car in its entirety!

Was quoted "48 hrs and it is yours" when I tried to rent an Oreilly ball joint press. Autozone is more generous but I do not know what the limit is. Have borrowed Autozone tools for 7 days without buying them.

HA! I've taken something back to O'Reilly after weeks of keeping it, but the one near me is kind of low-rent, so I avoid going there unless they have something other places don't.

I have been going to the nearest Advance Auto more often lately because it's in a nicer neighborhood and the tools are almost all unused. I once borrowed the ball joint press twice in one year, many months apart, and my receipt from the first use was still in the case. The pickle fork I got from O'Reilly only because the Advance one was out on loan.