Power steering line leak & pump question - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

dac77 · #1 02-03-2003, 12:43 PM

Hi,

I had a problem with my '01 ML320 powersteering fluid lines and I'm wondering if it any pump damage occurred. I'm in the northeast, not far from Boston where we've had some extreme cold lately. I started my car one morning and let it warm up for out 15-20 minutes. Jumped in and pulled out of my driveway only to realize there was no power steering. I pulled back into the driveway and took a look under the hood to find the power steering cooling line, running to the radiator, had slipped off the connection on the radiator and leaked all/most of the fluid. I got the problem all taken care of by the local Dealer. He said he's seen this happen several times in extreme cold.

What I'm wondering is if the pump has been damaged or it's life shortened? It could be the hose popped off when I first started the engine and ran empty (or almost) for the 15-20 minutes, and then I turned the wheel to get out of/into the driveway.

Now, if I turn the steering wheel all the way to the stops I can hear the pump - not sure if it's louder now, or just my imagination.

Has anyone seen this?

Thanks much

G-Man · #2 02-03-2003, 01:26 PM

I had that happen on a Chev Suburban one time. The cold was REALLY extreme -50F and the pressure hose blew. I drove it 15 miles or so into a warm shop and repaired the hose. I never had any trouble with the pump. I wouldn't worry about it. It is also fairly common on many PS systems to hear a whine from the pump at full lock. I would bet that it is just fine. Unless it gets really loud or fails to provide power steering there isn't much you can do anyway. If it does fail down the road someday you will just have to replace it.

Gilly · #3 02-03-2003, 07:55 PM

Yes, here in Wisconsin we were replacing about 3 a day about a week or two ago when we had a cold snap. MB roadside said that's about all they were handling for calls was blown off power steering hoses. They have a better clamp available, but now they are backordered. The new clamp is a worm-gear style clamp instead of the strap-with-nut-and-bolt design they left the factory with. It's only the newer trucks that are doing it.
I don't know if it permanantly damaged your pump or not. Maybe it's not filled completely and that's why it seems to whine. It's a pain to get the system bled and filled properly. If not done correctly you will have about as much on the ground from the filling procedure as you did when the line blew to begin with.
I was wondering how long it would be before I saw this post.

Gilly

roadsession · #4 02-06-2003, 11:44 PM

Hi Gilly,
the pwr steering hose blew off the radiator one cold morning about a month ago. I took a cab to the local mb dealer and bought the power steering fluid.

I then refit the hose and tightened the clamps.

Then I filled the power steering reservoir with the fluid - just about 1/2 the bottle.

Did I need to do anything else? I haven't had problems yet, but should I have bled the system and is there some procedure for filling?

Let us all know....the secrets of power steering self repair....

Gilly · #5 02-07-2003, 12:36 AM

Sounds like you did good. Just should have replaced the original clamp with the updated MB clamp. I found out that this actually can happen at least bck to 1999 ML's.

Gilly

JAshburne · #6 02-14-2003, 12:56 AM

The power steering hose on my 2001 ML430 popped off tonight here in frigid Connecticut. When I called Teleaid, they knew right away what it was. Fortunately this happened in my driveway and it didn't matter that it was two hours before the Tech could arrive. Maybe he would have been quicker if I was on the highway somewhere, but I told him not to rush.

The tech that fixed it installed a second clamp to make sure that it doesn't happen again. At the time, I didn't know that an improved clamp was available.

Anyway, I'm not happy about an apparently common problem not being recalled or attended to at a service. I would suggest that everyone have this looked at ASAP.

At least the service at the house was convenient and minimized the hassle factor, especially going into a long weekend/school vacation week.

roadsession · #7 02-14-2003, 08:42 AM

Gilly,
As noted, I just retightened the clamps and didn't replace them.
Given my MB is out of warranty, is this a safety update that MBUSA is obligated to do or should I just pay for it?

Thanks

Gilly · #8 02-14-2003, 07:37 PM

I think it "should" be covered if it's out of warranty, but I think the fact is that it is NOT covered under goodwill or a recall.
A dealer COULD cover it under goodwill if they wanted to, it's up to the dealer.

Gilly