Steering Port. Pls. Help...
 

I own a CLK 230 Kompressor Cabriolet year 2000 Model. Mileage is only 23,000Kms. When the steering is positioned straight and shaken from side to side very slightly, there is a knocking feeling inside. This feeling gets much greater when the wheel is turned to either side by 1 revolution, then a Knocking sound is also heard when it is shaken. The suspension has been checked out to be perfect, thus the mechanic suggected that there is a probelm with the steering port. He adjusted the 5.5 allen key bolt on top of the port by tightening it a little, but that made the situation even worse. Now when the wheel is straight it also makes a knocking noise. I live in Africa, and the moment i hit a fairly rough road, even if i go at a very slow speed, it feels like the whole suspension is going to fall apart cause of the feeling in the stering and the knocking sound. Pls advice as to what should be done as we dont have the expertise in this country to solve this problem. All bushings, links, shocks etc are in perfect condition.

I suggest you remove the steering box and bench-test it. If your mechanic's adjustment made it worse, that suggests he did not know how to do it on the car. The factory bench procedure should then be followed. With the box off, you can also test for slop in the steering column.

Steve

Attn: Steve
 

Hi Steve,
Thanks For The Reply, Unfortunately I Dont Really Know What The Factory Bench Procedure Is. Also I Don't Really Trust The Mechanic Removing The Whole Steering Column As I Feel He'll Mess It Up Even Further. We Will Turn The Allen Key Bolt Back To Where Is Was And Hopefully It'll Go Back To How It Was But That Stull Doesn't Solve The Problem. Is There Any Sort Of Adjustment That Can Be Made To Solve The Problem. Can The Bolt I Referred To Make Any Difference Or Its Not Meant For That Purpose.
Lalit

The noise you refer to does not normally occur if the box simply needs adjustment. That is why the linkage, steering box, and column should be inspected by someone who can find the source of the noise AND do the adjustment properly. The adjustment affects gear lash, and cannot be done properly at this point with the box on the car. Improper adjustment will cause damage to the box, if it is not already too late.

Do a search on this forum for 'steering box', steering gear', steering adjustment, etc. There is a lot of anecdotal info, and links to more information. Most of the Mercedes steering gearboxes are pretty similar.

Steve