steering wheel play

i just purchased an 83 300 SD. There is what i think is considerable play in the steering wheel. is this normal, expected for this age automobile? how is this corrected? parts? labor hours?

[t walgamuth]

the front end. if loose, change. then adjust the steering box for play. most likely it needs adjusting. to adjust loosten the large lockning nut and turn the adjusting allen screw (8mm?) anticlockwise til the steering starts to bind then back it down a little til it is free again.

[sokoloff]

25mm, one inch, is spec. As Tim said, the front end needs to be tight first. The steering box ought to be the last thing you touch. Mine has never had to be adjusted.

Len
'83 240D 345,000 miles orrignal owner

[meltedpanda]

adjusting of the gear box only changes the "feel" of the steering. If you have a true dead spot this will not go away. As mentioned one inch is normal, may be something underneath or some PO who DID adjust the steering box and did it wrong.
Rebuilt they go around $350.00 plus labor for instal