I have noticed lately, when I'm braking to come to a stop, the steering seems to go all loose and very sensetive. Does anybody recognise this behaviour?
The car is a 1989 300se with about 135,000m

Cheers

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Oliver

Sounds like it could be the links in the rear end. At the age of the car these parts start to wear. Many of the end links are shared with the 190 models. I have the parts to fix mine. It is doing the same thing seems to be a little unstable while braking, wanders on the highway and doesn't handle like it used to.

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1990 190E 2.6
1996 Grand Voyager 3.3
1985 Mustang GT 5.0 5 SPD
1982 Suzuki GS 750T

I'll have to get it looked into. I have never driven a 'new' one of these cars before, so I'm not sure how it handled before all the different parts had worn.

Thanks

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Oliver

I also have some strange behavior happening as I have mentioned in other posts. I have changed both left tie rods and the outer passenger tie rod. It is a little better, but I'm getting the rest of the suspension checked today. I'll post the diagnosis later today.

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VR
1967 250SL

The rear end of a 126 body bears no resemblance to the 190 and newer rear suspensions. It also hardly ever has any problems other than maybe shocks. There are no mechanisms for alignment as there is never any wear.

I would look to the front end. I don't relate your description to any of the many things I know can go wrong. Give us another description. Is there sudden play in the steering? If so I can only imagine that you have a very loose steering link somewhere up front.

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Steve Brotherton
Continental Imports
Gainesville FL
Bosch Master, ASE Master, L1
33 years MB technician

It doesn't happen all the time. If I am braking to stop at a junction, the steering does become loose, but I also get the impression that if I didn't hold the wheel, the front end would slide quite harshly.
Sorry, but I find it really difficult to explain. It feels like the feeling you get under very harsh braking, even though I would only be braking lightly. I thought it maybe something to do with the ABS.

Thanks

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Oliver

I got the idler arm bushing replaced today and a four wheel alignment. The steering is perfect now. The shop I went to seems really good and the owner has a 1987 420SEL that he is repairing. Seems his had the timing chain rails fail so he bought it cheap with a blown engine. He offered a good price to for the repair, so I take mine in on Monday. Cheap insurance!

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VR
1967 250SL

Your problem may be that you have uneven braking. I worked on a car that exhibited this behavior. When the brakes were applied, the car would veer to the left and seemed very unstable. You had to counter steer to keep the car straight. I thoroughly flushed the brake lines with fresh brake fluid. It made an immediate difference. After that the car braked in a straight line even with hands off the wheel. Hope this helps.

Nolan

Thanks, I'll get this sorted ASAP, it feels quite unstable.
If I wanted to attack my steering, which parts should I replace?

Thanks

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Oliver

The ones that are bad (bg).

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Steve Brotherton
Continental Imports
Gainesville FL
Bosch Master, ASE Master, L1
33 years MB technician