Hi there,
Yes, first loosen the lock nut that is keeping the allen screw shaft from turning. You will need a 6mm allen wrench for the screw. I believe the nut is a 19mm. Turn the allen screw COUNTERCLOCKWISE to remove the play. Don't turn it any further than necessary as if you go too far it can cause the steering wheel to bind up in the straight ahead position. I'd try a quarter turn at a time, then check the play. On my 123, it took over a turn to get the play out.

__________________
Richard Wooldridge
'01 ML320
'82 300D 4.3L V6/T700R4 conversion
'82 380SL, '86 560SL engine/trans. installed
'79 450SL, digital servo update
'75 280C

Wow! Richard woolridge's suggestion worked like a charm. Last night I adjusted the allen screw on the steering box and now the car has NO road wander ! I can take both hands off the wheel and it tracks beautifully. Before I was constantly having to compensate for the loose steering. I don't know how many turns I made on the allen screw because it was frozen to the 19mm lock nut. I didn't realize this at first. I turned the nut w/ a socket wrench 3 or 4 revolutions and found that the allen screw had turned with it. I had to turn them back the other way and use a crescent wrench instead so I could hold the allen screw at the same time -Duh. Somehow I seem to have hit the sweet spot on it. Thanks again Richard. It feels like i'm driving a new car now. If anyone else is having this problem, give this a try. Richard, you are the man ! Probably saved me from winding up in a ditch. I can even let my wife try driving it now - she drives a 2003 Honda odyssey ( sissy car ).

Hi GregBenz,
I'm glad it was a simple adjustment for you. My '82 300D had the same problem, as did my '75 280. I don't know why the steering box gets out of adjustment so far, possibly a little bearing wear. At any rate, congrats on the quick fix!

__________________
Richard Wooldridge
'01 ML320
'82 300D 4.3L V6/T700R4 conversion
'82 380SL, '86 560SL engine/trans. installed
'79 450SL, digital servo update
'75 280C

Bump

I'm looking through my Hanes manual and I can't find a diagram for the Steering Box in the V6. Course then I'm also driving a V8....

Where would it be located? Will I need to jack the car to get access to it?