W124 E420 Steering Box Seal Kit
 

Hello,

I was at the dealer today for the scheduled maintenance (97,500 miles) on my 1994 E420. Last week the steering started to groan when the car was first started in the morning, but not once warmed up or during the rest of the day. I asked that they check it out. I had previously had a refurb power steering pump installed under Starmark, but of course the Starmark expired in December.

They said the steering box was leaking and they could order a seal kit. The cost would be about $1,000 and would include:

- Seal kit (#124 460 7901)
- 8 hours labor
- Front end alignment

Does this sound reasonable? I think it sounds expensive, but after searching the web it looks like it might be a dirty job getting the box in/out of the car, and depending on the seal kit, it could be some work to get the seals done.

Here's some links for reference:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/tech-help/143337-420-steering-gearbox.html?highlight=steering+seal+kit

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/tech-help/121270-92-400e-steering.html?highlight=steering+seal+kit

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/tech-help/115209-need-leaking-steering-box-help-needed.html?highlight=steering+seal+kit

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/tech-help/105123-86-300e-need-quick-help-steering-gearbox-problem.html?highlight=steering+seal+kit

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/tech-help/14675-leaking-steering-box.html?highlight=steering+seal+kit

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/tech-help/11663-leaky-steering-gear-box-86-300e.html?highlight=steering+seal+kit

http://mbca.cartama.net/showthread.php?t=4078&highlight=steering+seal+kit

I have not looked under the car at the box to check the extent or location of the leak. I plan to do that this weekend. I also plan to monitor the fluid level on a daily basis.

Any suggestions?

I've looked into the box on a 560SL itself, and even though the seal kit is inexpensive, it takes some real skill, experience, and tools (quite a few) to do the job properly, and this is NOT something you want to "try out" in a car. I have a place local to me that will charge 3 hours of labor to reseal and adjust the box (also in the car if req'd) if I take it out and put it in myself, so you can see that your quote might not be that bad from an hour point of view. At $65/hr, this is a good deal because I'd rather have my 93K box than a "rebuilt" costing more, from an unknown car with unknown mileage.

As far as removing/reinstalling the box itself is concerned, very few have ever reported it as being anything but nasty.

Strife,
Thanks for the comments. From what I've read (see my links) it can be a nasty job. I would have to rent the tool to seperate the steering components and I've never used it before, so I might mess something up.

I'll make sure I get under the car and clean the box this weekend. I'll try to find the specific leaking area and the rate at which it's leaking. At that point I can make sure they're doing the necessary work.

I don't want to do this myself, but I do want it done. I'm taking this car to Nelson Ledges for MBCA track day the first weekend of April. I don't want a steering problem at 100mph!

This weekend I was pulling my snow tires off and putting on my normal tires. I looked under the car at the steering box and I can't even get to it to clean it. First, there's a aerodynamic (?) shield under the whole engine bay. Sure it's only 4 or 6 bolts, but I had forgotten it was even there. Then, the box is really packed in there, not much room to do any work. I guess I'm used to my 230SL with big open spaces under the hood. This V8 really takes up the space!

I'm going to have this work done for me, I just have to find out if there's a good independant in town or if I should just use the dealership.

Thanks