I recently replacd mine and it made the steering effort easier. The one that was on there, and for all I know it was original, was all gummed up with dirt and oil. I could hardly move it in and out by hand, whereas the new I could.

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1999 MB SL500 (110,000 mi)
2004 Volvo V70 2.5T (220,000 mi)
2014 Tesla Model S 85 (136,000 mi)
MBCA member