I never thought of the rearend causing play in the steering, but I know that it would in crosswinds. I know that I have a problem with the rear sway bar. I don't know what the previous owner was thinking but, for some reason, on the driver's side, the sway bar was cut with a torch approx.8 inches from where the link would connect. This would definetly cause excessive leaning in turns and crosswind movement. However I never thought this would cause or contribute to steering play. BTW the link on the driver's side is still there, it just hangs there. So basicly my rear swaybar is completely useless right now. None of the junkyards in my area have any W116s for me to get another one. Itried e-mailing Atlanta-Stuttgart for a quote but they never got back with me.

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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