Can anyone tell me what the steering damper does and how to tell if its bad?My cars front end looks tight but every so often, just driving down the road the front end starts shaking so i slow down and use the brake to make it stop.This is a 1986 300SDL

The damper helps to keep sudden changes in pavement, like uneveness, potholes, bumps, water puddles, etc. from jolting the steering wheel out of your hands. You will see these on lots of 4x4's also.

Is the shaking speed related? The damper can also mask other problems, so it would be a good idea to raise the front of the car up and look/test for other worn suspension parts.

The damper is like a shock absorber, and they do go out as well. I do not know the test for a bad one, though, except for obvious of the rubber bushings missing from it's ends.

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RRGrassi


70's Southern Pacific #5608 Fairmont A-4 MOW car

13 VW JSW 2.0 TDI 193K, Tuned with DPF and EGR Delete.

91 W124 300D Turbo replaced, Pressure W/G actuator installed. 210K

90 Dodge D250 5.9 Cummins/5 speed. 400K

In order to tes for a bad one, you have to disconnect one end, and check for resistance. The less resistance, the more worn it is. You probably won't notice THAT much difference in replacing it.

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1989 300E 144K

Thanks for the info

You notice the difference mostly on the highway, its pretty much a shock. They are cheap if its original just replace it and see what it does.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Sounds like you might have a tire or two that is very much out of balance.....

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Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

I believe someone once said a shot track rod mount will cause shaking. Meantime, just get a new dampner. Cheap, fast fix. If you havent changed it yet, it needs it.

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Paul
2004 E500 4matic; 72,000mi