Greetings all,

Just a quick question for those that have changed out their steering stabilizer or steering shock. Does it improve the wandering effect you get going down the road or the constant left to right steering corrections? My 300TD seems to wander under medium to heavy wind resistance and constant correction seems to be needed to stay on the road. Any ideas?


Charles

I'm looking to do this too. The common "loose steering" problem can be because of a few things.

The steering damper, also known as the steering shock. About 20 bucks. These usually wear out by 100K miles. Good idea to replace it. The idler arm can also be a problem. This part is less than 40 bucks I beleive. May as well replace this too. Last but not least, the dreaded steering box. This is the most expensive, $500 for a new one. Hopefully this isn't the part that is worn out. It can be tightened for a temporary fix, but I had mine tightened and it got loose again after a couple months.

I replaced mine on both cars and it did make a noticeable difference wander and that annoying road steer when your car catches the grooves in the pavement. It was more noticeable on my 67 with manual steering than it was with my 74. Do check your steering coupler between the steering column and the steering gearbox. They have a habit of causing loose steering as well.
Regards,
Bryan

I replaced the one on my 300D and it made a big improvement.

__________________
Jim

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.

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

Hi All,

On my car I tend to get the wandering as mentioned in this thread, I also have, I would say about an inch of "free space" I suppose you could call it. This is where I can move the wheel approximately an inch from side to side before I encounter resistance or load while on the interstate. Does this make sense? Is this a direct result of the wandering or the cause of it?

Thanks for the advice and input.

jeric

Greetings All,

Thanks everyone for your input about the dampner. I don't really know if it can be a cause of a wandering front end or a solution to it. Seems like this effect just started after I had the rear tires replaced. I had adjusted the steering box slightly about a month or so and I basically got most of the play out of the wheel, about a 1/2 inch remains where it seems dead in the middle. Now it seems to require more steering movement around road curves to keep it from crossing the yellow line. Any particular linkage have a habit of going out first or should be checked for excessive play? I even had a thought that maybe the front shocks were letting me down. Anyone ever see this a cause for road wander? I keep blaming it on thick air and humidity, temps have been ranging in the 90's and humidity can be cut with a knife. I don't think the dampner will solve these problems will it?


Charles

Anyone knows how many steering dampers are there on a W126?
I may replace mine together with the idler arm.

Thanks and cheers!


Mervyn
1983 W126 (280SEL)

Greetings Mervyn,

You probably only have one steering dampner attached to your center link, but to verify this look under the car and see if there isn't just one.

Charles

__________________
"Tell me and I will listen, Teach me and I will learn, Show me and I will accomplish, Involve me and I will succeed."
'84 300SD 256,000 Gold on Brown (Mileage Award)
'86 300E 246,000 Blue on Tan

Hi All !


When I first got my car , it was doing the same thing that everyone is talking about in this thread. Mine had a least 2 inches of play in the steering wheel. I first replaced the Idler Arm and tried to adjust the steering box a bit, this helped some , but not quite what I had been hoping for. I then replaced the Tie Rods and had the front end lined up. This still did not take all of the play out of the steering wheel. Two weeks ago I replaced the Steering Damper or (Shock) and I can now go down the road without wandering all over. It is my belief that replacing just one of the above items will not solve the wandering problem. It takes a combination of replacement of all of these parts to completely make it drive like a new one.

My 81 240D Baby

http://home.mebtel.net/~joeb/MB1.jpg

Channel1 has mentioned about the steering coupling.

How likely is this to fail as well?

Mervyn
1983 W126 (280SEL)

FYI, at least for W116 chassis cars, 1 inch (25mm) of play in the steering wheel is within spec. This would be the total movement from side to side. This is per the MB chassis manual.

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

Greetings Suspension Friends,

I'm just wondering for those of you that replaced either couplings or tie-rod ends etc. Whether there was any indication that they needed replacement, or was it a process of elimination? I'd rather replace what's not working correctly instead of the entire moving suspension rod ends. The steering coupling doesn't appear to have any wear parts that I even notice, so correct me if I am wrong as to what part wears out on a solid plate coupling. I can see tie rods that have excessive play in their sockets that need replacement, but that's generally over time and not something that goes bad after just having the rear tires replaced with new ones. The steering dampner, I suppose could go at any time if it chooses to, but how do you check it to ensure you aren't replacing a good part with a like item? The idler arm I would think would have the same type of excessive play as tie-rods only in a wollowed hole situation. Anymore ideas out there before I crawl under the car?

Charles

[Edited by can-do on 07-20-2001 at 12:41 AM]

__________________
"Tell me and I will listen, Teach me and I will learn, Show me and I will accomplish, Involve me and I will succeed."
'84 300SD 256,000 Gold on Brown (Mileage Award)
'86 300E 246,000 Blue on Tan

Can-do wrote:
----------------------------------------------------------Whether there was any indication that they needed replacement, or was it a process of elimination? I'd rather replace what's not working correctly instead of the entire moving suspension rod ends.
----------------------------------------------------------
Good question. Though parts like the idler arm and damper aren't that expensive, I'll still like to know when they are due for replacement.

I'm all ears.......

Mervyn
1983 W126 (280SEL)

Hi Yall,

Charles - I too am in the same position as yourself. I ordered last night from Fastlane a new steering damper. After a careful inspection of the bottom side of my car it does not appear that I have any "bad" or "going bad" steering components. The only questionable item I can see is the steering damper, which appears to be the original. I will replace mine upon receipt and let all know the outcome.

I don't know if I'm crazy or not, but, I checked the air in my tires, the rear tires were low so I air'd them up and it seems some of my "wandering" has dissipated, is this possible, or is it just wishful thinking?

Thanks,
jeric