My 1980 300D.

Just finished a complete rebuild of front end.
Steering box is tightened all the way.
Still have too much movement in the steering wheel.

When I grab the steering coupling under the hood and rock
it with my hand I can feel and see the steering wheel move with
the pitman arm standing still.

Bummed. We just did upper and lower control arm bushings, ball joints,
tie rods, steering dampener, Guide rod mounts and bushings,
new rotors and bearings.

Now it is all snug except for the steering box.

SO MY QUESTION IS: rebuild, or buy ?

I have several threads and it seems some of you have rebuilt them, will this take out the play ? It seems some of the rebuilds were to stop leaking.
Mine does not leak.

Thanks all.

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80 300D 340K Owned 30 yrs
83 300SD 440K Owned 9 yrs - Daily Driver 150mi/day
02 Z71 Suburban 117,000
15 Toyota Prius 2600 miles
00 Harley Sportster 24k
09 Yamaha R6
03 Ninja 250

is the joint in the steering column tight that could be loose.

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http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...titled-1-3.jpg
1981 300d

You say that the steering gear is tightened all the way. Did you turn the adjuster counter clockwise? If you did the steering gear will bind up with as little as one full turn. If you turned it clockwise you have made it looser. I've adjusted many steering gears on GM cars over the years by turning the adjuster clockwise to tighten up the clearance. Mercedes adjuster is just the opposite. My 81 300CD was loose and by adjusting a half a turn it made all the difference, 3/4 turn it bound up.

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81 300CD (sold) 1972 280 SEL 4.5 (sold) 1966 250 S 4 spd (sold) 1974 450 SL (sold) 86 BMW 325ES (sold), 1973 280C (sold) 1988 300 SE.

This is fairly common on hi miler cars that were not maintained properly by PO. If you keep the gear adjusted they won't wear as fast.
As previous post said, adjuster is CCW to tighten on the MB. If the steering gears do get worn there is no way to compensate that will hold, the gears will be forever be loose as the worn area is in the center of the steering wheel operating area.
The solution is to either replace the box with a good (used) one or find a rebuilt that is guaranteed. I had a rebuilt that was done poorly as it had internal friction and the steering wheel would not come back to center after making a turn and had to be replaced again with similar results. I was lucky to find a box with low miles and no wear and swapped it in with excellent results. The used box was worth more to me than any rebuild!
Finding a low mileage box these days is like winning a lottery though. Good luck!

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'95 E320 Wagon my favorite road car. '99 E300D wolf in sheeps body, '87 300D Sportline suspension, '79 300TD w/ 617.952 engine at 367,750 and counting!

Yes, these were actually resealed not rebuilds. Some of the internal components can get worn down. You'll have to replace them if doing a full rebuild or else when just resealing, there is a most likely possibilty of the box having the same play as before.

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1983 123.133 California
- GreaseCar Veg System

Better solution is probly dont even bother with another crummy 123 nylon bushed box at all.... reconnoitre one from 114/115/116 series gonna be retro-upgrade.

I ended up getting a good deal on a NOS steering box for my 83 300D.
Not cheap, but it returned the steering to brand new quality.

I've never regretted buying the new box.

Of course, you also need to rebuild the front suspension, replace the column rag joint, idler, tie rods, and center link as well, to fully enjoy the new box.

Jim

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14 E250 BlueTEC black. 45k miles
95 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 66k miles
94 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 152k miles
85 300TD 4 spd man, euro bumpers and lights, 15" Pentas dark blue 274k miles

All good advice, thank you.

I ended up purchasing a rebuilt box from steeringsupply4u@aol.com .

The box is a little tight, but my wheel returns to center and we seem
to like it.

We did ball joints, control arm bushings, tie rods, even guide rod
mounts and bushings. I replaced everything I could see that might wear
or had rubber.

The steering fluid had recently been flushed and a new filter installed with
fresh high-mileage steering fluid.

It feels better than I remember 24 years ago when I first brought it home.
But truthfully, I don't really remember much.....

Bummer is I had a donor car in my yard with only 106,000 miles.
I failed to get the steering box or the brake calipers.
Got everything else though (whole drivetrain).
Too bad, I could have used that steering box and saved a couple hundred.

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80 300D 340K Owned 30 yrs
83 300SD 440K Owned 9 yrs - Daily Driver 150mi/day
02 Z71 Suburban 117,000
15 Toyota Prius 2600 miles
00 Harley Sportster 24k
09 Yamaha R6
03 Ninja 250