steering damper purpose
 

What is the purpose of these...

..... and what are the driving symptoms of a worn out one...

i should know this, but don't.....

thinking about replacing a couple just as routine maintenance

you can unbolt one end of damper and see if it has good resistance all the way through[check for little or no resistance near the centre] or just replace them because [1] they are cheap [2] it's time.

It reduces vibration in the steering wheel for that 'luxury car feel' at the expense of steering response. I drive without one.

Mine was leaking oil when it was bad. I have driven with a good one and a bad one and the only difference I can tell is with a new one the steering feels much heavier, more like a "luxury" car. With a bad one it is easier to steer, feels more like a Toyota. I think it is there just for that reason, to make it feel diffferent, but everyone insists it makes it handle better some how.

It "dampens" the road irregularities by absorbing the forces before they are transmitted to the driver via the steering mechanism. The heaviness is caused by the dampening effect.

You hit a pothole, it can cause the wheel to jerk some, ... the steering damper is supposed to take some of the energy from such a hit, the faster the wheel turns, the more resistance.

They don't seem to last a real long time to me... but they are cheap!

i think i will replace the one on the e320... the steering on the CE is still tight....except it has a bit of steering wheel vibration...which could be caused by a number of things...