Not one but two problems.

[ninja7]

I recently bought my first Merc, a c180 estate (203) and I have a few niggles, the main two for this forum are when travelling over rough roads I am getting a heavy rattle from front and rear. I have hed the car jacked up and cannot find any discernible play in any of the ball or anti roll bar joints, I don't find it worrying, just annoying.
Problem number two is when the car is cold, as I reach the end of my street I have to turn right at a mini roundabout, when I do this the I hear a creak or groan from the steering, after that it does not do it again. I wondered if it could be the pump because after the bmw and mg ztt I had the steering feels heavy, or maybe it's just me?

 

[colechelle]

the front i would guess the drop links (tie rods ), the rear i would guess broken springs, both common and easy to replace! for the steering, i think you have all ready said it yourself!

 

[ninja7]

Sorted!

Had a look at the car on a mates ramp the other day, the heavy rattle was not the drop links but the anti roll bar bushes at the front. Got a pair of new ones for less than a tenner from my nearest Merc dealer and fitted them in half an hour on the drive the other day, hey presto, one non rattling Merc! As for the noisy steering pump, I will live with it for a while as it's only noisy first thing. Other than that I am very impressed with the car, it took me to the NEC for the bike show last week and never missed a beat, that's why I bought German again!

 

[BlackC55]

Check your PS fluid level.

 

[edz649]

My E55 eats lower ball joints, drop links and roll bar bushes, the latest lot has lasted just over 10K. All of my previous Mercs suffered with this problem, I even tried not genuine parts to see if they were superior but to no avail.

 

[ninja7]

Checked ball joints the other week and all seemed okay, also steering fluid is clean and up to correct level. It's not a big problem so will live with it for a while.

 

[louwdj]

"My E55 eats lower ball joints, drop links and roll bar bushes, the latest lot has lasted just over 10K. All of my previous Mercs suffered with this problem .... "

Not a common occurence, me thinks. Either you drive over bad roads or have bad driving habits? Going fast over bad roads will accelerate wear. Just sold a C220 (W202); replaced lower control arm bushes twice, anti-roll bar bushes once; with original shock absorbers done - 250,000kms.