Peter C1974
Senior Member
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2009
- Messages
- 970
- Reaction score
- 14
- Location
- Buckinghamshire
- Your Mercedes
- 1985 W123 230E & 1991 W124 200E & 1999 W210 E240
Driving at low speeds or whilst stationary, I can feel slight friction and a rubbing sound when the steering wheel is turned. At first I thought it might be dry ball joints. I've had various Mercs in the past that suffered from the same problem and displayed identical symptoms. I took the front wheels off and squirted some engine oil via a needle and syringe into the top and bottom ball joints. I used a small needle, which won't cause any significant damage to the rubber covers. Unfortunately, the procedure did not improve the situation.
A bit of research on the internet revealed that there is a rubber seal at the base of the steering column, inside the cabin, which can get dry and cause the reported symptoms. Getting to it involved removal of the lower dash panel and footwell carpet. All very easy, the interior is really well assembled.
Unfortunately, I found the seal to be perfectly well lubricated.
I did more sniffing around and noted that the groan only occurs when the engine is switched on and the steering wheel is turned slowly. With the engine switched off, there is no noise. Driving at normal speed the steering is just fine. I came to the conclusion that something inside the steering rack is not happy. I drained approx 400mm of power steering fluid and poured in the same amount of Slick 50. I am hoping that by reducing friction within the rack the noise will stop. There was no improvement.
This morning I removed the steering rack gaiters to reveal the rack. On the nearside, the rack was shiny and silver. On the offside, around the teeth that mesh with the pinion, there was a fair amount of surface corrosion. Fortunately / unfortunately, the rack seals are good and there is no evidence of fluid leakage. I squirted silicone spray onto the rack whilst my wife was turning the wheels from side to side and finished the job off by applying fresh grease before putting the gaiters back.
I went for a drive around the block and sadly the noise is still there.
Evidently, something is binding inside the rack. However, with the outer seals / bushes intact, there is no way of getting any fluid or grease to lubricate the offending surfaces.
A replacement reconditioned rack is £145. Then there's postage, cost of new fluid and having the geometry re-set. There won't be much change from £250 and that is assuming that I can complete the job in my workshop. As the chances of me putting the rack back in line with the column in exactly the same position as it should be are extremely low, I expect there would be a need to remove and align the steering wheel before the geometry can be fixed.
I can remove the rack, the job doesn't look too daunting (there's a nice YouTube video that really helps) but what chance do I have of getting into the innards without special tools? And if I do strip it without renewing the seals, how long will they last before the rack starts to leak?
I'm not sure what to do. Any advice guys?
A bit of research on the internet revealed that there is a rubber seal at the base of the steering column, inside the cabin, which can get dry and cause the reported symptoms. Getting to it involved removal of the lower dash panel and footwell carpet. All very easy, the interior is really well assembled.
Unfortunately, I found the seal to be perfectly well lubricated.
I did more sniffing around and noted that the groan only occurs when the engine is switched on and the steering wheel is turned slowly. With the engine switched off, there is no noise. Driving at normal speed the steering is just fine. I came to the conclusion that something inside the steering rack is not happy. I drained approx 400mm of power steering fluid and poured in the same amount of Slick 50. I am hoping that by reducing friction within the rack the noise will stop. There was no improvement.
This morning I removed the steering rack gaiters to reveal the rack. On the nearside, the rack was shiny and silver. On the offside, around the teeth that mesh with the pinion, there was a fair amount of surface corrosion. Fortunately / unfortunately, the rack seals are good and there is no evidence of fluid leakage. I squirted silicone spray onto the rack whilst my wife was turning the wheels from side to side and finished the job off by applying fresh grease before putting the gaiters back.
I went for a drive around the block and sadly the noise is still there.
Evidently, something is binding inside the rack. However, with the outer seals / bushes intact, there is no way of getting any fluid or grease to lubricate the offending surfaces.
A replacement reconditioned rack is £145. Then there's postage, cost of new fluid and having the geometry re-set. There won't be much change from £250 and that is assuming that I can complete the job in my workshop. As the chances of me putting the rack back in line with the column in exactly the same position as it should be are extremely low, I expect there would be a need to remove and align the steering wheel before the geometry can be fixed.
I can remove the rack, the job doesn't look too daunting (there's a nice YouTube video that really helps) but what chance do I have of getting into the innards without special tools? And if I do strip it without renewing the seals, how long will they last before the rack starts to leak?
I'm not sure what to do. Any advice guys?
