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Steering Play

5K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  bigheman 
#1 ·
Hi there

I have notice an interesting steering play. It is 1997 230 SLK Kompressor.

When the steering in the straight position, it has play like any normal car. But at say about one full (or close to full) steering wheel turn there is a very noticeable 1-2 inches (more close to 2).

So why is it like this? What parts may have been fault ?

Many thanks for any advice !!

Cheers

Leo
 
#3 ·
I had my steering damper replaced at the same time as the shocks, which is recommended. This is what I used. Seems to work just fine. However, I do recall a long ago thread about the R170 generally having too much play in the wheel that was fixed in the R171 versions. So a new damper may only help a little.

Bilstein 18-140651 22mm Monotube Steering Damper
 
#4 ·
This is normal in almost every car that does not have rack & pinion steering. The internal worm in the steering box is ground this way on purpose. At anywhere but straight ahead, the steering play is not critical because of the caster that the wheels have. Caster tends to keep pressure on the steering mechanism as it tries to return the wheels to straight ahead. The extra clearance makes the steering wheel easier to turn when it is off center. Nothing to worry about at all.
 
#5 ·
I've noticed the same in my car, I also figured it was normal.
 
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