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Car Forum / Mercedes-Benz Cars / February 2008Steering center tie-rod replacement
84 300D is my car. I noticed some noise (and vibration) in the front passenger tire and traced it to the center tie-rod of the steering mechanism. (If you want to read more about this story I wrote that up on my blog at dougsmb.blogspot.com) Anyway, I already have the part (from autohaus) and since it arrived on Monday instead of Friday, I have a whole week to look at it and think about fixing it until the weekend comes. I also have a borrowed car to drive around until its fixed so that I do not cause anymore damage. My question is this: What special tools do I need to do this job? I purchased a tie-rod remover from autozone today, and if I do not need it, its going back. Other than hammers and wrenches and sockets, thats all I think I need for this job. Additionally, I noticed that the steering dampener is mounted to this assembly (part). Does that have tension on it? Or will it stay where it is when I remove the bolt. I can handle either situation, but I would rather not be surprised. Thanks, Doug The steering damper is a hydraulic shock. It stays where you leave it. Better than a trained dog! But you want to push it in and pull it out and make sure it still works. If there is no resistance, it is history and just adds weight to the car. You will need to replace it. > 84 300D is my car. I noticed some noise (and vibration) in the front > passenger tire and traced it to the center tie-rod of the steering [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > Thanks, > Doug > The steering damper is a hydraulic shock. It stays where you leave it. > Better than a trained dog! But you want to push it in and pull it out and [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > Thanks, > > Doug Thanks Karl. I may check the shock before I get into the whole job this weekend. I thought about getting a new one anyway, but decided against it. Can anyone comment on the ease of removal of these things (tie-rods)? Also, did I waste my money on a tie-rod puller, or is that necessary? I would say it is better to have the puller ready. The last time I changed tie-rods, they came out without much effort. But if they do stick there, puller is the safer way. Do not use the fork type separator. It will destroy the boot. I thought AutoZone lends the tool. You pay the full price but get full refund when returning. Therefore, there is no cost to you. >>The steering damper is a hydraulic shock. It stays where you leave it. >>Better than a trained dog! But you want to push it in and pull it out and [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > Can anyone comment on the ease of removal of these things (tie-rods)? > Also, did I waste my money on a tie-rod puller, or is that necessary? > I would say it is better to have the puller ready. The last time I > changed tie-rods, they came out without much effort. But if they do [quoted text clipped - 39 lines] > > Can anyone comment on the ease of removal of these things (tie-rods)? > > Also, did I waste my money on a tie-rod puller, or is that necessary? So I got that stupid thing changed out. It was not easy to get it out. I had first bought the tie-rod puller that has the jaws and the screw to pull it off. It probably would have worked fine, but there was no clearance above the center link to fit the puller onto it. I did get it onto the passenger side by turning the wheel, but I found out that the jaws were too far apart. So, I made a trip back to Autozone to get the one recommended by family. The "pickle fork" type device. Someone here mentioned that those destroy the boots (it did) but it doesn't matter because the old one is going to the trash anyway. Haven't taken it for a test drive yet, (waiting on the weather to clear up) but everything seems to be fine. Hopefully, I can adjust the steering again to get the excess play out of the steering wheel. Thanks for the advice guys. btw, The steering damper was good, I checked it also. |
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