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Got screwed, now I need your help

Started by hans moleman, 16 March 2011, 07:44 PM

koan

MT did you check out the 765.7 boxes that are supposedly unique to 6.9s?

I can see the piston and sector shaft being identical between L and RHD but the case has to be a mirror image. There appears to be several of variations of the control valve.

Also the self adjusting method of W126 is a bit of a cheat. The adjustment screw pulls the sector gear into the piston like a W116 box but in addition the W126 box has a spring loaded plunger that applies a twisting force to the piston to keep it tight. This keeps the box feeling "nice" but would think it accelerates wear on a small area of the piston and sector teeth.

koan
Boogity, Boogity, Boogity, Amen!

Squiggle Dog

#31
I emailed carsteering from this eBay auction: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150523720846.

~ ~ ~

Me:

When these steering boxes are rebuilt (the Mercedes W116 boxes specifically), is the steering shaft and piston replaced, or at least the gears re-profiled? The reason I ask is these tend to wear to the point where they can no longer be adjusted without some slop toward the center point. I want to make sure these boxes don't just have new seals and paint put on them. Thanks for your help.

Scott

~ ~ ~

Carsteering:

Scott,

These boxes are completely rebuilt, all of the gears are either replaced or polished and put back to spec. We have been doing steering for over 25 years and what set us apart from the competition is our quality in our rebuilt boxes. All of the seals are replaced along as the bushings, bearings, and gears (if needed).

AJ
sales@carsteering.com

~ ~ ~

This sounds promising, huh?
Stop paying for animal cruelty and slaughter. Go vegan! [url="https://challenge22.com/"]https://challenge22.com/[/url]

1967 W110 Universal Wagon, Euro, Turbo Diesel, Tail Fins, 4 Speed Manual Column Shift, A/C
1980 W116 300SD Turbo Diesel, DB479 Walnut Brown, Sunroof, Heated Seats, 350,000+

Squiggle Dog

Apparently C&M Hydraulics is pretty decent after reading these posts: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=249518. Chris, the owner of C&M is a Mercedes enthusiast who is also a member on MBCA.org and PeachParts.com. His company specializes in Mercedes steering boxes and I am leaning toward purchasing one from them.  AutohausAZ is one place that sells his rebuilt steering boxes.
Stop paying for animal cruelty and slaughter. Go vegan! [url="https://challenge22.com/"]https://challenge22.com/[/url]

1967 W110 Universal Wagon, Euro, Turbo Diesel, Tail Fins, 4 Speed Manual Column Shift, A/C
1980 W116 300SD Turbo Diesel, DB479 Walnut Brown, Sunroof, Heated Seats, 350,000+

hans moleman

After putting everything back together I took the 450 for a long ride. The steering felt great and the car handled excellent. She may not have oodles of top end power but there is surprising low and mid range grunt...wow!! I can't wait to deep six the old cats and rotten exhaust for something a little more sporty. I wouldn't say the steering is now perfect but it is perfectly acceptable and I'm now very happy with the car.

Squiggle Dog

That is good to hear! I've been wondering if it's worth installing a "quick ratio" steering box, or if it would be too sensitive for normal driving (too easy to oversteer when changing lanes or going around an object).
Stop paying for animal cruelty and slaughter. Go vegan! [url="https://challenge22.com/"]https://challenge22.com/[/url]

1967 W110 Universal Wagon, Euro, Turbo Diesel, Tail Fins, 4 Speed Manual Column Shift, A/C
1980 W116 300SD Turbo Diesel, DB479 Walnut Brown, Sunroof, Heated Seats, 350,000+

hans moleman

I was wondering the same thing Squiggle, with the box adjusted, all new steering components and some fresh squeezed air in the tires I now think a quick ratio box would be a poor decision for me anyways as I'm afraid it would make a very nice and balanced (and huge) sedan kinda nervous and twitchy. I think I'm gonna invest in some better tires and put the whole steering box thing behind me.

Squiggle Dog

It was the steering box that was causing my steering wheel shake! I purchased a remanufactured steering box from C&M Hydraulics (AutoHausAZ), which specializes in Mercedes steering components. It even came in proper black paint, not some strange color that would look out of place. I purchased the centering tool from The Mercedes-Benz Classic Center.

I had already replaced the steering box with a used one, but it ended up being almost as loose and still caused the steering wheel to shake back and forth. This time I removed the steering wheel and pulled the steering shaft from the box in order to make bolting up the new one easier. Long story short, I managed to get the steering shaft and wheel installed correctly. When the mark on the steering shaft is vertical the box is centered and the wheel is perfectly centered onto it.

The steering wheel shake is gone and it feels like a totally different car! The steering is very smooth and it goes around corners with so much less effort. I was a bit worried looking at how far the adjusting nut was backed out, but it steers like it did when it was new. The box centers itself perfectly, doesn't pull, and the steering wheel is perfectly centered. I am so happy!

Stop paying for animal cruelty and slaughter. Go vegan! [url="https://challenge22.com/"]https://challenge22.com/[/url]

1967 W110 Universal Wagon, Euro, Turbo Diesel, Tail Fins, 4 Speed Manual Column Shift, A/C
1980 W116 300SD Turbo Diesel, DB479 Walnut Brown, Sunroof, Heated Seats, 350,000+

s class

Its good to hear that you've had a happy experience that's all worked out for you. 


[color=blue]'76 6.9 Euro[/color], [color=red]'78 6.9 AMG[/color], '80 280SE, [color=brown]'74 350SE[/color], [color=black]'82 500SEL euro full hydro, '83 500SEL euro full hydro [/color], '81 500SL

hans moleman

Good deal, amazing how much of a subjective improvement good, tight steering can have on a car.