hi all
i recently bought a w123 estate and it has some play in the steering. i had it in at the mechanic today and he could not adjust it as the adjustment bolt was seized to the locking nut, he could loosen the locking nut.
can that unit be taken out of the box IE the adjusting bolt and locking nut? access is poor as the manifold is just above it.
i know its not a w116 issue but i also know the expertise is here.
kind regards
john
Short answer is no, you will need to drop the box out of the car and do this on the bench. Basically you need to strip out the box to remove that shaft. From memory the locking nut has a nylon bushing of sorts which helps seal the whole deal, so maybe it is just a bit stubborn and you can keep working it to loosen the lock nut. I guess clearance is the issue to get more/better tools in there, so the time you will likely spend buggering around with it in situ you might as well drop the box and then also reseal it while you're at it on the bench.
My W126 has the same issue. Access is poor. I have thought of using a crowsfoot wrench on a long extension and a breaker bar and maybe a pipe length on that.
A heat gun can warm it up to high 200's of degrees F or more, that might help.
thanks guys
i thought as much, one other question is it ok to use use heat on the nut? nothing in the box that can be damaged?
i will suggest to him to take out the box, its probably the easiest.
all the best
john
I would not heat it due to the fact that it has that nylon seal in the threads, it will likely melt if you heat it up.
good advice, i will give him call in the morning and make a plan.
i will let ye know how it goes, even though its an S123
John
hi all
i just had the steering box and the idler arm bushing replaced on the s123, and its a great improvement.
so all sorted for now.
regards
john