I didn't notice much difference, the old ond was leaking a little oil I think though. It was really covered in an oily dirt film.

 

Alrighty then, I bought this 06 Coupe about 9-months ago, it now has 50K on it and I’ve noticed some "looseness" in the steering, I thought it may have been low tire pressure, while the tires were a tad low it still didn’t seem right.

I’ve been considering having the front end re-aligned, then ran across this thread. Sounded like $20 wouldn’t send me to the poor house so I ordered one last Sunday evening and received it on Thursday the 7th and installed it yesterday. I have a set of ramps and ran the car up, once under the car I quickly located the stabilizer, removed it and installed the new one in about 20 minutes this includes slapping my forehead because I forgot to turn the front wheels to be able to remove the bolt – DUH!

So, the results; Firstly, the old stabilizer while still offering some resistance was nothing like the resistance of the new one. Secondly, the old stabilizer looked remarkably like the 20-dollar replacement. So I don’t know if this had been replaced previously or not. There is noticeable improvement in the steering of the car, the highway wandering is gone, the steering wheel seems more positive in its feel. It definitely is an improvement from what I previously experienced with this car.

Is it worth the few bucks and the few minutes to change the stabilizer? You betcha it was, the car just feels better and that has to be a good thing.

 

I have 150k on the clock now and replaced my steering damper as well, most noticeable change was less wandering or railroading when driving in wheel ruts in the road. It has been getting dangerous where it almost wanted to throw the car into the next lane. I thought it was due to having 275 tyres on the back now. Seems firmer and mote stable changing lanes on the freeway as well where the camber changes between lanes.

Worth the money..... not sure why it has taken ppl an hour to change it though. Easiest job on the beast so far.

 

Hi,

I was told by TucsonChrysler Jeep that I'd need to replace the stabalizer on my 2006 Roadster. They told me the part would cost $649. I got exactly the same price for the part on Chrysler Parts Direct - Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep Parts and accessories. If you do the search for a steering damper they show the right part, a pistoning rod with two bolts, one at each end, and it costs $649.

So then I found this link and the reference to the Mercedes part that is exactly the same and can be got here for $20. Steering Dampner Mercedes Benz SLK Chrysler Crossfire - JoeTLC

My question is, is this incredible difference in part costs typical? Should I always try to get a Mercedes equivalent part?

 

It is always worth checking, but you are comparing dealer price for Chrysler to internet price for Benz, so not exactly apples to apples. If you called the benz dealer, the part would have been $300-$400, so it is cheaper than the Chrysler dealer, but still a horrible deal. When looking at parts for the XF, get the OEM part number and search, you will usually find the part is mercedes anyway and if you order from the Chrysler dealer, all they are usually doing is calling the benz dealer and marking the price up to you.

My 0.02

 

Thanks for clearing that up for me Boiler. By the way, is there a cheaper way to get a new windshield? I got quoted $400 here, most of that the part cost not the labour.

 

Hey TucsonKiwi,

My mechanic, not a dealership, quoted me $500 for an OEM windshield and $250 for aftermarket, not including labor. My insurance deductable for the windshield is $250.

 

Is there an upgrated version of the steering damper? Replacing with the same low quality part does not sound good to me. It has been reported that this part is only good for 30K miles or so

 

Paul, haven't found any upgrades. All the regular ones I've seen were all made in the same factory on Koblenz Germany. There are at least 3 different brand names, and none I've seen give specs. one brand nae STABLIUS is a leaker,part # A 193 463 00 32
one OEM off car s a leaker,same part #, no name but same plant.Another Stabilus, no part #, made in same plant. Bone dry. Last uninstalled one is`also Stablus,brand new, no part # on shaft but tag lists it as STEERING SHOCK 124 463 04 32 bone dry

I bought mine 1 from Auto Zone was $35 something, and 3 I bought from Amazon.com
Amazon gives free shiping on part over $25.00 and NO Texas State Tx they were $27.40 ea

John P
FTroopChief

 

Thanks. I will buy one in march. I'm itching to work on my car but I'm stuck in Iraq until APR

 

Pick up some real gold leaves over ther, gold is cheap
bono fortuna

John

 

There is also the Sachs-Boge damper on e-bay. OE part number 1244630432 Any opinions on this?

Mercedes SLK320 & Crossfire Steering Stabilizer/Damper: eBay Motors (item 350375724637 end time Nov-20-10 04:37:47 PST)

 

Well you get a giant THANK YOU from this guy.

Not much of a consolation prize comapred to wrenching on the XF, but you will be back to being the fastest NA before you know it...

 

Aha! So this is why I am having issues lately with ruts in the highway and such. I just figured it was due to bad tires or something. I just turned over 50K miles in my roadster.

I have been noticing that my car will pull to and fro when going over ruts or other things in the road. I am very glad that I accidently ran across this thread looking for suggestions for new tires. lol

I am gonna go order this part right now.

Thanks Everyone!

 

BUMPS......__.......__......................._.... .........

 

I'm buying 2 at that price....I would go for it.....

 

Big ten-four, thanks Doc. Those be the ones.

 

before you buy 2 ill save you a couple $$

Steering Dampner Mercedes Benz SLK Chrysler Crossfire - JoeTLC

 

This is the third SS I have ordered from JoeTLC and have been happy with their customer service. At ~$32 you can't beat them

 

I had my steering dampner replaced under warranty about 45,000 miles ago.
Noticing the same wandering as others who have posted here, I decided it
was time for a new one. Saw the thread here, read through it and checked
out the JoeTLC website.

Lo and behold, these were half as expensive as what was reported earlier
in the thread. I found the price set to $19, so I bought 2. Shipping and
handling brought the total bill to around $50. What a deal! Especially after
having seen the invoice price on the warranty repair way back when. Over
$600 at the dealership's service center.

As I'm still under warranty (barely), it may have been another "freebie"
repair, but I had the job done in 1/10th of the time I would have been
cooling my heals in their waiting room.

Thanks for the pointer, guys.

Coyote