I feel alot of slop and clunking in the steering. Mostly noticable over rough pavement. I'd compare it to worn ball joints but I doubt that's the case since the car only has 28,000 miles on it. In a previous thread I read that it might be an issue with a loose intermediate steering shaft. Has anyone encountered this and been able to fix it on their own? I tried locating it from above the engine bay but I think it will require a trip underneath the car. Any advice would be great.

 

Theres a jam nut that sometimes needs to be tightened somewhere near the steering box.

 

Anyone have a more precise location... the rough roads around here are allowing a few things to come loose.
I'd really like to tighten things up before the "dragon meet"!

 

I don't know exactly where the nut or bolt is located I have just read several posts thru the last couple years about it. The service manual may show the location.

 

Yeah I looked through it and there are quite a bit of nits and bolts... anyone know the right one(s) to tighten?

The steering info starts on page ZH 19-1 and the starts on linkage ZH 19-41

 

Normally there is an adjustment bolt with a jam nut usually located on the top of the steering gear box. I haven't looked at this yet but will and if I locate it I will post a picture for you. I will be gone for the weekend but will try to get back to you the first of the week.
But then again all my past experience is with American cars, once I look at Mercedes set up I may be just as lost as you.
If I figure anything out I'll be sure to let you know.

 

i am very curious as well??

 

Here's an exploded view from a great website if you need OEM parts.

http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...layCatalogid=0

The nut I tightened was on part #10. It was deffinately loose but it didn't do a whole lot to snug up the clunking I'm feeling. While I was under there I also noticed my damper had decided to puke it's guts all over itself as well so I've ordered one of those and will let you all know if that solves my problem when I replace it.

The only nice part about the outdated steering of our cars is that there is only a few things that can go wrong and they are all easy to get to and replace.

 

If your damper has leaked all of its oil out and you replace it with a new one I'm sure you would feel some kind of difference in your steering.

 

I'm not sure if the damper has discharged it's entire load but the was a heck of a lot of oil down there.

When I had the front end in the air, I also had the key in the ignition with the steering column unlocked and was able to easily move the rack side to side with hardly any resistance. I didn't actually remove the damper and see how stiff it still was but I'm sure it's lost some of it's original factory goodness.

 

OK I looked but could not find what I thought would be an adjustment for the steering gear box, Sorry.
I'll post some pictures of what it looks like on the car, as you can see in the last picture, access from the top is a little limited

 

i experience the same thing with my car!

 

my clunk seems like it comes from closer to the steering wheel then the gear box. i drove mine up a set of ramps and had my father turn the steering wheel and we couldnt sê anything loose or moving?? it just drives me insane!!!!!!!

 

I'm starting to think it might be a wheel bearing problem. I'm still waiting on the new dampener but while I had the car in the air I grabbed the top and bottom of the wheel to check the ball joints and found I was able to wiggle it quite a bit.

If you're unfamiliar with how to check ball joints, raise the front end, straighten the wheels and grab the rim at the top and bottom. Then try to push the top twords the car while pulling the out on bottom and vice versa. If your joints are worn then the whole steering knuckle will wiggle inside the A-arm. In severe cases you can actually watch the ball joint and see it move in the socket.

I checked mine and it does feel like worn ball joints and when I watch the brake rotor, it too is wiggling but the caliper (which is bolted to the steering knuckle that is linked to the chasis via the ball joints) does not move at all. You can actually see the rotor rocking back and forth inside the caliper. All this leads me to belive that perhaps it is a wheel bearing issue.

The dealer, of course, claims there will always be play in the wheel bearings and a slight amount of wiggle is normal but I doubt there should be this much. When I put in the steering dampener I'm going to check the torque on the axle nuts and see if they are loose. Hopefully I'll get a chance post my findings by Monday.

 

We had a gtg down in southern maryland a few weeks ago at a members automotive shop and one of the xfire owners had the same problem and when one of the mechanics checked it out it was just the spindle nut had to be adjusted a little tighter and problem fixed.

 

where is this spindle nut. the lơse stêring is killing me??

 

Its the nut that holds the rotor and bearings at the front wheels.

 

I found the spindle nut and tightened it about an 1/8th of a turn on both front wheels...FIXED! The hardest part was getting the dust cap off (which required a slide hammer with a gear puller tip) but after that it was simple. The nut isn't really a nut. It's more of a threaded clamp with an allen bolt that is used to draw it closed. It's actually quite ingenius compared to the old style nuts that need giant sockets. This can be done with a crescent wrench and small allen key. I am still waiting on the steering dampner to come in but just tightening the nut did wonders.

I also reccomend tightening whth the wheel back on after removing the dust cap. With the wheel on, you can spin it as you tighten to make sure you're not over tightening it. With a good spin it should rotate freely for about 5-10 spins before stopping. Less than 5 spins and your nut is too tight. If it just keeps spinning then snug it up another 1/8 of a turn.

 

one thing the crossfire has is bad wheels bearings or should I say low quality bearings on the hubs, replace them at 25k, I did my rotors a while back and durring the instalation I gave the hub a spin, wow the bearings where loud, gritty and dry. wheel bearing should always be greased every 50k but mine where shot at 25k, MBZ must be getting cheap on moly lube.

 

What is the spindle nut?

I'm having this issue and can't figure out where this spindle nut is. Any pictures?