Thought i would post this might be usefull to others.
OK changed my damper not to difficult two 16mm ring spanners all that was needed & a little
penertrating oil.Old one when removed very stiff in operation probably due to oil inside thickend up with age.steering now feels a little lighter & centres much easier also dont need to make as many steering adjustments on the move.
Found on ebay for mercedes slk 320 price £24.99 item #270808746015.

 

thanks for info drummy especially part no. one of those jobs keep meaning to get round to, dont know if mine needs one yet but at that price it wouldnt hurt.........chris

 

Changed mine on Tuesday. Same as you the old one was quite stiff. Also did rear brakes with EBC red stuff.

 

I'm convinced that with the typically low price of these steering dampers, which appears to be directly related to design quality, the replacement is a routine maintenance task required about every 20k miles. IMHO - Steering damper design is just one ladder rung above a hatch strut! In my case, I don't drive the XFire much (3-4k per year), so I replace the steering damper every 2-3 years.

Later,