Toe can destroy the inside- or outside- 2" as fast or faster than camber.

 

Man, I thought my car was needing tires or something, I knew my stabilizer was bad, but I put it on before the fall Dragon.

Well, it was WAY SHOT! I went to Buckhead Imports today for a coolant flush, -10 fan mod and a steering stabilizer.... I felt the difference in the wheel before I got outta the parking lot!


I ordered two of them from JT Outfitters.... so I guess after next weekends dragon, I'll crawl under there myself and do it again!?!?!?

 

What is the noticed change once replaced?

 

Thanks to this thread, replaced my steering damper over the weekend. Used the Stabilus part from RMEuropean.com for $30 shipped.

Was going to replace this because my steering wheel was feeling "clunky" with a fair amount of play in the middle which made going over bumps and turns at speed a bit hairy. When I replaced it this weekend I found that my old stabilizer/damper was leaking hydraulic fluid - the old part was coated! Steering feels much smoother now (not necessarily tighter as some have described) but more "fluid" and "solid". Gives me more confidence taking turns at speed, as the play in the wheel is now gone and the response to steering inputs is immediate.

 

nice tip ,mine had 78,000 miles.took 20 mins havent driven the car since but ill count on doing this every 2 years or so.

 

Did mine today and replaced with a Stabilus. Seems marginally better ?? The new one pushes in and out by hand alot easier than the original one on the car.....but it looked to be in like new condition anyway. I'll keep it as a spare.

 

Anyone have to adjust the steering box worm and pitman gear clearance to reduce the steering wheel on center play?

 

No but I had to slightly turn the steering wheel to the left so that the steering link would move enough to gain clearance so that I could remove the bolt that goes through the steering damper link on the drivers side end.

 

Just ordered my steering stablizer (damper p/n 1244630432) from Joetlc.com for $33.51 delivered. A while back while I was driving on 281 going to Kendalia,(my first time on the hiway) my Crossfire felt really squirrelly and I thought it was the tempermant of a German automobile. My work associates know about my car and are curious how fast she goes, I told them I don't race it, I didn't tell them I was fearful of its' squirrelly tendancies. Maybe this will be the fix for the squirrelliness ....

 

I purchased the steering damper from JoeTLC tonight.

Just wondered why there are two different dampers, one is 19.95 and the other is 22.95.

I bought the $22.95. Delivered $35.85

they are both listed for the Crossfire.

 

I just replaced mine today at 62,458. What a difference!! Thanks forum! Ordered from amazon with shipping $29.98.

 

I've had my XF at two different dealerships telling them the front end feels squirrely. It's been on the alignment rack twice and I've just put on an $850 set of Generals. All because of a bad TPMS on the rear, I've been pulling my hair out for the last three weeks trying to get someone to get the sensor to "talk" to the ship's computer. Anyway, after being away from this site for quite awhile, I stumbled onto the steering shock thread. Seems exactly what my car is doing right now - following every crack in the road and being a little cry baby in the corners.
So long story short, I went out to the garage and jacked up the front end. My stabilizer is leaking from head to toe. Nobody in the last four places seemed to even give that a second look. Ordered one from an eBay dealer (Mercedes SLK part). Hopefully in the next few days I'll have some answers on the steering anyway.
The fix they gave me for the TPMS was to throw away the aftermarket part (because it couldn't be programmed) and stuff an $80 Chrysler part in the wheel instead...
Man, I hate dealerships.

 

Can not believe the difference this made! I must have just been use to how the car drove as I thought mine was still fine. Decided I wanted the new one off the shelf, so I drove the car up on the ramps, switched it out with no fuss and WOW what a change! Highly suggest!

 

Changed it out today. Easy!

 

I replaced mine a few days ago assuming at 85k it must have been shot. The old dampener seems like its gas based rather than hydraulic like the new one. When i push the old one in i hear a hiss of air but the new one sounds like maybe a fluid type.

Anyway the steering seems a bit more stable over rough areas but its a marginal improvement as far as i can tell. I have always had issues with the amount of slop in the steering. I took it in twice when i got it but the dealer said everything checked out. It just seems to wander a bit more than other cars I've owned. I assumed it was due to the design of the car, its just not that tight when driving in a straight line.

 

Try this. Engine off. Wheels and steering wheel straight ahead. How much play in the steering wheel while gently rocking SW L and R?

 

changed the oil on the roadster, and replaced the steering stabilizer....seems the old replacement was better. It was larger in diameter and silver in color. I am going to put it back on. I had the new one for some time. It was a direct replacement, but I like the other better....go figure...now I need to find out where I bought the larger one...I thought they would be all the same, but they are different.

 

I think I may need to replace my steering stabilizer. It's kind of weird... when the car is cold, when I first start driving, it feels a bit like the front end needs to be aligned (there's a little shimmy in the wheel), but once I drive a little bit, it's fine. The only way I can think to explain that would be the oil in the stabilizer warming up or something ... not sure. No matter, at 81,000+ miles, I'm sure the stabilizer could stand to be replaced.

 

How gentle? Holding the wheel with 2 fingers I can apply very little pressure and it moves about 1-2cm.

With two hands I can move it 3-4" before encountering any significant resistance.

 

I just replaced my original stabiliser (27K miles on my xfire) with a new Stabilus from Advance (ran $45, supposed to have a lifetime warranty). It totally stopped the popping noise I had been having when turning the wheel at low speeds and also tightened up the steering a bit. I think the old damper must have been totally shot from rough Austin roads (though I didn't notice any difference in resistance at hand compression between the two).

All in all, I'm just grateful my xfire doesn't make that horrible noise anymore.