I change mine at 32,000 and I love it. I am very fussy about my car and try to take good care of it. One problem with my Crossfire my daughter wants it. I almost gave it to her but the wife said NO. Maybe later down the road.Sure glad she said no because I can't say no to her.

 

As cheap as the part is, I've always replaced mine @ every other oil change. I do 10K oil change intervals, so she gets a new damper every 20K!

Go to link below and take your pick. I believe the OEM is the Stabilus, but I prefer the Bilsteins....

https://www.fcpeuro.com/Mercedes~Ben...ering%20damper

 

Yes I check the box Mine came and on the box "Made in China" I don't care for that. But it did improve the steering. Where did you get your Bilsteins Stabilizer for your Crossfire. What did it cost if you don't mind telling me. 99 percent of parts you buy are made in some other country today.

 

Oh yes no let's stickwith high grade parts. Thx will try bilsteins.

 

Click the link in my previous post right above yours. That's where I buy mine. Buy 2 ea and get Free Shipping...

 

Thanks for posting the link, I just purchased the Bilstein as well. I thought I saw something about a lifetime warranty on the Bilstein, during the checkout process. I'll have to double check though.

 

FCP has a great lifetime warranty policy an all parts they sell, even if the manufacture does not. I have used it on a steering stabilizer after 4 years, no questions asked, sent me a new one, no return of the old one. I have also bought a Bosch fuel pump, and inter cooler pump with the same warrenty. You can't beat it.

 

10K oil changes? I do mine at 3 to 4,000 miles and I have not changed the damper yet. I am at 32,300 miles.

 

Yup, and that's year round driving in Florida. 2003 SLK manual states that the oil change interval for same engine is 13K. Last 5 changes @ 10K were sent in for analysis and came back pristine; could probably get another 3-5K more, but 10K seems very reasonable. Hey, it is synthetic oil so extended changes are the norm. Saves ALOT of money in the long run to boot.
Also, at around 20K the front end starts to wonder and track, so I change the stabilizer and all is good. 05 N/A Limited now has 110K and still drives like new. She's been fed only Liqui Moly Leichlauf High Tech 5W-40 oil for the last 70K.

 

Golly ! That Liqui Moly MUST be very special stuff, it even ignores Newton's Law.
5 liters weighs only ONE pound !
From :

 

Hey Syfi,

Thanks for steering me (no pun intended) to FCP. I ordered two Bilsteins yesterday afternoon based on your recommendation and they both arrived at noon today! I just finished installing it and it made a world of difference. As an FYI, the stabilizer that I replaced had 30k on them.

 

Liqui Moly has been the best selling motor oil in Germany for the last 5 yrs straight. #1 rated with the Audi & Porsche geeks!

 

ebay $23.20 includes shipping, can't beat this. Also part is from Germany, not China. Now to find someone to install it. Thanks for a great post of info!!

 

Oh you can change this part out yourself ! If I can do it so can you ! You might have to turn your wheels to get it on ! Made it easier to install for me ! Not a hard job !

 

Thanks for your message Ed. I stopped by a repair shop yesterday, they quoted $60 from $110. When I came back, they said come back Monday. Done with them. I looked under the CF when I got home, can't see anything because of ground clearance. I'm sure I could mechanically swap the part, it's the inability to easily get under the CF. I'd have to borrow some ramps……….I may call my other repair guy who should be cheaper than the $60. Can't wait to have tighter steering!

 

Ramps are cheaper than $60, BUT ! They are not considered "safe" if you are crawling under the car.
I jack the rear end up by the differential and place 2 jack stands on the rear jack points.
Then I can jack up the front on the crossmember behind the engine and place 2 more jack stands on the front jack points.
One of these days I'm gonna get one of those floor lifts when I find an extra $1600 lying around :
http://www.derekweaver.com/rodders-g...mid-rise-lift/

 

I bought a good pair of plastic ramps at Menards they are low profile so I can get the crossfire , my Stang & my sons Trans Am up on them no problem ! Light & easy to store away too ! Sold my old steel ones at garage sale !!! You can do this just go on here & see instructions how to do very easy to do ! If I remember right I just raised car on one side with big jack & stand ! Then turned the wheel to get new one on !

 

I replaced my steering stabilizer (damper) two weeks ago about £27 from autodoc.co.uk. The part I bought is a Bilstein which I thought (knew) would possibly be the best.

The symptoms where: Steering stiffening up like A LOT while turning at very low speeds below 10 MPH, Car tramlining a hell of a lot, steering wheel moving freely from side to side on poor roads but without causing much or any play at all on the car.

After replacing the steering wheel damper all symptoms are gone, I am much more confident in the handling of the car now. The car still tramlines a bit but that's expected with the wide wheels and VERY, VERY poor roads in the UK, probably the worst roads in the western world.

 

Unless I'm working suspension related or anything that requires tire removal, I utilize my RaceRamps. I own (4) 4" blocks and (2) 8" blocks, which have load rating of 1,500 lbs. each. They also work great for storage, since they have a radial cut for the tires. The plus side, you can stack them in any configuration, which is nice. They are 12" square, plenty of tire contact surface. I'll even use a combination stacked under my vehicles if utilizing a jack stand as a safety block, in the event a jack stand seam weld should ever fail. Safety first! I bet all 6 blocks I own, weigh less then 10 lbs. total, which make them easy for transporting, or storage.

This photo is one 4" RaceRamp.

 

I changed mine, big difference as described. Never knew the term tramlining but now I know how that steering condition is defined. Thanks to the Dragon meet a few weeks ago and thanks to forum for the information related to the steering damper.