dovla

I noticed recently when I park my car and my steering wheel is turned totally to the right I hear some kind of a sharp squeaking noise, and this is only when I am parking the car, so at normal speeds (when driving etc) I don't hear anything at all, nor do I feel something that is strange or different. What could be the issue here? Powersteering oil was my idea, but I always service my car on a regular basis at the benz dealer. So wouldn't they fill it up always or what?
I read something on other websites (other car brands as well) that the brakes could make this sound as well, that doesn't make sense though since that would be true when I turn the steering wheel to the left as well...

Any ideas? Will it be an expensive joke at the dealer to let it fixed, or could I just buy some oil for the power steering? (and if so where is it located on a w203 c-class c240).

Any suggestions are more than welcome...

JLD2k3

try topping off the power steering fluid. Back when I got it serviced at the dealer they did nothing to top off fluids.

Glyn M Ruck

At full lock the power steering vents fluid via a valve - this should make a swishing noise. If there is air entrained in the fluid it will shreak at you. Check fluid level. Some pressure relief valves make more noise than others. Nothing to worry about generally as long as the system is not short of fluid. The system will self bleed over time if the fluid level is maintained.

dovla

Allright, but how do I determine the level of the powersteering oil, I mean 'till what point should it be filled? I tried to read the car manual last night, but it didn't say anything about powersteering..

Any pictures of where the power steering oil is positioned under the hood?

Glyn M Ruck

Dovla - See pic. If you stand in front of the car facing the engine compartment the PS reservoir is on the right hand side under the inlet air pipe that goes to the airbox. The dipstick for checking fluid level is integral with the filler cap.

Glyn M Ruck

That's not my dirty engine - I stole the pic off the forum

e1000

Glyn M Ruck

Dovla,
Some more pics to help you. This is a very simple proceedure. If you want to hasten the self bleeding process turn the steering from lock to lock 4 or 5 times.







Good luck

dovla

Glyn, I don't know what to say, you're a great asset to this forum... I was trying today to find it but found myself being a complete moron cause I just couldn't find it... Now I've seen these pictures I'll try again... I'll let you know wether this was the problem...

TexasC230

hey thanks for all that info bro you really helpe me out now i know where its at and gonna check it in morning! you saved me a trip to dealer! thanks again!

GiulioTJ

I have a c320 and have a heavy steering.
Noticed that at cold the steering fluid reservoir is more than full and the colour of the steering fluid is yellowish......
could the previous owner have used an improper fluid and tha could cause heavy steering?
Please tell me what you think about this!

slammer111

The stock MB OEM fluid looks a bit like tea. There are also variants such as Febi S6161 (clear) and Pentosin CHF-11S (green). They are all interchangeable and miscible with each other. Also the fluid basically lasts forever. Other than topping up the fluid and the occasional partial change every few years, I haven't done any maintenance at all on the system.

Personally I occasionally drain some fluid into a bottle and let all the particulates settle, then reuse the stuff at the top during the next service. I'm not even sure what the particulate matter is (sludge is green - bits of seal and o-rings?), but the fluid that's not at the very bottom basically looks brand new.

Other than possibly lowering your PS level to the correct range, I don't think there's anything you really have to worry about. It's highly likely the fluid in your system is the correct one.

The stock steering feel is on the heavy side. Honestly I think it's a German car thing.