Khan28

Hi all,

Hope everyone had a merry Christmas and I wish all the best in the new year. So today I was driving and out of nowhere I randomly lost power steering. I was able to turn the steering but it was quite heavy the rest of the way home (Almost felt like an E90 BMW 3 Series). When I arrived home I shut the car off and popped the hood and everything seems fine, the V belt is tight and I carefully opened the PS reservoir and according to the little dipstick the fluid seems to be at the normal hot level. Also, no weird noises at all or warning lights on the dash were present. I then started the car to put it in the garage and the steering was light and buttery smooth like it always has been. Any thoughts on this? Could there be some sort of electrical gremlin?

Also, I did do a search on Google and on the forum for this topic but I found a lot of posts regarding the W164 ML Class and not the W203 C Classes.

Thank you for your time!

phister

could be a gremlin or that you have something in the ps reservoir blocking the hose.

Khan28

Appreciate the input. I'll keep an eye on it. I had to go somewhere today and the steering felt normal so I'm leaning towards random electrical gremlin. I don't know the last time the power steering fluid (if it ever was) changed as I've only had the car for 6 months. Even though the steering didn't get super heavy yesterday it still poses a safety hazard especially in winter.

Khan28

Any other ideas? I haven't had the problem for the past couple of days but is there anything else I should look for? What's the ball park price to have the PS fluid changed. Seems like a bit of a PITA to change so I'll take it to an independent mechanic that specializes in European cars.

SunnyRayToronto

OBD2 codes? Check fuse, relay and connectors. Make sure your OEM battery is strong - should be changed every 5 years.

McNally Auto near Finch & Keele in Toronto is a great Mercedes Indy.

Khan28

Nope, no OBD 2 codes. I plugged it in even though there's no CEL but nothing is showing up. Is there some sort of electrical component to the steering system? I thought it was purely hydraulic.

Also, thanks for the tip on McNally's Auto. I've heard good things regarding his shop but I'll probably go to NV Euro Motorworks. Their shop is super busy and I do buy my oil (Motul 8100 XCESS 5W40) from there. Whiles I was buying my oil I inquired about a transmission service and they quoted $350 for the drain, flush, filter and refill with the proper 236.14 fluid. I'll take my car in for both the tranny service and PS service but I'll do it when the weather gets better.

servicetech

I am not sure if they can do a full transmission flush for $350 as it requires about 12 to 14 liters of transmission fluid. Also ask them to change the connector as it leaks after sometime.

jkowtko

Shell ATF 134 can be found for around $6/qt ... if they have that in bulk they probably get it even cheaper.

For the PS Fluid make sure they use Pentosin or Febi CHF 11S ... you can ruin these PS systems if you put the wrong fluid in it.

Khan28

Alright so it happened again yesterday and today. Only occurred on cold start, as soon as I shut off the engine and restarted the steering went back to light and smooth. Now it's been unusually cold as of late here, the temperatures are hitting -35 celcius (31 fahrenheit) so I'm wondering if that has anything to do with the steering going heavy. Also, I did do some snow donuts earlier in December. I park in the garage at home but outside at work. Is there some sort of electrical component in the power steering system or is it purely hydraulic?

jkowtko

So you did some donuts ...

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...ng-donuts.html

Do you think you recreated this problem? If so, then you could have damaged the pump and/or rack.

The first thing to do here is change the fluid. Get some fresh Pentosin CHF 11S in there and see if it helps. Read the DIYs on doing a drain from below so you change out the most fluid possible. That will set you back $20 -- far less than the cost of a pump or rack.

Khan28

Thanks. I'll wait just a bit until the weather warms up and I can give the car a good wash. I've become soft as the last few winters have been quite warm and snow free. I feel dumb now that I've done the donuts in the snow, I really had to give it some gas and turn the ESP off when doing the donuts because the winter tires I have grip darn well.

I'll read over the DIYs and see if I can give it a shot. I've done brakes, oil/filter, air filter, MAF cleanings and CV axle repairs before on cars but never a PS fluid drain.

Also, is there anything electrical I should look for?

jkowtko

Some MBs have speed-sensitive steering, but I don't know if the C-series have that option (and my car definitely doesn't). So you might want to check that possibility first.

Assuming no speed-sensitive steering, then DIY for PS fluid flush will be pretty simple for you based on your experience.

About the only thing non-trivial that you will encounter is the Clic-R clip that clamps the hose to the bottom of the radiator fitting. You can either pry this off with a screwdriver and replace with a normal screw-type hose clamp, or purchase a pair of Clic-R pliers (see photo ... easily found on eBay) and reuse the special clamp.

Either way, please post your results for the benefit of others who may encounter this same problem in the future.

Thanks. John