I guess since u called me a Deer, I will have to call you "Gazal magokare".

 

Dear Silver00E320,

Yes I did exactly as you had mentioned and it displayed the entire thread in two pages. I could copy the entire thread in a click of the mouse onto a word doc and print. It was simple; Thanks for your guidance.

 

Does anyone have any recent information on this "squeaky steering" problem?
I would really be interested in finding out what a teardown of the steering rack looks like. If it is the nylon (possibly teflon) bushing on the aluminum rod that is causing the problem, as I was told by my local MB tech, then there should be visable evidence. They should also have information out somewhere saying not to put ones back in with the same material. On the other hand, if it isn't the bushing that's causing the problem - then what exactly is causing the noise? Any information would be appreciated.

 

I had the same problem on my 02' E320. I have a friend who is MB Technician, who did the work. He replaced the rack and pinion (under warranty thankfully) on my car. Problem solved.
He did tell me that it was suppose to be rebuilt, but he chose just to simply replace and not waste his time rebuilding the rack and pinion or replacing parts, as recommended by MB factory.

 

I sent an e-mail to MB concerning this problem and received a phone call from them yesterday about it. Interestingly enough, I was told by the MBUSA rep who called that their technical people know nothing of this problem being common to this series or years of Mercedes and suggested that the previous owner did not do the scheduled maintenance service as required. When I told the rep that I felt that this is not something that would be seen during or was involved with scheduled service their response was, "then it was probably driven very roughly by the previous owner". This comment makes me believe they not only missed the boat, they didn't even know there was a boat.
Their claim that they have no knowledge of this problem is probably the reason their technical people didn't answer the part of my e-mail where I asked if they had done a failure analysis on this problem. That would be needed so they would know not to make the same mistake in the future. It would also have answered the question; "Are the racks really bad or are we changing out bushings or something else in the process of changing the racks and those are what are causing the problem". Any respectable quality assurance program would demand that this be done on any significant part failure that can not be explained. But evidently, not MB.
The rep would also not comment when I told her my wife has a BMW 318i with 115,000 miles on it and the steering is like it just came off the assembly line. To me it seems unusual that a Mercedes, with less than half that mileage, would have to undergo a $2000 repair that many others are also reporting and yet MB considers it "not our problem".
Needless to say, my opinion of MB is at an all time low.

 

My dealer agreed there was a problem and it was to be repaired under the Starmark warranty. (after showing them this thread..)My 2000 E320 had 80K miles w/100K mi warranty. They replaced the rack (2 days) then align. Some sort of electrical problem was evident during the alignment. Turns out the tech pinched some bundle of wires during the work. Ordered new bundle and installed (2 days). Finally got the test drive in and the new rack had a different problem, some normal manufacturing defect. Order another rack, install, align total 3 days (plus a weekend). Finally got the car back, total 11 days I think it was. Fortunately they gave me a 4WD loaner during this because we had a snowstorm during that time.

Car seems perfect now though!

Bob

 

After ALL that work, it better be perfect. Otherwise, I recommend next time u take their lawner, sell for parts !! Starting with the steering first !!

 

Hi to you all,
I believe I have something new to add to this problem.
I came across a MB WIS (Workshop Information System), which the Mechanics use at the Stealers. When I put in my VIN # and opened up the special case file I found the following. Group 46.20 TI sm “Replace bottom radial shaft sealing ring on control head”.
When looking at the details it appeared the seal that they are talking about is the one that is giving all of us grief.
Now if they find it important enough to put it in their Special Case file for our cars, then surly they must know that there is a problems with their racks.
Again I never had any problem with my Stealer, I explained the problem to the Service Advisor, informed him about this thread, and with out test driving the car; they replaced it under warranty (keep in mind that they tried to replace the seal but broke part of the rack, hence the new rack)

This is what I saw on the WIS system

SM46.20-P-0003A Replace bottom radial shaft sealing ring on control head 20.3.03
MODEL 210.### #A up to 999999,
210.### #B up to 502650,
210.### #X up to 097150

Good luck with having your rack repaired under warranty or good will.
Hopefully this will give us a better leg to stand on.

 

Where in the column does this ring reside? My impression is the the rubbing comes from the portion of the column that passes through the firewall into the engine bay.

 

See the article "Squeaking Steering Column in E320 and E430" in the Sept. 2004 issure (vol 4 issue 3) of Mercedes StarTuned magazine.

Magazine can be read here: https://www.mbwholesaleparts.com/Sta.../jsp/issue.jsp

 

Do you have the PDF file from that link? The files do not exist anymore when you try to bring it up.

 

https://www.mbwholesaleparts.com/Sta...FactSept04.pdf

There is 'the' official response regarding their solution. I just got my car back and they said they could not find anything wrong but lubricated with this new lubricant. As luck would have it, the problem is unpredictable. It squeeks when it wants to. At least it's not as bad asit was before this current rack. I will say this, the squeek from the new rack is in the exact same place as the first rack. So maybe the boot in the firewall may be the culprit. We'll see. Thanks to bryanm!

 

Weird. The PDF's were working yesterday; maybe they are having server problems.

I hate typeing so here is a synopsis:

E320 and E430 only.

Verify noise with engine off and the weight off the front wheels to eliminate any hydrolic noise from the pump and rack. Locate the source of the noise. If it is coming from the sealing boot between the firewall and the steering shaft; the boot should be replaced with part number A210 462 10 96 and be lubricated with the improved grease part number A001 989 84 51 10.

 

After I contacted MBUSA about this problem (they claimed they knew nothing about it) I received a call from the service manager at our local dealership. He had been contacted by MBUSA and was asked to call me.

He claims the problem is not in the rack but in the boot at the firewall, like some of you have heard. He said there is a bulletin out on it and it recommends changing to a boot with different material in it because the present one warps and rubs the steering column.

This is the same dealership that told me the noise was caused by the rack that needed replaced for just under $2k.

 

I would realy like to know what is causing this .

I have 162,000 on my car and it just started.

I am also in New England and it has been very cold this year but I get this now even when it is warm

 

It just began on my car as well (or so my wife tells me). I have barely heard anything resembling a squeek, more like a "rubbing against something plastic" type of sound when the wheel is rotated (occassionally).
I will certainly be calling the dealer for service of whatever is the root cause.
I will keep you up to date on my progress w/ them.
+++

 

Where in NE are you? I had this fixed at Foreign Motors in Natick MA.

Bob

2000 E320

 

ae1m, were the symptons on your car the same as what's been described here? What did they replace and how long ago was it. I have not had a particular problem with it when it was cold (well, as cold as it gets here in Orlando). I've noticed it most when I had been driving it for a while and then pulled into a parking lot where you have to drive up and down rows slowly and turning into parking spaces or when I was driving through a subdivision that had winding streets.

 

Try this, move the steering wheel all the up,down, and all the way forward and all the way back a few times while turning the wheel, but not while you are driving this made it go away on car. I think its because I am the only one driving the car and everything is always at the same setting. So maybe things get dry in one spot. good luck.

 

The warranty was about to expire on my 2001 E-320, so a couple of weeks ago I took it to the dealer for some minor problems. Having seen this thread, I told the dealer that my steering wheel was squeaking intermittently. It was not squeaking at the time I brought the car in. He said he would check it out. Service advisor said “steering boot squeaking,” and said he would have to order the parts.

The car is my wife’s daily driver. I have never actually heard it squeak, so I am not sure if it is the same problem mentioned by others in this thread.

My wife took the car in this week. Here is what the paperwork said: “FOUND LOWER STEERING BOOT AND NYLON WASHER SQUEALING WHEN TURNING DUE TO FATIGUE. R&R POWER STEERING RACK AND REPLACE STEERING BOOT AND NYLON WASHER TEST DROVE OK”. It took 1.5 hours and two parts: Boot (210-462-10-96) and Seal Ring (210-462-00-60).

 

I wish you post that you have 150,000 miles on your car

The squeeky noise on my car, which mostly occurs at low speed, sounds like a windshield washer motor.

Hard to describe. This weekend, I will try to put up some sounds of it, and hopefully its the same. My car goes in for service on Monday AM.

 

I too have had this issue. My fix was to remove the plate under the dash and put some lube on the rubber boot where it is contact with the white plastic portion of the steering tube.

 

awgreig, what type of lube did you use? When I talked to our local shop's service manager he said there was a bulletin out describing this problem and their fix is to apply a special grease to the boot that would not harm the materials. That could have been just smoke he was blowing. Since it's MB grease who knows if it's special or not. But I would like to know how it's working out if you could let us know. By the way, I never asked but I thought the boot they were talking about was on the outside of the firewall. Is there one out there too?

 

My E320 has the sqeaky steering wheel. We took it to a local service shop and they said it was something to do with the an airbag part(a part that has wires on it) and how it's connected to the steering shaft. It makes sense since it's coming from the steering column.

 

I have this same irritating noise from my 02 E320 SE. Unfortunately... I just turned 29,000 miles. Yep... Original owner and at 4yrs and 29K... I HAVE THE SAME SQUEAK.... warranty is up in March of 06... TO the dealship I go...


in addition... my driver side seat was making noise... took it in 6 times... FINALLY... fixed it myself...

Not real impressed with the squeaks... at 29K... But nonetheless... still a great car and good value...