Need urgent help on 2008 ml350 power steering rack and pinion
 

Hi Everyone,

I need urgent help to take correct decision

I am Praveen and I need some suggestion, I have ML350 2008 with 41000 miles on it. In Dec'2013 I changed my battery at Mercedes Benz dealer and they gave me recommendations sheet in which they mention they found power steering fluid leak and they suggest me to change steering rack with pinion and it is just a caution and mentioned the price as 2400$. But they said is not urgent. But last week I got check engine light symbol and I see a leak in my garage, so I took to a tech who used to work in BMW dealer and he also said steering rack needs to change and he said it will be 1700$ and it will be a re-manufactured part. But to make sure I took my car to another Benz dealer and after 1 day they called me told that steering control head has leak and needs to change that which costs 2000$. So I am confused whether steering rack is the problem or control head is the problem or if I change the rack will it comes with control head too? Because the non dealer tech is saying he doesn't have the special tool to take the control head but for the same price he will change whole rack which will fix control head and new rack.

Here are my questions.

1. Does the rack will comes with control head or both or separate parts?
2. If separate approximately what will be the price for both individually
3. And which solution might be good?
4. If I don't need to change the rack and pinion and want to just change Control head then how much approx that costs?

Please please help on this my problem is about spending 2000$, but but it need correct fix permanently so that I don't end up spending in again in 2-3 months saying it's not control head it's rack problem.

Any responses will appreciable

I need to take the decision ASAP, coz it's been 3 days I left my car at dealer


Thanks a lot,
Praveen

If your vehicle is not equipped with speed sensitive steering option then the control head will fix the problem usually. If you can get an entire rack for the same price as just the control head. I would go that route. A new rack will have a new control head installed on it. You will need an alignment with either repair.

I had the dealer replace the top main seal of my steering rack. The way I understood it, if u let the power steering fluid get too low it will damage the system & have to replace the whole rack. I had been keeping an eye on mine & kept adding fluid until I got it fixed. Not sure of price because I got it fixed using ext. warranty the same time they replaced my oil cooler seals.

Thanks for your reply. If I decided to go with entire rack then I need to go with non dealer. Because he is the one said will come both new since he doesn't have special tool.

But individually if I want to go for control head with dealer how much approx cost will be?

praveenbhai, just get it done. you are nickel diming the whole thing now.

Thanks for advice bhai. I am not worried of spending 2000$ I am worried about correct solution so that I won't end up facing same problem again in near future like in 1-2 months.

My total confusion is control head is part of rack&pinion or both are separate parts? if I go for only control head then still it costs same as rack and pinion?

Thanks,
Praveen

The mechanic who told getting new rack&pinion should have the answer. Can you get in touch with him?

Somebody already got there. See post#7 here
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w163...eak-not-o.html

And this
>>>If you are sure that the leak is coming from the control head, then you will need a new rack and pinion. The choices being, used from a salvage yard, a rebuilt one (on a swap basis) or new from the dealer.
<<<

Thanks for your information. Currently my car is with the dealer, so I decided to go there and will ask them to show where exactly is the problem and will talk to the mechanic, so I will get better idea and also on Monday I will call the outside guy and will understand the difference, so I can take a decision.

Once again thanks a lot for the info

Mercedes should be paying for this.:smash:
Racks a common failure in the ML350.
Mine died under warranty..

I spoke Benz customer service it is based on vin number and doesn't have any recalls

I also have a 08 ML350. This steering rack/control problem is this vehicles (2008) achilles heel-gas and diesel. Kumarp99's failure came early-at 41000. I have 46000 on mine and fully expect, down the road to be dishing out the $$$ to fix it. There has been in the past, manufacturers alerts on this problem but NO RECALLS. This is a weak substandard unit (the steering rack, pump etc.) that was engineered for a sedan, not a heavy SUV.

Thanks for informing about your experience. Did they replaced rack & penion or control head and how much approx they charged?

Here's everything you need to know:

The steering rack on the W164 is generally known to be a leaker.

The steering pump is common to most versions of the W164, and given the price/value proposition, Maval's steering pump, remanufactured from the OE part, is widely-considered to be excellent. My mechanic won't install any Cardone parts, new or remanufactured. PartsGeek has the best price on the Maval, about $163.33, with a $155 core charge.

The steering rack works like this:

The new part at the dealer is north of $3100. But even the dealers don't use it; it's almost-impossible to find in the US, from the dealers or otherwise. The rack comes in two flavors: one for vehicles with speed-sensitive (also called parametric) steering, and one for vehicles without. Parametric steering is Code 213, so you go to 17vin.com, enter your VIN, and look at the codes on your specific car's data card. If you have 213, you need the rack for that; if not, you need the rack for cars without it.

The MB part number for a new (non-parametric-steering) rack is 1644600500. The remanufactured rack is that same part number with a suffix – either 60 or 88. At my local dealer, their MB-boxed OEM-remanufactured rack was $1200+.

One great option for folks who want the factory-remanufactured rack is Huskerparts.com, who has it for only $870.48. (Part No. 164460050060.) That's probably the best price out there. They also will want a core deposit of north of $300 before shipping it to you. Husker is a Mercedes dealer in Nebraska.

Maval makes a remanufactured OE rack. My mechanic thinks it is an excellent value and a quality rack. PartsGeek's price was the best: $323.33 plus a core deposit, and it was only a day away with free shipping. http://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/200...ring_rack.html It's such a good value that it's hard for PartsGeek to keep in stock.

CVJ Axles in Denver remanufactures steering racks (and axles). Their reputation is stellar. They have been at it for 20+ years, and they build new and remanufactured axles and steering racks for NASCAR. They specialize in Mercedes, so they have a lot of cores. If they have one, they will do up an axle or rack for you, usually that day, and ship it to you. Or, if you want, they will usually turn around a remanufacture of your own axle or rack the same day, if you send it to them (calling first and setting it up in advance, of course). www.cvjreman.com (a simple web site that just tells you about the company and their philosophy and has their phone number)

The easiest way to check their stock is to call them. So I called. They didn't have my rack, but there is a company called Brinson -- www.brinsonco.com -- that buys their products, and apparently sends them racks and axles to rebuild, then stocks the finished product for same-day shipping.

I myself went with the CVJ rack through Brinson. www.brinsonco.com Service was excellent, rack was excellent. Less-expensive if you buy it directly from CVJ.


Here are the options in short:

MB-box New Non-Parametric-Steering Rack (No Code 213): $3100+ list price, Part No. 1644600500

MB-box Remanufactured Rack: $870.48 plus core deposit from Huskerparts.com (Part No. 164460050060) (Husker offers very-inexpensive ground shipping)

CVJ-Remanufactured Rack: $695 plus core deposit from The Brinson Company plus $25 shipping

Maval-Remanufacured Rack: $323.33 plus core deposit from Partsgeek.com

Thank you very much, it's a great information. I really appreciate it, but I went to the Omaha,NE dealer to fix that, now I got couple more problems :-)

1.Power steering pump leak
2.Rear Shocks
3.Front Brakes complete

Any information and help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Praveen

If you need a new pump, the Maval is the best value. Great quality, good price at partsgeek.com.

Thanks!!!

My pleasure. By the way, the Maval power steering pump, assuming you don't have speed-sensitive steering (code 213), is here: http://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/200...ring_pump.html

To figure out what codes you have, pull up the manufacturer's data card for your car at www.17vin.com. Put your VIN number in, and it will tell you every numbered option on your car. For some words to go with the numbers, click on the SA CODE tab. If you don't have 213, that pump is the one you want. If you do, it may still work; let me know and I can do more research. I put that Maval remanufactured pump on our car so I know it works and works well.

On the shocks, if you go aftermarket, you want the Bilstein B4 ones, which are in this case better than their yellow ones. Bilstein makes the original equipment shocks, etc., for your ML350. The B4s will give you the factory ride. However, if you go through Husker to get your parts (the Nebraska dealer), their prices on shocks and stuff are very close or less than the Bilstein's through Partsgeek. Partsgeek's prices vary from supplier (what they call "warehouse") to supplier, so the same part from "Warehouse A" will often have a different Partsgeek part number and will have a lower price than from "Warehouse G", which is a different supplier. I think Warehouse A is partsgeek's headquarters and that is really them; that warehouse almost always has the lowest prices. If you try to decipher their catalog, the factors you will need to examine are: 4-matic or not; Code 489 or not (air suspension) and Code 214 (adaptive damping) or not. Most folks with that truck have 4matic, but don't have the other two. So if that's the case with you, you probably want the one for $189.23 from Warehouse B, but I can't be sure. You can email their customer service with your VIN and ask them. http://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/200..._absorber.html It's the same part, right and left. If you look, where they DO break it out right and left, it's the same part number.

Alternatively, you can use the huskerparts.com catalogue, and get the proper Bilstein part in a Mercedes OEM box. You can email Vic, their parts guy, with your VIN number and he will tell you the part number and then you can plug that into their online catalog for the best price. They don't mind if you do that. It may be 1643202431, which is what 17vin says is the latest version for my car, and Husker sells it for 207.40. If you put that number in Partsgeek, it shows you the $219.63 one from Warehouse G as the proper Bilstein one. So Husker is cheaper unless you can use the $189.23 one from Partsgeek Warehouse B, which may be the same part.

Again, giving Vic your VIN number and knowing that he'll steer you right and treat you right is worth something, so using Husker may be the best option.

On the brakes, my mechanic has sold me on the Akebono ceramic brake pads, because they perform great but really don't emit brake dust like the OEM ones. Prior to that, I was using Textar (german) rotors and pads on both of our Mercedes and have been very happy with them. (They are OEM on Porsche.) I now have the Akebono ceramic pads (and Textar rotors) on the front of our E500 and can't tell the difference between them and the Textar pads. If you're looking on Partsgeek, you also can't go wrong with Pagid or Brembo for rotors. If you're looking to Husker, their Mercedes OE rotor and pads are certainly price-competitive. However, one thing i like about the Textar rotors is that they are coated on the hubs, so when you look inside, you don't see that rusty surface that forms on the hubs of the OEM rotors.

Good luck!

Wow!!! you are an encyclopedia about cars :-) lot of information, I agree that husker might be giving competitive prices on parts, but can you also suggest me some good mechanic lincoln, because labor rates are crazy.

Same problem
 

A couple of months ago I had the battery on my 2008 ML-350 (50k miles) replaced during a regular service at local MB dealer. Soon afterwards I noticed fluid drop on the garage floor, took the car to dealer and it was diagnosed as power steering control head leak. Total repair bill quoted is $2700 with $600 parts and $2100 labor.

Since the car only has 50k miles the service adviser mentioned it's unusual to see such failure. I noticed OP also mentioned his problem was identified during battery replacement, would that have anything to do with the leak?

I'm thinking to shop around a bit to see if I can lower the repair bill. So far I have no problem with the steering, leak is about a couple of drops per week, how long do I have to get the repair done?

well they're totally wrong. That part fails on this car all the time. All the time. And 50000 miles doesn't sound unusual, given the age of the car.

okay, so here's the drill. I think I gave you the information in a post above, but I'll synopsize it for you. You are getting ripped off. Figure out whether you have speed sensitive power steering or not. If you need help on how to do that, look above, or write back here and I will help you. Then, get a Maval-refurbished steering rack at partsgeek.com. Maval is the only one you want from them. You do not want Cardone. Find a good local mechanic to put it in. It will be a heck of a lot less than $2,100 in labor, and the rack will be about 350 bucks plus core charge which will be refunded when you return the original rack. If you need it done now, and can't get Maval, get a refurbished rack from CVG axles in Denver. That's what we have. They do excellent work. If they don't have your model, which you can find out by calling them, then call Brinson, and get their price on the rack. Doing this is a lot of work, and you will need an alignment afterwards, but it ain't 2500 bucks. My recollection is that in addition to the rack, you need a couple of little rubber washers, which I think PartsGeek also has or a smart local mechanic can easily get.

and no, replacing the battery had nothing to do with your steering rack problem. The battery is under the passenger seat. It's a medium skill level DIY job. I have done it, and there are a few tricks that make it go easily, but it wouldn't have anything to do with your steering rack. Next time, find someplace other than to do that. Sears, Pep Boys, etcetera. Much cheaper, and perfectly acceptable AGM battery. Even Walmart will do it.

Thanks wjcandee!

I was told the repair is to replace the steering gear control head and re-seal it. It doesn't need to replace the rack.

Also dealer just offered me 50% off the repair bill with the other half off'd by MB and dealer. Does that make it more reasonable?

Btw, I can't seem to connect to 17vin.com.

I had the same issue. Dealer reported fluid leak and I ignored it. When it finally HAD to be fixed I got a remanufactured unit and had my local mechanic put it. Normally, I would have done it myself, but didn't have time. Anyway, parts and labor ran me $700. The dealer wanted about $2500.

Thanks wjcandee for this information.

Any idea how many hours will indy shop charge to replace new steering rack on 2008 ML350 4matic?