Mercedes Ml320 2000model (w163). 2days ago I noticed a loud sound and stiffening of my steering , it was manageable till i got home. The car got stuck at the entrance because I could not turn to park. the next day it rained I could not leave my car because Im currently in a very remote and rural area in Ghana-Africa. With no scanners or tools or nothing. There are no lights on the dashboard. I got a mechanic, who said it we may not get the complete hose to replace so he cut the pipe around the rack and we fitted hose and clipped with 2 clips and sealant. that day the car was fine till yesterday on my way to work, the steering became firm and i noticed smoke from my hood, assuming the p/s fluid had spilled on the exhaust or other hot metals . So we Went to the used market. we got similar hose on an ml320 . it looked different because mine was all rubber with metal tips but this had a metal pipe and all that in between the hose. We fixed it and immediately top up the fluid. then the mechanic asked me to start it and al the p/s fluid drained down and we turn the engine off and top it off.None of the hose are leaking now but now when we start the car ;. the steering is still very hard and only gets softer when moving the car fast. I read online somewhere they should have bleed the hose and all before starting the engine. If this is the case, does it mean my pump or rack is spoiled? if yes how do i tell. OR if i have to bleed it, can you show me the process? the previous day we replaced a hose without bleeding and it was fine so am confused now. I tried a bleed process i saw on you tube and realized a lot of fluid spilled out from turning it left to right 30x . I cont know if its air stuck in the pump and can i get it out do i need a new pump or rack?

 

You need to bleed the air out of the steering.

To do this top up the fluid, start the engine and wind the steering from lock to lock a few times whilst checking the fluid level.

When the fluid level drops top it up (to stop more air entering the system) and keep doing that until no more air enters the reservoir.

The pump may have scored its insides which means it will need replacing at some point.

you can get aftermarket pumps on eBay cheaply and they work fine. I installed one on my W163 a couple of years ago and still going strong.