It's the E12 bolt on the back side of the boot. Mine was tight but I snugged it up just because of this thread. I'm not sure I understand the purpose of that bushing...

 

I think he mean this bolt surrounded by a bushing, but if you tight this bolt the steering will be more tight when turning left/right and the steering will not return to the middle itself when cornering, it depends how much you tightened this bolt.

 

Nope, not that one, the one seen to the right of the boot in his picture. It's just a rubber bushing that is part of the rack and secures on the crossmember. Mine was barely finger tight and has had no work on the rack prior, this would get stressed when things flex (especially low speed tight turns) so it could explain some of the noise. Mercedes loves to use thread-locked bolts everywhere but this one was not from the factory. My noise went away, but I also replaced the strut mounts and rubber at the same time, so I can't 100% say that this bolt had anything to do with fixing it. An easy check though!

 

Ah ok.

 

Hi,

I'm new to this tread, but I just purchased my CLS63 last week and it's making a similar rubbery sound at low speeds or standstill turning. Were you able to find a permanent resolution?

Thanks in Advance.

 

25k miles later and the fix in post #24 is still working
https://mbworld.org/forums/w212-amg/...ml#post8763151

 

Thanks for Replying, so it was the foam which was making the noise.

I'll probably get it checked out this weekend.

 

Update: My mechanic performed the same repair and noise is gone.

 

Awesome

 

So I had the same clicking noise that was from my rack. Instead of a reman for $2700 I bought a new Bosch from Rockauto for $1800. Plus it came with outer tie rods.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...6m6UMFcmZDHRne

However, the clicking is only slightly improved and the rack still has play! I went with new thinking it would be better (plus there was no core) but now I'm second guessing. You can grab the input shaft to the rack and move it axially, both old and new. The new one is a little better but according to scan tool data, the new rack has about 3 degrees of free play when driving. Frankly I was expecting zero degrees....

The good news is, the rack is very easy to replace (but does require rack module software flashing, which is why I have the Benz Ninja). But it is expensive and while I saved money from a dealer reman, I also didn't really fix the issue. And before anyone asks, I did a fair amount of research and I have no reason to doubt the pedigree of the Bosch rack.

FWIW, I also played with the adjustment on the old rack and nothing seemed to remove the play, so I'm glad I didn't bother with that.

So I guess two questions: 1) does anyone else have free play in the steering wheel? 2) is there any reason to believe the more expensive reman rack will actually be better than the new Bosch I have?

 

You've replaced your EPS with a new rack. The same issues remain unchanged: freeplay + clunk.... right?

Can we say the issue is with the car and not the rack.

I can confirm zero steering free-play!
Can you double-check your union-joints or find a loosen bolt.

 

I meant radial play. I can check the steering shaft again I guess. It was definitely in the rack originally. You can see the entire steering shaft including the input shaft move and inside the rack was clunking.

 

You're saying your original rack did have free play and you say new rack has the same looseness ... right ?

The steering rack is attached to the front sub-frame cradle that has the wheels attached to.
Point being the steering column must have some form of looseness to accommodate the normal cradle motion, but not loose steering.

 

Yes. Maybe slightly improved.

 

Good thing new tie-rods were included so they are out of question.
Let's get your car back on rails like freight-train!

Without IGN:ON steering wheel should have no loose clunky free play, just tight.
The rack input shaft is really sensitive to torque inputs.
Meaning you can muscle the wheel and feel it move somewhat but that's positive input torque, not freeplay.

 

The old tie rods were tight but yes good to get new.

Yeah it has clunky free play with ignition off. I will upload a video I made before replacing. I can make a new one after replacing. I also did front struts (everything new), AND stabilizer bar. I meant to post a thread about this but sort of moved on...

Video before replacing:
Again I had my son wiggle the wheel with the car on ramps and me underneath looking and feeling the steering shaft. The play before was in the rack. The lower steering shaft U joint seemed tight. I don't remember if there is an upper one.

 

Using a vice grip, I am able to duplicate the noise just by twisting the input shaft similar to what I was doing to the steering wheel. It may be worst in the center position but surprisingly does make the noise even off center. I am assuming this is NOT normal and is related to the play I experienced on the old rack and now new rack.

Here is the old rack just now:

And here is the same wiggle test recorded just now with the new rack installed:

It is still unknown if I would have had better luck with the more expensive reman from the dealer. I did not select that because it was more expensive and had a core charge. Additionally, I guess I was a little cynical about reman parts. Perhaps they just bead blasted the casting and bolted on a new assist motor + belt. Would they really rebuild the internals? I had my doubts. But now I have my doubts about the new Bosch I bought....

 

Here's my 2014 with 46k miles that has no steering issues ... recorded right now (I've owned this car since new @ 8 miles)

 

There is no play in the steering when driving straight on a flat road? Like I said if I drive with my scan tool there is about a 3° range (shown on the steering angle sensor) where turning the wheel doesn't do anything. I am okay if all of these make that noise I guess but the actual play is what I am trying to diminish and I can't believe they are all like this. For example my 2007 S550 has considerably less play.

 

I'll check and report back

 

i have about 3 degrees of play (judge for yourself) but it feels tight while driving on a flat road - never bothered me in my ownership and similar to two other cars I have (bmw and Acura) but I get your investigation and the purpose

 

For sure this confirm your concern: huge steering freeplay.
This amount of play is unusual ie. not everyday standard wear... any known impact?

The coupler between the rack and steering column has a spline plus a union joint in the engine bay.

Can you inspect these 2 joints? With this amount of looseness the joint will rotate by hand to confirm it needs to go...

Target zero° freeplay, no knocking, stiff steering wheel.

 

I checked the lower joint when I had it off the steering rack. It was tight. I even grabbed the end and tried to wiggle it just to see if there was some play in the column somewhere and it didn't feel like there was any. I haven't taken a second look after installing the rack, however. That said, Peter seems to have the exact same situation and I assume his car is like half the mileage of mine. Mine is around 110k (with a brand new rack, mind you). The following cars have tighter steering play on center:
- 2007 S550 with 110k (my daily)
- 2014 Chevy Malibu with 153k (wife's car)
- 2013 Ford Fusion with 163k (mom's car)
- 2008 Cadillac SRX with 158k (gone but I remember what it felt like)
- Pretty sure my old 2005 Cadillac STS was also superior, although that did have an optional ZF rack that had great feel.

What is really frustrating is I had this same experience with my 2005 Cadillac CTS-V. First I tried a new steering shaft. Nope, old one was tight and new one didn't help. I bought a new rack direct from GM. It improved slightly but still had play.

FWIW, the steering assist motor on the 2014-2016 E63 is the same as what GM used on my Alpha platform applications (Bosch part number crosses) which are known to have some of the best steering around. Obviously this is an issue with the tolerances of the mechanical rack but I wanted to mention it anyway.

I would love more E63 people to chime in but based on the current information and evidence in this thread, there are only two possibilities:
1) I would benefit from a reman rack (and so would Peter, but it doesn't bother him as stated). If you scroll up the OP said he had a similar noise and not only did a reman rack fix it, but it felt tighter when driving.
2) I am chasing a ghost and they are all like this.

I am still leaning toward #1 but need more info...

 

I'll recheck the bmw 550 and the Acura mdx today and report back ... now I'm just curious

 

Ok, following your good testing: it's not the coupler so it's both the (new + old) racks unless this can be recognized as AMG "default" freeplay.


> OLD RACK TESTING...
The plot is thickening but you have a used rack ready to get adjusted on the bench.

You know how...
the input shaft spins freely in bearings.
the rack shaft is pressed against the shaft by an ADJUSTABLE SPRING.

The pressure exerted by the spring plunger is adjustable (+/- 1/4-T) - An extra +1/2-T should work wonder, tighten adjustement lightly with 2 fingers.
Too tight may shorten life of input shaft bearings.