Loose Tie Rod

[Devero]

I went to get my oil changed and the mechanic that i know pretty well told me that my tie rod(s) were loose and the front two wheel bearings needed replaced. so i searched and found out that fixing my wheel bearings was a must, and thats fine but i dont know what to do about the tie rod problem.... is this something i can fix by myself or should it be done professionally? any kind of info helps guys, thanks.

[jnolte]

tie rod connects your two front wheels to the steering colum so basically when you turn the wheel, the reason your wheels turn left or right is the tie rod, its a important part. I dont know your mechanical expertise, but I will assume if you dont know what it is you problay cant change it. After its fixed you need to get an alignment because your toe will be off.

[Devero]

ok thanks a lot jnolte

[Devero]

So we talked to the mechanic and he said that the repair would be close to $3,000 to fix. he said it is fine now but there is a lot of play. he also said the problem involves the inner tie rods and steering plate.

Is this really a resonable price? I know front end repairs can be expensive but $3,000? even for a steering column?

[benztec]

get it to the dealer and get a quote. any aftermarket shop will be cheaper. that way you have something to reference the repairs too. the dealer will be able to tell you exactly what you need.

[OzC36]

$3000 sounds very unreasonable to me.

The tierod is available on ebay or the online autoshops for $82-145 (you only need one assembly).
http://www.autohausaz.com/search/product.aspx?sid=0jgsid45k1azko55iagcjmji&makeid=800016@Mercedes&modelid=1195512@C36&year=1996&cid=26@Steering%20System&gid=7427@Tie%20Rod%20Assembly

The wheelbearings are about $10-30 each from the same sources.
http://www.autohausaz.com/search/product.aspx?sid=0jgsid45k1azko55iagcjmji&makeid=800016@Mercedes&modelid=1195512@C36&year=1996&cid=wheel%20bearings@wheel%20bearings&gid=1644@Wheel%20Bearing%20Kit

Lower balljoints (if also required) are about $10-30 each (you need two).
http://www.autohausaz.com/search/product.aspx?sid=0jgsid45k1azko55iagcjmji&makeid=800016@Mercedes&modelid=1195512@C36&year=1996&cid=ball%20joint@ball%20joint&gid=7456@Ball%20Joint

Manhours are say 6 at $120 = $720.

Say $1000 all up would be great. Maybe $1500 would still be good.

I agree with Benztec. Get it to the MB dealer and get a proper check and quote. They will cost the parts and labour and then you can make a rational decision.

You cannot do this work yourself without specialist knowledge and special puller tools!

[svt ricco]

thanks for the link oz! those prices are cheap..now i know where to get replacement parts for my c. btw, are the suspension parts oem?