steering sound...

[sanf]

So my car has been making a moaning sound whenever I cut the wheel all the way to the right then back to the left. A Benz mechanic said check the power steering fluid and if it’s leaking, add a shot of brake fluid to it. However, the power steering fluid is at the right level, so I top it off?

I was thinking of the steering damper because mine is rusted up and I see oil on it??? But the mechanic said it would vibrate rather than making any sound. The reason of why I thought it would be the damper because it doesn’t make any sound if I cut the wheel when my car is on the lift. But when it's back to the ground, the damper would bend a little so I am thinking of the rust = metal grinding metal to create that moaning sound.

What do you guys think? Thx

[benzfan]

Lower ball joints. They require fairly frequent attention on the 202, but are dirt cheap from the dealer and easy to install yourself.

[J Irwan]

I think it could be the ball joint...either on the lower control arm or upper control arm., or even dried bushing..


put the front of the car on jack stand and try to move the wheel again..see if you could still reproduce the noise.. ..


Regardz,

[yusuke280]

dunno if this is the same problem i got a few months ago.
yes, it was the old ball joints and this "bar" i forgot the name with a short suspension "like" sideways.. it was old so had to be replaced.

they were not cheap, it costed me 3000 dollars (HKD) to replace and install back everything.

[sanf]

yusuke280, I think you are referrng to the steering damper. i got that replaced yesterday but the sound didnt go away at all. i will check out the joints/bushing later on.

guys, thx for the replies !!!

[benzfan]

A bushing problem will show up when the suspension is working, i.e. over bumps. A noise when the wheel is being turned is always a ball joint. They are subject to considerable more wear than the tie rod ends, so if you have never replaced your ball joints, I wouldn't look to the tie rod ends first. And it definitely won't be bushings.

[sanf]

how can i tell if the ball joint is shot?

[J Irwan]

Originally posted by sanf
how can i tell if the ball joint is shot?

One way to check this:

put the car on the jack and stand in front of the front wheel facing straight to it.


hold the wheel on 9' o clock and 3' o clock mark.

now move the left side toward you while move the right side away from you.. (so basically you try to wiggle it).
I forgot the factory tolerance....but if it wiggle so bad than the ball joint is shot.


Regardz,

[benzfan]

The best way is to sqeeze the joint with a large pair of slip-joint pliers. You will see the movement in the joint if it is shot. Wiggling at 9 & 3 on the wheel will only tell you that something has play in it.

[davis449]

A whine like that could be the power steering pump going out. This happend on my 93 Maxima. Same kind of sound.

[sanf]

After spending the entire Sunday. The problem finally went away. First of all, I had to pin down on where the sound was actually coming from. I did that by holding on to different parts of the steering section and had another person turn the steering *slowly* (you don’t want to lose your fingers). Whenever the sound occurred, I could feel the vibration traveling through the entire tie rod. The problem is ... which section exactly? So, since I knew the sound is coming from the right side and it sounded like something is dried up. I did a little test. I poked a small opening (just enough for a WD40 tube to get in) with a hook to the rubber part of the tie rod end (#1 in the picture below) and soaked the inside with WD40 as much as I could. The sound immediately went away.

http://www.trademotion.com/schematics/images/mechanical/F341070.gif
Picture by Direct Parts Connection/Trademotion

I actually went to the dealer to make an appointment on Sat. I still remember the service rep said, "You have got yourself a low rider, who knows what's going on in the entire front end." I can guarantee that the dealer would make me replace the entire rod + more. Thanks guys for all of the inputs ~~~ !!!

Here is the sound clip if you guys are interested. (http://home.comcast.net/~sanf38/wsb/media/sound.avi)

[detroit202]

Sweet thanks for recording the sound. I just started hearing the same sound this week. I just had new ball joints installed a few months ago I was hoping it was not those.

damn i love this site !:bunny: