Power steering help.

[shupz]

Hi Guys, I would really appreciate your inputs and advise on my situation. I've just took over a E200k W211 (2006 Model). The steering felt rather stiff I was told by my mech that my power steering pump and switch needs to be replaced. So after replacing them, the steering feels great while parking or at low speeds. But here's the thing, it gets stiffer/harder as I pick up speed. It's still manageable while traveling on straight roads. But when I have to negotiate bends (like the ones from BKE - KJE) it really requires some strength to turn the wheel. Is there anything wrong with my steering components ?  

[MarkCWQ]

Hi Guys, I would really appreciate your inputs and advise on my situation. I've just took over a E200k W211 (2006 Model). The steering felt rather stiff I was told by my mech that my power steering pump and switch needs to be replaced. So after replacing them, the steering feels great while parking or at low speeds. But here's the thing, it gets stiffer/harder as I pick up speed. It's still manageable while traveling on straight roads. But when I have to negotiate bends (like the ones from BKE - KJE) it really requires some strength to turn the wheel. Is there anything wrong with my steering components ?  

 

Not sure of the amount of strength needed, and it can be very subjective. It sure sounds like your car might be fitted with the speed sensitive steering system.

 

More info:

Speed Sensitive Steering.pdf

[shupz]

yup. I've confirmed that my car have this "SSS". Does anyone experienced the same as I did ?  It's really a pain to drive at times. Do you guys have any idea if i can disable this "SSS"  ?

[steven77]

My previous ride  W211 2005 model had this feature but never had this situation where I had to use that much strength to negotiate expressway bends at speed. In fact I think the steering was very well weighted. Maybe you should let another workshop check the steering system.

[shupz]

My previous ride  W211 2005 model had this feature but never had this situation where I had to use that much strength to negotiate expressway bends at speed. In fact I think the steering was very well weighted. Maybe you should let another workshop check the steering system.

Yeah. I found it rather strange that i had to use my "cow" strength to turn the wheel. Yup i'm gonna drop by another workshop tmr. It's kind of weird though. My mechanic diagnosed like 1/2 a day with his laptop and the mercedes device thing but cant find any fault with it. The chief mech took my car for a 20 mins drive and he said my car is fine. Headache. And I just realized that my car have a whirrling sound when i'm slowing down at speeds of about 10 - 30 km/h. There's no jerking or anything. Just the whirrling sound. And it goes away once I shift it the neutral gear. Any idea what's the problem  ? Thanks!   

[steven77]

Yes, when the car reached about 8-9 years there was a whirring sound when I slowed down. And no jerking at all.  I actually ignored the issue but ended up trading in the car for my present ride end 2014 when the supercharger started giving problems as well.

[shupz]

Thanks guys for your advice and inputs. Just a little update, after flushing my power steering oil like 3 times (pump replaced, solenoid replaced and steering rack checked and no issues found) the steering felt much better. I suspect that there's "sediments or some stuffs left over inside the power steering system from the previous faulty power steering pump and it's been cleared after flushing it a couple of times. Weird it is.

 

As for the whirrling sound when slowing down at speeds of say 20km/h - stop, my mech told me that its kinda normal when W211 reaches 8 - 9 years of age. No fault found. But after changing my rear differential oil, it did whirl softer. Guess I'm going to have to live with it.

 

The only problem left is my A/C. the center vents have little or no air coming out (side and rear vents are blowing strong) . I have to set it to auto and slowly cycle through the modes until there's air coming out from the center vents. Even then, the center air con issn't as strong as the sides. The air con specialist told me that it might be a aircon control unit issue and advised me to change it. It's 1.2K. I'm not sure if its worth it and is he taking me for a ride to carrot me. Any inputs on this guys ?  Thanks in advance!