W202 C250 steering sloppiness... what wears?

[chizzel89]

Got my C250 last week and have been sorting small things on it (fuel lines, rear tyres, aux. drivebelt and damper to do still, then the rust). Got new rear tyres today which got rid of the vibration I used to get at 65mph+.
I did 80mph in it today (private road) and the steering feels decidedly vague at these speeds, verging on a bit dangerous. It will try and follow contours in the road. When stationary there is definitely free play in the steering wheel. When turning the wheel lock to lock you get a rubbery sqeaking noise- sounds like the bulkhead bush. Maybe related, maybe not.
What is the typical thing to wear on these?
Car has done 155,000 miles and has been well looked after in London, and its previous home of Essex. No MOT advisories either.
I'll get in the footwell tomorrow and try to check the steering column UJ.

 

[BlackC55]

The typical items are all of them as they all wear.

Ball joints
Front arm bushes
Drag link
Track rod ends
Steering box

And of course worn shocks and saggy springs.

 

[chizzel89]

The typical items are all of them as they all wear.

Ball joints
Front arm bushes
Drag link
Track rod ends
Steering box

And of course worn shocks and saggy springs.

I see. Ball joints were done last year, so those atleast are fine.
Guess I'll just have to get it up on a ramp and wobble everything to see where most of the play is!
Is the steering box adjustable like so many others are?

 

[BlackC55]

After 150k the steering box will be worn. The shocks (if orginal) will be too. Wobbling the steering and suspension will often not show any play in some of the components. Levering the bushes, joints etc is whet you need to do. The castor bushes need careful inspection when levered as they crack and it is difficult to see.

 

[chizzel89]

Yeah, I tend to try and lever whenever possible- duplicates the stresses involved with driving much better than just wobbling stuff. The play in the steering is so evident by simply turning the steering wheel so I suspect it'll be very obvious. Think its gonna be the steering box. I wonder what price Acid can get me one for (assuming the box isnt adjustable!) What are the castor bushes?

 

[BlackC55]

The castor bushes are on the lower arms.

A new steering box will be £1k+ at least.

I can get it re-furbished for you for around £400. I need your current 'box though.

 

[chizzel89]

So the castor bushes are the wishbone bushes... I see.
Crikey... £400 is still out of my budget. Think my old peugeot still has its original rack at 280k miles and holds a good line at 95mph! Then again its not been driven around London for years, which I imagine is pretty taxing for the steering compared to motorway driving. I'll check it on the ramp next week sometime then I'll know whats causing most of the play. It passed the MOT fine, so I'm not worrying immediately, especially as I hardly every drive at 80 mph.
Thanks for the advice anyhow. I'm sure the manual says the box can be adjusted... will look into it.
Thanks

 

[chizzel89]

Had it up on the ramp today and levered everything with a 2ft bar. The steering box appears to be ok as do all the ball joints and the sliding link arm thing on the passenger side. That actually looks quite new and has been replaced recently for sure.
What I did find was that the steering damper is absolutely knackered, the rear bushes on the wishbones are a bit sloppy (front ones seem rock solid) and the wheel bearings have more play than they should, quite a lot more infact.
With these jobs done, it should be much much better.

The rear end seems to be fine too. Levered everything and nothing moved. I'm impressed by how little corrosion there is. About 3-4 spots (usually on spot welds) only. A full waxoyl job this summer will be a doddle and prevent the car ever needing welding hopefully.

On the down side, the propshaft UJ is KO'd. Amazingly it only vibrates a little bit in certain driving situations, but I'm going to get a new one on ASAP and drive very gently until I get it done.