W204 Steering Rack Replacement

[kraven]

I've been having a problem with my 2008 C220 CDI Sport making a knocking noise, this was eventually traced back to the Steering Rack being damaged with the casing being cracked and not covered under warranty.

The part number for my rack is A2044604800. Mercedes have quoted A2044605400 as the replacement part, but it's £1766 + vat just for the rack, which is completely out of the question.

I have sourced a replacement rack, A2044606000, which I have fitted fine and the knocking has gone, but the Parameter Steering is no longer functional, meaning once the car goes over 10mph it can get quite heavy.

From speaking to mercedes it seems there is a difference in the racks :

A2044604800 - ESP Sensor, Handling package and Variable Steering
A2044606000 - ESP Sensor none of the other features

Can someone in the know confirm, that if I take the old ESP sensor from my old rack and fit it to the new one, will I regain the features lost ? I have been advised by the people I got the rack from that I will get them back by swapping the sensor over, I guess the differences in the rack are what is programmed into that sensor.

Thanks, K.

 

[BlackC55]

It is worth a try if the only difference is the sensor.

 

[RidgewayMerc]

In our opinion [and that of MBAG] You should not simply replace the sensor in the new rack. It is a safety critical component & to suggest something is 'Worth a try' without seeing the vehicle is irresponsible. [I can send you the pictures to support this opinion]
[email protected]

 

[kraven]

Upon further investigation, the difference *appears* to be in the ram controller as opposed to the sensor, and swapping that over would be a complete no-no from what I can see.

So, i'm going back to where I got the rack from, as they assured me it would be fine, which is clearly isn't. The car does drive fine, but with the rack moving the power-assist to nearly zero after 10mph, makes the steering far too heavy to drive.

Ridgeway, BlackC55, thanks for the input.

 

[RidgewayMerc]

Afternoon krazen

As mentioned please email me direct on [email protected] - I'd be happy to send you the pictures of the two racks.

Regards
Sean
Ridgeway Mercedes-Benz

 

[st13phil]

Sean - great to have you around but one word of advice: if you don't want your inbox full of spam from a harvested email address you may want to ask a mod to edit your post so that it says something like sean (dot) navette (at) mercesdes.co.uk