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Worn Tie Rod?

10K views 13 replies 5 participants last post by  mercron 
#1 ·
I'm experiencing some "wandering" symptoms with steering on the freeway, and have had a long term steering pull to the passenger side for last several thousand miles that multiple alignments have not resolved. I've done a lot of searching what worn tie rod ends look like, most appear cracked with grease spilling out and are obvious.

Attached is a picture of my outer passenger tie rod end. I don't see any obvious cracks or damage to the end, but does it look overly compressed/worn any more trained eyes out there? 139K on the ticker for my 95 E320, and don't have any records to show these aren't the originals...

The sloppiness in the steering is becoming frustrating, and I'm wondering whether tie rods and steering dampener could be a good first stop. Thanks for looking!
 

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#4 ·
Strut tower mounts are new 20K miles ago.

I haven't tried the wheel test in a while, very little play in the wheel when I did it then, but could be worth another test as I would say the wandering is a new/worsening symptom. Remind me... excessive play in the 9/3, 12/6 wheel wiggle test is indicative of control arm bushings and/or ball joint issues..?

I wasn't aware of a twisting test on the tie rod, am I just grabbing onto the tie rod shaft and attempting to rotate, hoping for little/no movement?

Thanks for the response!

If alignments aren't fixing the problem, I'd look to the rear end or tires. Have you tried rotation?

It seems if you had worn front end parts, the alignment shop would either let you know or state they couldn't do the work until the loose parts were replaced.

And I don't believe the steering damper contributes to the alignment.
You would think they'd let me know ;)

I rotate regularly with oil changes (7-8K) and have had the same left-pulling symptoms each time. My thought on the damper was that it may put some tension on the rack, similar to a shock and that could affect the geometry if it went bad, leading to a "pull" in one direction..?

Along with the wandering symptoms, I really get a lot more feel of the road in the steering wheel than I've ever had, which also made me think dampener could be affecting the issue. Frankly I think both front shocks are shot as well based some clunking over bad bumps, so maybe that is doing more than anything to contribute to road feel.

Thanks for the comments and thoughts!
 
#3 ·
If alignments aren't fixing the problem, I'd look to the rear end or tires. Have you tried rotation?

It seems if you had worn front end parts, the alignment shop would either let you know or state they couldn't do the work until the loose parts were replaced.

And I don't believe the steering damper contributes to the alignment.
 
#5 · (Edited)
The 3 to 9 play is due to worn tie rods or loose wheel bearings. The 12 to 6 play is due to loose wheel bearings.

One way to test balljoints is to jack up the car on stands. Remove the wheel. Put the jack under the lower control arm near the balljoint end. Jack up the LCA slowly and watch for any play (compression) between the balljoint housing and the bottom of the strut where the balljoint stud is bolted on. If the boot is still intact, the boot would compress showing play. Any play would require replacement of the balljoint. In your 95 E320, that would be the entire LCA since the balljoint is integrated to it.

Then there's always the proper way to do it for all W124:

http://www.w124performance.com/service/w124CD1/Program/Maintenance/94_95/3355.pdf

PS: are the strut tower mount bolts torqued properly? I think it's 60Nm.


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#8 ·
I jacked up each front side separately to keep some load on the rack and did 3 to 9 wheel test. I don't know what "normal" looks/feels like, but my gut tells me that the p/s test felt a little loose more towards the interior of the rack. Not sure what that could be indicative of, but the tie rod attachment points appeared solid from what I could tell.

I also did the 12 and 6 test and got a very slight amount of movement on both front wheels. For the sake of comparison, I did the 12 and 6 test on the rear wheels and felt zero movement. Is this comparison a fair one to know that the fronts are loose, or are front and rear wheel bearings apples and oranges? If it does need wheel bearing attention, are the W124 bearings serviceable or require replacement? I didn't have time today to test ball joints unfortunately.

Thanks in advance!
 
#9 ·
the front bearings has a tendency to need adjustments from time to time, wheras the rear are more of a "mount one time and leave until bad"

12-6 movement on the front it might be a slight slight play, able to feel, but not "see"
I would also look at the ball-joint

that one can give some play, and when going bad, can make for some catastrophic results breaking on the highway or in a turn doing 70mph. (mine came apart at 30mph, still not fun)

besides that, adjusting the front bearings is somewhat easy.
what you want to do is find where the play is.
(i drive the car up on something solid where i can go under (i have built something like that outside, where its perfect to work under the car)
and have someone in the car moving the steeringwheel just enough to not move the wheels, and im under trying to feel and locate where the play is.

the steeringbox itself on these has some play, especially when engine is turned of, but any other play besides that is usaly easy fixable and makes a huge difference.
 
#10 ·
Wheel bearings can be adjusted by tightening the wheel lock nut on the wheel bearing spindle just until the brake rotors stop spinning by hand. You can also replace the wheel breaking if it is defective.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techart...73-SUSPEN-Front_Wheel_Bearing_Replacement.htm

That might also remove some of the 3 to 9 play from the front wheel. If not, you might have a loose power steering linkage if your tie rods are in good shape.


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#12 ·
Wheel bearings can be adjusted by tightening the wheel lock nut on the wheel bearing spindle just until the brake rotors stop spinning by hand. You can also replace the wheel breaking if it is defective.

Mercedes-Benz W124 Front Wheel Bearing Replacement | 1986-1995 E-Class | Pelican Parts DIY Maintenance Article

That might also remove some of the 3 to 9 play from the front wheel. If not, you might have a loose power steering linkage if your tie rods are in good shape.


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Do you know if I can tighten the axle nut without taking off that spindle clamp? Considering trying this to see if I can get rid of the little play I found doing the 12 to 6 test.

As an update, pulled the front end up on ramps to keep load on the wheels, and had my wife repeatedly moving the wheel back and forth to see if there was any obviously loose linkage. Nothing obvious appears to be wrong in my eyes.

I did the "grab and twist" test on all the linkage, the only section that didn't feel smooth twisting in it's ball joint was the d/s tie rod, it felt a little stiffer/jerkier than the rest that were smooth and tight, but both the ends of the d/s tie rod look intact and tight.

I am going to try the ball joint test next that you recommended by jacking up the control arm with the wheel off to see if that reveals anything looking bad. If I dont have any obvious physical linkage/suspension issues my next consideration is adjusting the steering box hex/allen nut I understand is made to be adjustable.
 
#13 ·
My two cents on checking for ball joint play:

Jack up the wheel under the control arm as discussed. Only and inch or so, enough to slide a strong bar underneath the tire. Use the bar to try lifting the tire while an assistant looks at the ball joint. This works pretty well.
 
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