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Power steering- please advise

5K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  LVIT2F8 
#1 ·
Hi guys, im new on the forum so please go easy on me :bowdown:

Anyway, OK so i bought a 2001 W168 A160 recently and noticed strange power steering activity, i would turn the steering wheel and notice a short burst of stiffness in the steering as if the steering dies for a second and works again, and also i noticed standing still if i move the steering slightly, i can hear the electric motor of the power steering running quite fast and when i stop moving the steering, the electric motor sound you can hear goes from fast to mid speed after about 5 seconds and then eventually goes silent again.

Did anyone have a similar experience or knows of a fix for this?

All Future input is much appreciated :)
 
#3 · (Edited)
Hi, thanks for the advise, the oil was very dirty and overfilled anyways so i bought new fluid from MB and put it in but that did unfortunately not cure the problem.

But i solved the problem eventually so i thought ill at least do my part and post the solution for you guys :) i took out the power steering pump and attempted to strip it to see if any seals can be replaced or not, so i took the pump off, stripped the expansion tank and motor off and viola there i have the little 'ol pump in my hands, now the pump basically is 2 housings held together with two screws and has a variable geometry impeller inside, but anyway back to the point, so as im undoing the first screw to separate the housings i noticed the other one was already undone! and then it all became clear...... because the housings didn't seal tight together the fluid bypassed the impeller in tiny amounts, thus the motor has to work extra hard and run at max rpms to keep the pressure up, so i stripped it anyway, cleaned the filter inside and put it back together and back in the car and tada! it works and is running silently again! :)
 
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