While having tires rotated and oil changed, the mechanic showed me a significant amount of play in the steering linkage. He was able to move the wheel an inch or two due to the loose connection in the linkage. This 2005 Roadster has about 38,000 miles on it and is still a wonderful vehicle! I would much appreciate any guidance from the experts here. My little bit of research on this site and other places makes me think this will require a significant effort and expense to remedy. Although I have been successful in handling some other issues with this car, I don't believe this one is within my ability. Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

Sounds like it needs either -

Mercedes Control Arm Kit - Lemforder 170320 - 330.00

or

Mercedes Control Arm Kit - Lemforder 2103308707 - 166.00

or

Mercedes Steering Link - Lemforder 1704630115 - 195.00

and a new

Mercedes Shock Absorber - Sachs 317-262 steering stabilizer - 62.00

all available at fcpeuro dot com

 

Thank you for that! Now to find a capable mechanic.

 

An inch or two of play and you couldn't feel anything was loose or "not right" while driving? It would feel like Armageddon driving any car with an issue like that.
Parts can certainly wear over time, and you may not know the cars maintenance history if bought used, but that's out of left field. My Crossfire just recently passed 100,000 with 88,000 of those miles under my care and the steering/suspension has no issues at all.
I know (from experience) that the steering linkage does have some slop when there is no weight on the wheels (car jacked up or on a lift) and the steering wheel is all the way left or right at full lock but that goes away completely except under those conditions.
Something doesn't sound right, especially on a car with such low mileage.

 

Nick is right, this is all B.S. Your 'mechanic' is either ignorant or deceptive.

By now, your car needs a steering stabilizer - cost is around $48 and can be changed in less then ten minutes, including time required to put the car up on ramps. I did mine yesterday, made all the difference in the world! I posted here yesterday, see post 541 (or read the whole thread):
https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...prised-28.html

No car, of any make, needs all that work at such low mileage, unless it has been abused severely. This is asinine.
Same thing happened to me at "NTB" in Cumming, GA back in 2016. The guy tried to convince me that all of my steering parts had to be changed or "Your new tires will be ruined in ten miles..."
He got told off in front of a room full of customers, at high volume.

 

Do not trust the mechanic who told you this !!!
If your steering was that sloppy you wouldn't need anyone to tell you.....you would feel it !!!
You will notice a little play in the steering when your wheels are turned fully left or right and you probably will only notice this when sitting stopped
This play in the steering is normal when the wheels are fully turned left or right
I'm sure when your wheels are straight your wont feel the play in your steering wheel
You be the judge here and not some mechanic

 

Every time I get a wheel alignment shops tell me the same thing and that I need new bearings too etc and I have no steering issues at all. I have a lot more miles than you and in the future plan on getting the center link and front control arms replaced. I would just not worry about it for now they were just fishing to see if they can make extra money on you.

 

OK; I have not noticed ANY play while driving, so I will take the good advice above and perhaps do the steering stabilizer replacement

Thanks to all!

 

I have the stabilizer replacement on order. I have the 16mm socket etc required. But what I am unsure about is how to safely "jack up the car". Yes, I am a noob about that. I am guessing I will have to buy or find some additional device(s) to accomplish this.

 

You do have the OEM jack under the rear rug, don't you? I believe you should be able to jack one side up (front) and get at the thing from there (not sure what side for best access, use your own judgement). Level ground, and wedges under the rear tires and you should be all set (with the tools and part that is). Have fun!


.

 

Ok, but probably make sure my wheels are turned right before jacking, but which side?

 

Use jack stands for safety when the car is jacked up.
Turn steering wheel 1/2 turn to the left, that is CCW.

 

Thanks for that. Which side better to jack up?

 

You can replace your steering stabilizer with the car on ramps
No need to use a jack and jack stands
As I recall you do need to turn the steering a bit to make the bolts clear to put your ratchet on

 

OK, so use ramps. Turn the wheel 1/2 turn left and then up on ramps? Seems like turning the wheel while on ramps might be unwise. Clearly, I have never used ramps and I would like to be safe. These Durable RhinoRamps look OK?

 

I unlike others don't think that you "need" a steering stabilizer. You can check it just as easily as you can replace it, it's just a shock absorber mounted horizontally on the steering linkage, it should have resistance to motion and not move very easily.
As others have noted, correctly, "No car, of any make, needs all that work at such low mileage", that includes the steering stabilizer. It simply doesn't wear that quickly. I know mine hasn't and I have slightly more than 100,000 miles on it.
You can replace it if you want but doing so will not make the car feel any different than it does now.

 

ZX2,

I disagree in the stabilizer - they are a known failure item. I changed the one on the Graphite at 44,000 and my SE at 54,000 and it make a tremendous difference.

As to the stabilizer:
https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...surprised.html

My latest post:
https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...tml#post949615

 

I changed mine at 39,000 miles, the old one was firmer than the new one I put on. Thinking that I might as well keep the old one I put it on the shelf, weeks later I had to move it for some reason and found that it was leaking, I had not noticed it before as the leak was quite small, over time it would have been drained. How long it would have been before I noticed a clunk in the steering I cannot say.
At 100,000 miles I would say yours is ti ts up.

 

I had no issue turning the wheel slightly while up on my Rhino Ramps
Just be sure to turn it straight again before backing off the ramps

 

Do you have to put some blocks in front of the Rhino ramps? As the bumper lip on my SRT hits the Rhino ramp before the wheels hit the ramp.