Has anyone tried a mercedes steering damper vs an OEM one?

[destrux]

My &@^# steering damper is shot, it has no damping at all anymore. My steering freaks out when I get on rough roads (every road where I live). The OEM piece is ~$170 (apparently it used to be ~$120, but the price recently went up everywhere).

I saw that alot of mercedes models use a damper that's close in size. New ones are about $30. It baffles me why a damper for a $75K car costs $30 and one for our cars costs 5X as much.... but anyway... anyone find one that fits? If not I guess I'll head up to the yard with a tape measure and see what I can find. It's just a bit much to spend $170 on a part that's designed to last about 50,000 miles.

 

[Poodles]

Because it's an ancient part and wasn't used after 89...

 

[Dylan JZ]

Does the damper do all that much?

Maybe that's why my car feels semi-sloppy at times..

 

[destrux]

Most new lexus models still use a steering damper. So do a bunch of other cars will over-assisted "luxury" power steering. Old technology, perhaps, but still viable.

The lexus and mercedes guys complain that their cars get "spooky" when the damper goes bad. Exactly the word I'd use to describe my car right now. If I don't hold the wheel with both hands it will decide where it wants to go all on it's own.

 

[CT26smoker]

Is it possible that the rest of your front suspension is also shot?
Throwing a dampener to help hide that your car is way overdue for a front end rebuild would not be a smart move.
Had a VW bug like that, was a pain to drive.
Rebuilt the front end, and it was like a new car.

 

[hvyman]

^i agree. Pretty sure the stock one on my old 88 was bad like 10 years before i got it and i could drive for miles without my hand on the wheel.

Hows your alignment and everything? And oil on the rack bushings?

 

[destrux]

I have new energy suspension bushings front and rear, new koni sport shocks, new springs, rebuilt steering rack, checked the steering column and steering shaft joints, checked the subframe bolts and bushings, all new balljoints, checked the tie rod ends (inner and outer), and checked the rack bushings (no play with the car on the ground). The car drives straight with my hands holding the wheel very tightly. Being that the car is manual, this isn't a practical solution.

I'm not sure how the roads are where you live, but here it's like a war zone from the constant freezing and thawing tearing the asphalt apart. My car is fine on smooth (or relatively smooth) roads, but those are rare. Just an observation, since I see you are both from the south (where I'd like to be).

 

[Persona]

i cant really tell you what damper to get but do get one! I just did this on my toyota aristo which didnt come with a steering damper. I always thought it was kind of funny that the car steered on its on when roads were not dead even.

I bought myself a monroe damper for some other lexus (landcruiser, lx) which needed only some other bolts to fit. very cheap too, about $30!

now all is good + car feels much more stable at high speeds and feel less vibration from road imperfections.

 

[Poodles]

I have new energy suspension bushings front and rear, new koni sport shocks, new springs, rebuilt steering rack, checked the steering column and steering shaft joints, checked the subframe bolts and bushings, all new balljoints, checked the tie rod ends (inner and outer), and checked the rack bushings (no play with the car on the ground). The car drives straight with my hands holding the wheel very tightly. Being that the car is manual, this isn't a practical solution.

I'm not sure how the roads are where you live, but here it's like a war zone from the constant freezing and thawing tearing the asphalt apart. My car is fine on smooth (or relatively smooth) roads, but those are rare. Just an observation, since I see you are both from the south (where I'd like to be).

Alignment?

 

[destrux]

Nope, I aligned it myself at work. We have a good alignment machine, $7K John Beam camera type. I used 90' specs because I'm running at 90' ride height spec.

 

[Dylan JZ]

This another one of those true arguments about Toyota utilizing the damper for a good reason.. this is in regard to pre-PPS racks though.

 

[boostcraver]

Nope, I aligned it myself at work. We have a good alignment machine, $7K John Beam camera type. I used 90' specs because I'm running at 90' ride height spec.

There's a difference in ride height between years? I've never measured it but all three I've had looked the same when I got them. And yes, they were/are three different years.

 

[IJ.]

My 86.5 was non PPS and didn't have a damper.

 

[Poodles]

Nope, I aligned it myself at work. We have a good alignment machine, $7K John Beam camera type. I used 90' specs because I'm running at 90' ride height spec.

Ride height might not be the only difference, align it to the early specs and see if it helps. Bump steer is changed by small changes in component alignment. I didn't ask this, but do you have power steering, and is it in good working order?

There's a difference in ride height between years? I've never measured it but all three I've had looked the same when I got them. And yes, they were/are three different years.

Yes, 89+ got lowered a bit.

 

[Dylan JZ]

My 86.5 was non PPS and didn't have a damper.

Aussies deemed them not necessary because the roads aren't paved. lol

 

[IJ.]

Aussies deemed them not necessary because the roads aren't paved. lol

It's because we're not "GirlieMen"

 

[Dylan JZ]

It's because we're not "GirlieMen"

:rofl: clearly.

 

[Nick M]

"Old technology" Lol. Well I suppose Newton's laws didn't get discovered yesterday.

 

[destrux]

I'll check out the alignment specs and see what was different on 87 vs 90.

Possible that the steering damper was added as a running change? Maybe they found that some people complained or someone just had an idea so they added it?

I found that a steering damper from a 95' C280 (Mercedes) will fit with a small extension bracket. The OE damper is 23" long fully extended, the Mercedes one is 21". Stock damper is fully collapsed at 16.25, the Mercedes is fully collapsed at 13". These cost about $30 online, maybe $50 in a store.

I'd still like to go to the salvage yard and look around. Alot of cars had them, there's probably something that will bolt right up.

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I tried the 87 alignment specs and it felt the same, except the car seemed to slide around easier. I set it back to the 90' specs.

I found that my new springs sagged a bit more all around, the car is now about 0.75" lower than stock (using 90' ride height as a basis).

 

[Falken]

yeah im having the same problem, i just installed new rack and pinion bushings, it does ride smoother and feels great, but at times i do hit uneven pavement and it does swerve a bit. i checked the stock damper i have on my 87 turbo supra, that shock is shot. i mean u press it in and wont go back up lol. so i dont wanna pay 175 dollars for an oem and i am also looking for something that will fit in perfect.

Destrux did you ever installed that mercedes damper? and if so what extension bracket did you installed to make it work? or have you found something that bolts right up? if so i will appreciate the feedback.