Discussion
My 1996 C36 is just back from it`s annual service and I can`t believe how much it`s been improved by a £20 part (from GSF) .
I`ve just replaced the brakes (Brembo`s) and also the steering damper (£20+vat) which has tightened the car`s front end up considerably . If you`ve got a performance W202 , have a look at a steering damper replacement as it`s a quick , cheap job which produces a real result .
Anyway , I`ve treated my car to some cosmetic paint and it`s as good as new ; what with cheap (well cheapish) road tax , cheap insurance and up to 31mpg on a run , this must be one of the most relevant performance Mercedes left .
I`ve just replaced the brakes (Brembo`s) and also the steering damper (£20+vat) which has tightened the car`s front end up considerably . If you`ve got a performance W202 , have a look at a steering damper replacement as it`s a quick , cheap job which produces a real result .
Anyway , I`ve treated my car to some cosmetic paint and it`s as good as new ; what with cheap (well cheapish) road tax , cheap insurance and up to 31mpg on a run , this must be one of the most relevant performance Mercedes left .
Stu , yes still got it and can`t think of any reason to get rid . I did some cosmetic paint jobs earlier in the year and it`s just come from service running better than ever .
I changed the damper after reading an article in Mercedes Enthusiast a while ago . My car was tramlining slightly on white lines / uneven surfaces and for £20+ vat it was silly not to try it . Anyway , it`s made an improvement disproportinate to it`s measly cost .
The Brembo discs are cheaper than the Merc originals and almost certainly as good if not better with all parts from GSF .
My car gets laid up in the winter and I`ll get the wheel rims polished up then . There`s nothing more to do with it really other than drive it .
Longer term , I`m after an early 70`s SL as well rather than instead of .
Hope your car`s going well !
I changed the damper after reading an article in Mercedes Enthusiast a while ago . My car was tramlining slightly on white lines / uneven surfaces and for £20+ vat it was silly not to try it . Anyway , it`s made an improvement disproportinate to it`s measly cost .
The Brembo discs are cheaper than the Merc originals and almost certainly as good if not better with all parts from GSF .
My car gets laid up in the winter and I`ll get the wheel rims polished up then . There`s nothing more to do with it really other than drive it .
Longer term , I`m after an early 70`s SL as well rather than instead of .
Hope your car`s going well !
yeh running a treat, but does tramline a little, not as bad as the old 944s2 i had!
The brakes on mime are standard and worked well on the last trip to the nurburgring but failed total after finishing each lap...several presses to get them to work agian. heat soak I was told, something to do with brake fluid boiling?
Was the damper a upgraded part or standard?
Might have it done to see if it helps.
cheers stu
The brakes on mime are standard and worked well on the last trip to the nurburgring but failed total after finishing each lap...several presses to get them to work agian. heat soak I was told, something to do with brake fluid boiling?
Was the damper a upgraded part or standard?
Might have it done to see if it helps.
cheers stu
Stu , the damper is a generic part standard on W202`s and W124`s . The real difference between the C36 and C43 isn`t the engine , it`s the price of the parts - C36 raided the existing parts bin for everything other than the engine which was a modified 2.8 straight 6 and C43 used a more or less standard V8 and made all the consumables unique to the car .
This is an interesting topic for me as I've always thought the steering on my C36 is a bit vague and light, not having driven any others it's hard to know what is normal.
There is a fair bit of play in the steering when stationary and engine off, is this normal? I also get a fair bit of tramlining under braking, but put this down to my tyres that are pretty poor and running low on tread - I'm thinking of going for the Goodyear Eagle Assymetrics. Mind you, saving £20 quid a corner and going for the Toyo Proxes T1-R is tempting - any preferences?
A £20 upgrade certainly sounds good to me and my cars going in to have a fuel leak checked on Tuesday, so any info would be great.
Cheers
There is a fair bit of play in the steering when stationary and engine off, is this normal? I also get a fair bit of tramlining under braking, but put this down to my tyres that are pretty poor and running low on tread - I'm thinking of going for the Goodyear Eagle Assymetrics. Mind you, saving £20 quid a corner and going for the Toyo Proxes T1-R is tempting - any preferences?
A £20 upgrade certainly sounds good to me and my cars going in to have a fuel leak checked on Tuesday, so any info would be great.
Cheers
Having read several reports now on the steering damper issue , all W202`s seem to have reacted with differing symptoms ranging from mild tramlining to pulling sharply left under braking . The whole steering set up with these cars is never going to be as good as a a first class rack and pinion set up but mine is now very good , predictable and enjoyable .
With regards to tyres , mine`s on the cheap Avons it came with and I have to say I`ve been surprised how resistant to wear they`ve been . I will replace them with Michelin`s I think when the time comes though .
If your fuel leak is only apparant when you`re filling up , it may be the breather pipe accessible inside the rear offside wheel arch which are prone to rubbing and splitting - it`s a two minute fix .
With regards to tyres , mine`s on the cheap Avons it came with and I have to say I`ve been surprised how resistant to wear they`ve been . I will replace them with Michelin`s I think when the time comes though .
If your fuel leak is only apparant when you`re filling up , it may be the breather pipe accessible inside the rear offside wheel arch which are prone to rubbing and splitting - it`s a two minute fix .
mickyveloce said:
Having read several reports now on the steering damper issue , all W202`s seem to have reacted with differing symptoms ranging from mild tramlining to pulling sharply left under braking . The whole steering set up with these cars is never going to be as good as a a first class rack and pinion set up but mine is now very good , predictable and enjoyable .
With regards to tyres , mine`s on the cheap Avons it came with and I have to say I`ve been surprised how resistant to wear they`ve been . I will replace them with Michelin`s I think when the time comes though .
If your fuel leak is only apparant when you`re filling up , it may be the breather pipe accessible inside the rear offside wheel arch which are prone to rubbing and splitting - it`s a two minute fix .
Thanks, mickyveloce, the mechanic came up with the same reasoning for the fuel leak as there was no trace of it at all. Even the fuel guage was behaving - a bit like going to the doctor and all your symptoms vanish....With regards to tyres , mine`s on the cheap Avons it came with and I have to say I`ve been surprised how resistant to wear they`ve been . I will replace them with Michelin`s I think when the time comes though .
If your fuel leak is only apparant when you`re filling up , it may be the breather pipe accessible inside the rear offside wheel arch which are prone to rubbing and splitting - it`s a two minute fix .
He had a look at the steering damper too and saw it was leaking a little, but thought that it should be fine for quite a while yet. I'm going to get the tyres sorted next and see if that tames the handling a bit, if not I'll sort out the damper. The drive home was fun, but under full bore acceleration (too many 40mph drivers on my nice twisty roads
) it can get a bit hairy - was it Emerson Fittipaldi that said something like 'if you're not slightly out of control and scared, you're not trying hard enough' - but only on a track, of course 
Alright all
Going back to the tramlineing my c36 just failed its MOT for worn lower ball joints....
£160 later and new MOT the car is no longer tramlineing.
And back to tyres I am on my second set of Avons and would highly recomend them. They perform well in wet or dry conditions and are very quite with little road noise.
On the steering wheel having play. mine is the same when the engine is running and the wheel turned in either direction there is play when moving the wheel from side to side... I was informed that it is because the car has a steering box and not a rack... but you cant feel any play when moving..
Hope everyone is enjoying there car as much as I do....
Performance car bargin of the decade just now, with them selling for as little as 2.5k and the road tax is only £185 per year....lets hope people catch on and values start to rise
Cheers Stu
Going back to the tramlineing my c36 just failed its MOT for worn lower ball joints....
£160 later and new MOT the car is no longer tramlineing.
And back to tyres I am on my second set of Avons and would highly recomend them. They perform well in wet or dry conditions and are very quite with little road noise.
On the steering wheel having play. mine is the same when the engine is running and the wheel turned in either direction there is play when moving the wheel from side to side... I was informed that it is because the car has a steering box and not a rack... but you cant feel any play when moving..
Hope everyone is enjoying there car as much as I do....
Performance car bargin of the decade just now, with them selling for as little as 2.5k and the road tax is only £185 per year....lets hope people catch on and values start to rise
Cheers Stu
I`m preserving my paintwork , tyres and fuel and have just put my car off the road for winter . It`s had a full polish , tyres pumped up to 40psi and it`s in the garage with it`s cover on waiting for spring .
It`s always difficult to speculate about values of cars like this - most of the ones on sale now are pretty awful . I`m hanging onto mine because I still like it after two years rather than on the grounds of an investment (or otherwise) .
PS i`ve bought an E220 coupe to use over winter - a relaxed (and v. economical) alter-ego to the C36 .
It`s always difficult to speculate about values of cars like this - most of the ones on sale now are pretty awful . I`m hanging onto mine because I still like it after two years rather than on the grounds of an investment (or otherwise) .
PS i`ve bought an E220 coupe to use over winter - a relaxed (and v. economical) alter-ego to the C36 .
Hi there
I'm interested in this as I have recently bought an SLK32 AMG, which is a cracking car, but it tramlines quite noticeably on poor road surfaces and on prominent white lines. I've learnt from a thread on here that other owners have encountered similar behaviour.
As the car has a steering box not too dissimilar to the C-Class, would replacing the damper help to make a difference on mine?
Thoughts gratefully received (and apols for the thread hijack!)
I'm interested in this as I have recently bought an SLK32 AMG, which is a cracking car, but it tramlines quite noticeably on poor road surfaces and on prominent white lines. I've learnt from a thread on here that other owners have encountered similar behaviour.
As the car has a steering box not too dissimilar to the C-Class, would replacing the damper help to make a difference on mine?
Thoughts gratefully received (and apols for the thread hijack!)
Greenman , for £20 or thereabouts , it`s well worth doing . I think all SLK mark 1`s including the AMG used a steering damper . Other bits to think about are track rod ends , bushes and lower ball joints .
I think a good R and P set up would have improved the steering box type of system , but the original set up does the job well if looked after correctly . With the non-performance orientated stuff , like my E220 , the steering damper doesn`t have to contend with stiffened suspension etc which may contribute to a shorter life as well as more pronounced symptoms once it`s started to wear out .
I think a good R and P set up would have improved the steering box type of system , but the original set up does the job well if looked after correctly . With the non-performance orientated stuff , like my E220 , the steering damper doesn`t have to contend with stiffened suspension etc which may contribute to a shorter life as well as more pronounced symptoms once it`s started to wear out .
Not a big job at all ; if you`ve done Meccano in the past , you can do this . It`s a bolt at either end of what looks like a thin shock absorber (which it is , of course) . My mechanic fitted mine in 5-10 minutes .I`d have done it myself , but the car was in for new brakes so it seemed silly not to do this at the same time . I got mine from GSF car parts , but they`re about the same price from most Merc parts people .
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