300M steering gear mounting bushing

I am coming down to the end of the extended service contract on my 300M and I noticed some minor clunking in the steering. I brought it in to the dealer and they replaced the steering gear mounting bushing. The clunking has not changed. And in addition I get a loud annoying click occasionally that sounds like the plastic cowl trim under the wipers is hitting the bottom of the windshield. I tried tightening the screws which hold it down but most had been overtightened and the retaining plastic underneath them no longer did the job. Does the plastic trim under the wipers get removed to replace the steering gear mounting bushing? The front struts were replaced a few months ago so the screw retainers could have been stripped then but I wasn't getting the annoying click after that job was done that I get now.

By the way they also changed the oil and the oil stick was not in all the ways.

Reply to
Art
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For the clunking in the steerint, what about inner tie rod bushings (at the steering gear)? A common wear out part. With engine running, have someone rock the steering wheel back and forth while wathcing the relative motion of the steering gear output sleeve and the inner tie rods. Also look for other sources of the noise.

Is the clunkng when going over bumps or as a result of steering input?

Yes - to work on the steering gear, the wiper arms, cowl, and entire wiper assembly are usually taken out for access.

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')

Reply to
Bill Putney

It is the result of steering input. It is minor. The dealer also mentioned that there are pads in the column that could be causing the problem, though that was when I was making an appointment and before he saw the car.

Reply to
Art

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