ok so when i turn the wheel on my 2001 W210 i feel and hear a light squeaking in the steering wheel...it dosent seem to effect the driving, but if i have the music off, i can hear it.....it has been cold hear lately, but i dont know if that matters....also my seat-belts squeak from inside the pillar...what can i do about this...and does anybody have the schematic for taking that apart???

Squeaky/rubbing sound coming from the steering wheel is common on the 210 chassis. Mine does it too. Dealer told me that if it squeaks with the car not running, it's a bushing in the boot where the steering column goes through the firewall. If it only squeaks when the car is running, then it's a problem with the steering rack. I was under my car the other day and saw the boot he was talking about. I gave it a shot of lube and the rubbing sound went away, but after about a week it's back.

Len
'99 E300Turbo 100,000 miles

That squeak you can hear and feel when turning is caused by the seal for the input shaft on the rack(i.e. the pinion). It is due excessive friction between the seal and the shaft. There is a repair kit for this, I only recommend letting a technician do it because you must disassemble the rack and install new seals and apply a special lubricant, special tools are also required. This repair kit saves a lot of money compared to replacing the rack. You will probably notice the noise gets worse after driving for awhile, it seems to be affected by temperature. And yes, it will normally only do it with the engine running, because that is when pressure is applied to the seal by the power steering fluid behind it. This seal is there to keep the fluid in the control head of the rack(the part that makes the steering "power"), without it the fluid would just blow out of the rack(hence why you must never install the seal backwards!)

There's a couple of different issues concerning steering noises on 210's. The repair posted by krautwagen04 is accurate, but since your noise went away after lubing the boot, I doubt it applies to your car. Try lubing the boot again, but use MB special grease #001-989-42-51-10. This grease can withstand heat much better than most available spray type products.

Thanks for the tip on the grease. I'll have to give that a try. I was under the car servicing the transmission and looked up and saw that boot and figured I'd give it a shot of spray lube while I had access to it and see if that did anything. Maybe the real stuff will fix it.

Len