sl 113 power steering box

[n/a]

have a car with a steering problem , it's ok one way but stiff the other, allso cause the fluid to pressurise then come out of resevoir . are there valves in the steering box that can jam . thanks john from www.slpagoda.com england

[Cees Klumper]

There is a rebuild kit (seals etc) I think. Check with the usual parts supplier-suspects, you will find a listing here:

http://sl113.org/data/show_table.asp?table_name=usr_parts_and_service_suppliers

Cees ("Case") Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

[ChrisInNashville]

Is it possible you simply have air in the system?

[A Dalton]

For starters , I would see if the res oil filter is plugged .
 Take the top off and you will see a baffle plate with some drain holes in it. Remove that and the circular fine filter will be betweeen that plate and the bottom of the res.
 It is common for some owners to be unaware of this filters existance.
 After checking and/or replacing that, you may want to bleed the system..
 I would also check for mechanical binding of front end components by jacking car off ground and try manual steering with eng off.

[n/a]

thanks for the advice on the power steering problem
As the car was like this when i bought it , i would never have expected to need to bleed air out of the steering box, although it is mentioned in the haynes manual. Having worked on new fangled cars for the last 25 years, have never come across a car needing bleeding, so i dismissed this as being essential . The difference is obvious ,now smooth left and right, no bubbling etc .thanks

[A Dalton]

As you have established had you had air in system, you may want to tighten all fitting, specially on the suction side  hoses and change the filter .
 A restricted filter puts a strain on low side connections to suck air into the system [ along with letting res. tank go lower than Full line]