My son drives a 91 940 GLE, and the other day, while driving very slowly (5 mph, maybe slower according to those who saw it) he hit a divider in a parking lot, it was probably 18 - 24 inches wide, so the tires didn't hit it, but it ripped off the black plastic piece under the front of the engine compartment, which I think it to protect that area from water, etc., but I don't see any other visible damage (going to look better tomorrow in the daylight). But, when the car gets up to 30 MPH or more, there is a terrible screeching sound from the front end. He also says the steering feels a little funny (probably knocked something out of alignment too.) The screeching increased or decreases depending on which way the steering wheel is turned.
Any idea what it could be, or what I should take a closer look at?

Thanks

Well, it appears that he hit the curb hard enough to bend the cross-member, which caused one of the tie-rods to be pull in, which caused the tire to run at an angle, which caused the noise. The garage is looking around for a used cross-member at a local junk yard, ouch!

Hopefully the damage is not too bad. There could also be a piece of the plastic shroud stuck against the belts, or the power steering belt could be slipping. I guess it's even possible, depending on what exactly got hit, that one of the accessories (PS pump, A/C compressor) got hit or broke it's mounting bolts. This could make it seize up, run out of line, or damage a pulley.
That all seems unlikely, but it sounds like there's been significant damage to the car- get it on a lift and an alignment rack ASAP.
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Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: '87 244DL/M47- 221K, 88 744GLE- 202K, 91 244 181K, 88 244GL 145K

Took a better look at it today, and I'm 99% sure its alignment, cause the tires are chopped pretty bad. A few things look dinged underneath, but none of the belts are hitting anything, none of the hoses are leaking, nothing appears to be scrapping, and all fluids are normal, so its off to the garage ASAP to have the front end parts looked at, get it aligned, and 2 new tires.

Thanks
Mad Finn

The alignment has been knocked so far out of spec, that the tires actually squeal on the ground because they are almost skidding.

It won't be long until that eats the tires. There could be some bent front end parts that are causing this. in fact, I'd almost bet on it.
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a Brickboard.com Expat

Sounds pretty logical, I'll look at it tomorrow and I'll make a call for an alignment asap.