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Old 04-18-2002, 01:25 PM
mgbrickell
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Question 1994 E320 Wagon Suspension question

Hello, all, I am new to the forum, and new to M-B ownership.

I recently obtained a 1994 E320 Wagon with 122k miles.

The suspension seems awfully floaty at highway speeds. I understand this car is not going to ride stiff like a Corvette, but it seems to bob too much when you hit a pavement dip or such on the road. Instead of the suspension compressing then releasing, you get a couple of bounces, and the general feel reminds me of my in-laws old Lincoln Town car. Sort of that old Cadillac kind of nautical ride.

I have searched the archives and read a lot about the hydro-pneumatic rear suspension. I crawled around under the rear of the car, and I see what appear to be shocks with a kind of plastic accordion boot over the top 1/2, with what appears to be a fluid line going into the top of each one. However. I don't see anything resembling a sphere or reservoir near either rear shock. I was looking for whatever the nitrogen cells are that many posts mention.

The rear shocks exhibit no signs of leakage that I can see. The lack of rebound damping is something I would like to improve upon if possible.

Can someone give me a detailed description of the rear suspension system, and where I can find the components that comprise it?

Also, I would appreciate feedback on how tough a job it is to replace the front shocks/struts and what the best replacement would be.

My goal is just to get rid of the 2-3 bounces per road irregularity and tighten it up a bit.

Overall, the car is in great shape and there are no obvious damaged components underneath that I can tell.

The thing that confused me about reading archived posts is that it seems that when the hydro suspension goes bad ( nitrogen cells ) or the accumulators, the car rides rough. My problem is the exact opposite, a bobbing wallowing ride.

Thanks for any light anyone can shed on my situation.

Matt
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