i read somewherre, i think at **************.com, that the ride height on the w123 wagons are affected by a bad rear diff mount. Is there any truth to this. I cant visualize how it would be affected. also, Is there just one mount or two, i have read on other threads about the rear differential MOUNTS, implying two mounts.

Thanks will

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'73 VW camper
'80 300td wagon

the ride height in the wagon is determined by the valve setting on the level sensing valve that feeds hydraulic fluid to the accumulators and the shocks.
DO NOT try adjusting this unless the car is on jack stands, as the car will drop down suddenly if you activate the valve manually. There is a control arm that attaches to the valve itself, sometimes the connecting link breaks and a wagon will take a low attitude and not level itself. If in doubt take the car to a mechanic with experience because excessive tire wear can result if the valve is set wrong, causeing excessive camber and the car will not handle properly either.

I haven't seen a diff mount fail, but it could happen. I think it would start clunking and be a dead giveaway if it did bust the rubber loose.

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'95 E320 Wagon my favorite road car. '99 E300D wolf in sheeps body, '87 300D Sportline suspension, '79 300TD w/ 617.952 engine at 367,750 and counting!

http://www.**************.com/store/item.php?item=123 Rear Differential Rubber Mount

follow that link, any truth to it? i was wrong they dont just mean the wagons.

edit: well apparently there pages can not be linked. look under kits and upgrades for the 123 model. Here is a quote directly from their page

"123 Rear Differential Rubber Mount
Item # 123SKU-RDM

FITS THE FOLLOWING: all 123 chassis 1977 to 1985.
Here is a common rubber part that is wearing out as these cars get 15 to 20 years old. If your rear end is sitting lower than is use to, this could be the culprit. It is the mount that is bolted to the rear end center housing. If can be readily changed with a good floor jack, jack stands and common hand tools. "

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'73 VW camper
'80 300td wagon

Could the reason my 300sd sits low in the rear be the differential mount???

The rear trailing arms take the weight of the car through the springs. The differential plays no role in ride height. It can't. The CV joints on the axles allow for the axle to lengthen and shorten as the suspension goes through its range of motion. RT

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When all else fails, vote from the rooftops!
84' Mercedes Benz 300D Anthracite/black, 171K
03' Volkswagen Jetta TDI blue/black, 93K
93' Chevrolet C2500HD ExCab 6.5TD, Two-tone blue, 252K

thats what i thought, it just sounds like this place, **************.com, is trying to sell a part by to an innocent person who is trying to fix the prevalent saggy ass of the benz, when it has nothing to do with the problem they are stating. BASTARDS!!

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'73 VW camper
'80 300td wagon

Whoa! Before anyone gets their drawers in a wad!

I did change the diff. mount on my SD and yes it did raise the height of the rear. It appears to be a fulcrum effect with the springs. Also, it is hard to visually detect the problem. The rubber is attached in sort of a shear situation and after 300k miles it becomes spongier. On the inside of the "V" if you see a shiny area at the bottom, this may be part of a ride height problem. It also may affect handling, seems to have changed some on mine.

I am not familiar with the TD, so I can not speak with experience.

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Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

Read the section on rear subframe mount replacement:

http://207.210.95.34/~boostd/

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63 220S W111
76 300D W115
2013 VW JSW TDI M6

previously-
73 280 SEL 4.5
86 300E 5 speed
2010 VW Jetta TDI M6

Hmmm, maybe I am wrong then. The entire rear suspension hangs on the rear subframe which is attached to the body with a three point mount consisting of two subframe mounts at the front on each side and the rear differential mount. I have removed the rear differential mount to take the diff cover off to change axles. While my mount was old I didn't really see how it could settle enough to affect ride height. I can see how if all the mounts were really shot the rear subframe would move around and cause weird handling and tire wear. I think I will have to go have a look again to see how this may be possible. RT

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When all else fails, vote from the rooftops!
84' Mercedes Benz 300D Anthracite/black, 171K
03' Volkswagen Jetta TDI blue/black, 93K
93' Chevrolet C2500HD ExCab 6.5TD, Two-tone blue, 252K

Not so.

Admittedly, this is an extreme example; try taking the diffy mount out and letting the car down. The backend will squat so daggone bad that rear tires will rub against the insides of the fender wells. The reason I know this because I just stole the diffy out of one of my parts cars and it is sitting in the garage right now. I can barely move the thing because of the extreme squat.

In practice, the handling would deterioriate to the point of being practically undriveable long before it got this bad but, a shot diffy mount could allow up to 1" of movement in both up and down and, side to side directions.

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

this is getting interesting, thanks for all the input and experiences!!! think i am going to replace when i do the subframe bushings.
will

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'73 VW camper
'80 300td wagon

I was thinking the same thing at first myself -- how could the differential mount have anything to do with ride height?

The differential itself is mounted to the subframe. I found this out the hard way when I was pulling the 3.69 out of my 240D. I pulled the mount, and the damn subframe nearly folded up on my head. The differential mount and differential seem to connect two parts of the subframe together. I am now convinced a bad mount could lead to changing the ride height.

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'83 240D with 617.952 and 2.88
'01 VW Beetle TDI
'05 Jeep Liberty CRD
'89 Toyota 4x4, needs 2L-T
'78 280Z with L28ET - 12.86@110
Oil Burner Kartel #35

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