Shock

[Rich126]

How difficult is shock replacement on a 126?? Bilstein HD's are the way to go, I see..

[rickjordan]

Are you replacing the fronts or rears? I have replaced all four shocks on my W116 300SD. Though your car was the replacement for this chassis, I believe the suspension was either the same or very similar. The fronts are the easiest. First, remove the bolts on top of the shocks. Second, jack up the car ( I did one side at a time) remove the wheel. Third, remove the 2 12 point 10mm bolts at the bottom of the shock. Remove shock, install new one in reverse order. As you lower the car, be sure the shock rod lines up with the hole. A very important tip, when loosening and tightening the upper shock nuts, be sure to hold the rod from turning. I used a pair of vise grips.
Now, for the rears. Remove the back seat back cushion This will allow you access to the upper bolts. Loosen the retaining bolts, again insure the rod doesn't move. Jack the car up and support it on jackstands. The lower bolts are 17 mm, if I remember correctly. Once these are removed you are going to have to raise the "A" arm to allow enough clearance to pull the shock out. Again, installation is in reverse.
I hope this applies to your W126 chassis and helps.

[sixto]

Just as Rick said with some points from my 126 experience:

- the front top mounts have nuts on the rod. No bolts.

- Bilstein regular front shocks have a screw slot to keep the rod
from turning. Vice grips might damage the threads.

- on some 126s the stereo amps have to come off to get access
to the rear upper mounts.

And of course note the order and orientation of bushings and washers.

I miss the softer ride of my worn shocks on the SE. Lots of folks like the HDs. Make sure you do before you buy.

Sixto
91 300SE
81 300SD

[psfred]

A note on shock replacment -- don't overtighten the nuts on the top end. There are two there, specifically to lock them down. The top one only need to show a couple threads. If there is a locker nut instead of two nuts, it needs to go down only the same distance, leaving about one nut's worth of thread showing. This will only compress the rubber parts 1/8" or so.

You can screw them down quite a bit more, but all you will do is compress all the cushion out of the rubber parts, making the car ride much harder than it should. If you've screwed the nuts down too far and are unhappy with the ride, loosen them up some and see what happens!

Peter