Gentlemen,

I've a 240D with a 300D engine and my son has a 300DT with the turbo engine and both cars have 4 speed manual transmissions. He's attempted several times to follow me through freeway onramps and even with his superior speed, he can't begin to keep up in the turns.

I suspect that some 240D springs were stiffer as a great many ended up as taxicabs in third world countries hauling more passengers than they were designed to carry.

Anyway, the various springs are colored coded so if you find one that handles well, you might be able to duplicate its handling by replacing with that color code.

Ben
www.reproduce100s.com

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www.reproduce100s.com

There are no "performance" sway bars, or other goodies, for 123 chassis. You can install W123 wagon bars though, which are 1mm larger (IIRC), and have stiffer bushings too (less holes). If you want to corner, buy a 124 diesel. There are a ton of 124 performance parts, including all the factory Sportline goodies. My 124's are modified and handle fantastic. My 123 on the other hand is a yacht.

Now, the 123 should handle fairly well, other than some body roll. If the suspension (control arm bushings, guide rod mounts, ball joints, etc) has not been replaced - it is shot. My 1984 with 220kmi was absolutely toast. I replaced every moving part on the front suspension AND steering. Total cost for parts was $425 with S&H, plus a weekend of my labor, plus spring compressor rental. The improvement was amazing! Don't do it piecemeal as an alignment is required with each new component - do it all at once, and have the DEALER do the alignment. Almost no indy shops can align Mercedes properly. 99% of them have no idea what a spreader bar is, or that one is required to set an MB to spec. Ditto for the steering box lock pin. Photos of my rebuild are here:

http://www.meimann.com/images/mercedes/W123_suspension/



And, uh, Ridge... the blue/red color codes on MB springs are for manufacturing tolerances, and indicate long/short for a given spring part number. The part number itself should be stamped on the bottom coil near the end, but it may be rusted off by now. At least that's where it is stamped on the new springs I've bought from MB. I bet if you inspect your 123's closely you'll find the 300 may have a tired front end. Either that or your son needs a trip to Skip Barber school... (then again, don't we all?)


Regards,

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Dave
Boise, ID
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