I just picked up a 6.9 locally and think that it is an outstanding automobile! Unfortunately, there were no manuals included. I'm trying to figure out what is the push/pull lever in between the instrument cluster and the steering wheel. Is it somehow related to the air suspension or? Thanks!!

That push/pull knob is (I believe) the suspension up lock. There is a Type 100 forum that is for owners of these special cars. I do hope it is in well maintained condition and not a 'fixer-upper'. MBZ has, in the past year, raised repair parts for all non-current cars by astronomical amounts. Major parts that were $1000 are now $3000+. Minor parts that were $3 and now $12, etc.

The car uses hydro-pneumatic suspension, not air suspension. Look at this site, it also inclides manuals, diagrams and a forum.

http://www.m-100.cc/

__________________
Regards

Warren

Currently 1965 220Sb, 2002 FORD Crown Vic Police Interceptor

Had 1965 220SEb, 1967 230S, 280SE 4.5, 300SE (W126), 420SEL

ENTER > = (HP RPN)

Not part of the in-crowd since 1952.

This lever is the control for the 6.9's hydropneumatic suspension. If it is a stock US car, it only has two positions -- all the way in (normal operation & ride height) and one pull out detent (locked position & normal ride height). The lock position is important before raising the car off its wheels by preventing the fluid from circulating (under the immense pressure inherent to this system) throughout the system when the wheels are raised and the tension is taken off of the struts & accumulators at each corner of the car.

Non-US spec cars had a third position -- that of being pulled out two stops. This raised the ride height of the car approximately 2.5" and was intended for LOW-SPEED operation where a raised body would be required -- for example on rutted roads.

This position was not enabled for US spec cars because of 1970s governmentally regulated bumper height requirements. BUT, this was easily disabled through the use of simple aluminum sleeve that was placed onto the end of the control cable under the hood. This sleeve physically blocked the movement of the cable past the "locking" (one pull-out detent) position into the "raised height" position.

It can be easily removed if present by finding the valve (right behind the driver's side headlight atop the large black hydraulic fluid tank, with the "curlique" hose going from the hydraulic pump on the front of the engine block to the side of the hydraulic master valve. Look for the round disc-shaped control piece with the thin cable attached. If you see a one-inch long aluminum sleeve on the end of the cable next to the round disc (the sleeve being about the diameter of a pencil), all you have to do is loosen the cable clamp, remove the end of the cable, slide the sleeve off of the cable (save it if needed for the future), and re-inserting and clamping the cable. VOILA -- you now have two pull-out positions and the increased ride height designed into the system. The engine must be running to achieve the increased height, however.

The best and most informative web site for the M-100 cars can be found at:

http://www.m-100.info

Other sites are at www.m-100.cc and www.m-100.org. There are also other sites in Europe such as www.m-100.de www.m100.de and www.sechsneuner.de

Cheers,
Gerry

Gerry,

Is the suspension light below the instrument cluster supposed to stay on when the suspension is moved to the 1st detent position? Should the car at rest be left in the "all the way in" when parked? The logic being that there might be less leakage when left in the 1st detent when it's locked. Is it safe to drive the car with the detent in 1st position?

The tip about the sleeve on the hydraulic valve is intriguing....I might give it a try. Was it successful with your car?

Thanks for the info. I stand corrected "hydro-pneumatic suspension, not air suspension". Yes, this one is a grey market automobile. It definitely has 3 positions, and they all seem to work fine. I did notice that the dash light indicator for the suspension never turns on. I hope that it is just the bulb, but when should this light turn on?

The suspension light should be on when the lever is in ANY position OTHER THAN the "all the way in" (normal operation) position. The car should always be left with the lever all the way in, unless it is going to be raised on a jack/lift (when the lever should be pulled out one stop) or moved slowly over rough/high terrain (when the lever should be pulled out to raise the car up). I also used to raise my car up all the way when I would change the oil -- made for very easy oil changes.

The engine must be running to develop hydraulic pressure when the system is raised or lowered.

Of course the sleeve trick was successful -- that's how I know that it was. And this is the only difference between the suspension on US and non-US cars. A simple piece of aluminum.

The lever should be left in 99% of the time. Really the only time you want to lock it, is when the car is being raised on a lift or jack. Locking it does nothing if the car is parked, because leaks can be anywhere in the system (struts, connectors, accumulators, axle valves, main valve, etc.) and simply locking the system doesn't necessarily prevent fluid from leaking at a fitting or whatnot.

Read the instruction manual for more info on operation.

Cheers,
Gerry

Thanks for the info, the suspension light does illuminate only when the lever is in any other position than in the fully depressed position so that's a good thing! I'll have to remove the hydraulic switch tube this weekend to make the car more "euro"

I wish I had the instruction manuals (still searching for a set) for the car cause I would have read them cover to cover by now. The previous owner (a movie writer) had a house fire and the manuals were presumably lost in that accident!

Out of curiosity, why did you sell your 6.9?

You can order a new manual from MB for around $15.00, or find one on eBay. In addition, if you want I will sell you one of my own "extras" for $15.00 postpaid (it's in near-perfect condition).

I sold my car because I had purchased a 1994 E500, and already owned a 560SEC and a 1969 300SEL 6.3. Frankly, after driving the 6.9 daily for almost four years, it was a nice car. But, it was really "good" at nothing -- it wasn't as fast or refined/smooth as the 560SEC, not as rough-edged and exciting to drive as the 6.3, and not as competent and tractable overall as the E500.

Rather, the US-spec 6.9 is a smog-choked, heavy, semi-modern/semi-crude beast with 250 HP and a fair amount of torque on hand, but not the gearing to really make use of it. That all being said, it's a decent car to drive daily being rather non-offensive, roomy, and "vintage enough". However, compared to the other cars, it did nothing particularly well, and thus I replaced it.

If you are interested to see photos of the car, you can see them at:
http://www.dhc.net/~pmhack/mercedes/6-977.htm

I sold it to a colleague at work and see it just about every day in the parking lot.

Cheers,
Gerry