300te self-leveling delete
 

the right rear shock on my 1988 300te wagon (137k miles, 2wd) has sprung a leak. i havent had a chance to determine exactly where the leak originated, but in less than a day it has emptied the entire hydraulic fluid reservoir on the ground. i'm assuming it is the accumulator as it looked like it was dripping from the top.

i want to know if anyone has done a self-leveling delete, or if this is even possible. as nice as the system coud potentially be, i'm interested in simply installing a pair of biltein HD's in the rear. does anyone know if this would cause any handling problems? also, can i use the stock springs?

if this would cause more trouble than it's worth, are the accumulators hard to replace, or should i have a shop do it. i'm an average diy'er.

thanks.

Not an easy job at all...requires many parts from regular 300E like the lower control arms..& then you will have to find a shock absorber that fits..

And then get a power steering pump w/o leveling.

Due to the extreme bad road contidions here, many T owners want to switch to the regular suspension setup. Although, I have been told by all mechanics at the dealership and MB techs from independent shops that is almost close to impossible to carry out the job.

Also, to service the self-levelling suspension for DYIs is kind of difficult and dangerous due to the extremely high hydraulic pressures the system works with.

300te self-leveling delete
 

I tried and tried to find another way, but in the end my '90 300te with 197k miles is going to my mechanic in the morning to have the accumulators (black bombs) replaced. Around $400 parts and labor, but until the shocks themselves go out, I'll never have to do them again. Not really a bad deal. Compared to italian auto parts, a bargain really.

The accumulators are the issue almost always, I have yet to see an SLS strut itself go bad...

Why would you want to spend thousands when you could get away with hundreds?