replacing self levelling rear suspension with conventional stuff
 

help me out here guys
If I get a set of regular Bilsteins and H&R springs for a W140 for my 96 S500 coupe (no ADS, it has rear self-adjusting), will it be a bolt on affair as long as the oil lines are bypassed or are the mounts totally different?
I cannot believe all experts on this site have never looked at this option...
Instead of spending $620 for each rear strut ($1200 total), I can spend $1000 and get 4 new Bilsteins and 4 new H&R springs which improves the ride height and handling a lot better and makes more economical sense.
anyone? some one here ought to know, come on, share!
problem I am having and why I want to do this:

Rear was low.. changed accumulators, new fluid and bled the system..moved the valve until rear was raised.. tightened the lever from swaybar to the valve to keep it at the correct ride height... now rear was raised but rear continued making "echee echee" noises, then echee echee went away and the noise graduated to cracking and now onto loud thumping & cracking noises as soon as the car moves an inch... even when I get in and out of the car, I hear a kaboom thump crack noise from the rear and I am only 190 pounds! It's driving me insane!
At this point, my MK1 VW is a heck of a lot nicer to drive than this thing

so help me yank this out, I dont wanna replace the accumulators, shocks, upper strut mounts etc etc and have the noises come back in 1 year

Don't convert the current system. Just buy a good used rear struts and replace them. If you converted it and you want to sell the car in the future, it will lose so much in its price. Maintaining the rear hydraulic system is not a big deal. I would spend much money rather than converting it.

My car is 560SEL 1989 with FULL hydraulic system. It's driving me crazy and so much money I'm spending but still did not convert it to regular.

the noises you are experiencing are probably not related to the self levelling system.you probably have some worn rubber bushings on the rear suspension.in my opinion the sls is definately worth keeping intact.just last week i took 600lb of broken tile and concrete to the landfill.you would not know that stuff was in the back:)

It's so sad how older Mercedes are now in the hands of so many folks that want to kill them.

im not trying to kill mine honestly.but it has to earn its keep.in return for an honest days work i regularily feed it large and expensive doses of parts and maintenance:D

replacing the suspension with Bilsteins and H&R's is not considered killing them.. cutting the springs and installing Monroe's is more likely to be considered "killing" them. Please read my post carefully and familiarize yourself with definition of terms you use before you express your thoughts so you are not laughed at. Thanks :)