thump on bump
 

Occasionally (rarely?) the shock absorber on these fails internally. There are really 2 pistons linked together inside it, and if they become disconnected, they will 'thump' together going over bumps.

No fix other than replacement. A good part to get from the recycler's like Potomac 'cause they are $700 or so at dealer I think.

I've had a bad self-leveling strut on my 500E; it rode fine but rattled like the upper shock mount was loose.

Replacement was something like $350, thanks to a good dealer discount. If you'd like, I can check a price with my dealer and post it:)

Thump
 

The thump is your upper shock bushings. They are a round ball incased in metal and go between the top of the shock/cyl and the chassis. They run about $30-40 ea and about an hour labor each.

Should the upper shock bushings be replaced when you replace the rear shocks. Does it come with the new shock or do you order it seperate?

Thanks
 

I just wanted to thank Jere for the detailed procedure of replacing the spheres. I also have had the thumping sound from the right rear area of the car when I go over certain bumps or curbs. I took it to the dealer and they did not know what the cause was. They did show me that the right rear shock was leaking slightly but was not a major concern at that time. My ride does feel stiffer than two friends of mine who each have 96 S320 but I do not think that they have the automatic load leveling as in my 92 500 SEL. I await your findings.

Fred Berry
frederickberry@peoplepc.com

Another update, the upper shock bushings do come with the new Sachs shocks, actually appear to be a part of the shock.

I have now replaced both rear shocks and my clunk on the passenger side rear is gone. Replacing the shocks was a breeze, the only real hassle was removing ALL of the trunk liner to get at the two upper shock bolts. The two side liners fit over the edges of the liner that is against the rear seat/fuel tank. You can get at the drivers side bolt by only removing the drivers side side trunk panel, but all three have to come out to get both shocks.

A tip for other DIY'rs is to remove the upper shock bolts BEFORE you jack up the car, otherwise when you remove the upper bolt the shock stud is sucked down through the hole when the bolt comes off.

I won't boor you with all the details because it was already covered in another thread started by "POORBOY2" titled "I Need Instructions on Replacing Self-Levelling Rear Shocks with ADS"


Next I am going on to the front shocks.