1989 300SE / road roughness transmits to car interior
 

I am a new member of the site and would appreciate some guidance related to " ride smoothness / shocks, etc" for the 89 300 SE model.
I just purchased the car with 50k miles; its in excellent condition and I am going through the basic check list to bring the car to its top condition.
I have not changed the shocks yet and to an amateur like myself, they seem ok; however as I drive the car over mild road imperfections, I get a solid rough feel inside the car. Its like the shocks are not doing their job or like there are other components that may need replacement.
I guess the best way to explain this is that many of the imperfections of the road are felt a solid impacts to the chassis of the car and then transferred to the interior of the car,if this makes any sense to the experienced ones like the members of this group.
Any suggestions ?
I am not experienced in moving around this site, so if you can share any comments and send them to my email it would be greatly appreciated ( jarr56@gmail.com ).
thank you in advance for any suggestions.
jarr56

At this age a lot of the rubber components are going to need replacing pretty soon. In addition to the shocks, I would recommend giving the entire suspension system a good look-over. Replace any rubber bushings that are compressed and/or dryed and cracked.

As stated a careful check of all rubber is important. Also, check tire pressure amazing the difference five or six psi makes. I find that all tire shops set the tires at 40+ psi for seating of the bead but do not lower to spec afterwards.

Does your car have SLS? It may have been optional on some W126 cars, standard on 560's. Then the culprit would be the accumulators. Shows up as a nervous and harsh ride quality much as you describe.

Thanks very much
 

Thank you very much for taking the time to guide me. Will check all suspension and get back to the blog to update you; again, many thanks s for taking the time to comment.
JARR%

Pls confirm what SLS is ?
 

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond.
I dont know what you call a SLS.
jarr56

SLS=Self Leveling Suspension

What it basically does is it raises the rear to normal ride height whenever an extra load is placed at the back so the car doesn't "sag" at the rear.

If the system isn't healthy it's usually a bone jarring ride...OR an ultra floaty ride (no fluid left)

How would you know if you had one? Look at your rear shocks/struts...if they have a hose of any kind going through them then you have SLS...or a much simpler check, see if you have a hydraulic fluid reservoir up front that isn't for anything obvious. (vague I know :) )

Thank you much for the guidance
 

Thank you for taking your time to respond to the queries; I'll work on all your suggestions.
best wishes to all.
jarr56
300 se 1989

No SLS on the 300SE.

I do not trust near 25 year old shocks. Start there and get the thing up in the air to inspect all the suspension bits. As others have said, it is pretty much going to need it all due to age anyway.

Sounds like a candidate for a set of Bilstein Comforts, start there and inspect everything else while your doing it.