Why is it soooooo hard to find these? Gabriel has the air boosted/load leveling shocks but claims they don't fit the 1991 350 SD (mine). The previous owner replaced with Monroes - which work UNTIL you put 200 pounds in the trunk. So I have this constant light on the dash . What do I do here?

Have you checked out Bilstein Shocks?

Well, I SEE them listed but each listing tells me that they are not compatible with W126 350SD. I don't even know if Hydramat suspension elements (Shocks??) are air or hydraulic (as the "Hydra" suggests to me). Previous owner is unreachable but told me that he replaced with Monroes because of difficulty getting Hydramat. I thought that I could just search harder but am coming up zip also.

I'm waiting for my previous attempt to reply to this to get approved but here goes. I don't know if "Hydramat" shocks are air or hydraulic, that's how little information I've found. None of the Bilstein shock I've seen even have (show) a port for auto adjustment. None of the other brand shocks that HAVE such a port admit to fitting my 1991 350SD. There is no entry on Wikipedia for Hydramat even. State Secret??????

Perhaps Nivomat was in mind.

The original self-leveling suspension struts are hydraulic. There's a lot more to the system than just the struts, you have a tandem power steering pump, the load leveling valve, associated plumbing, gas spheres, etc. If the system has been removed and converted to a standard suspension setup, you can forget converting it back unless you like extremely expensive jobs or find a parts-car with everything you need installed. Typically the hydraulic rams in the struts are sent out for rebuild, not replaced.

The springs are different between standard suspension and self-leveling. If the self-leveling springs were left in place, the ass will sag badly, especially with passengers or luggage in the rear. The shocks are there to dampen wheel hop, not support the car's weight. If you have sagging-ass problems, consider upgrading to the "heavy duty" rear springs, they make a world of difference without compromising ride quality, if anything it's slightly better since the car rolls slightly less in turns.

For what it's worth, 200 pounds of junk in the trunk is quite a lot for any car, expect the ass to sag to a certain degree. If you're carrying bodies, considering asking the victims, er...passengers, to go on a diet first.

__________________
Current stable:
1995 E320 149K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 120K (SLoL)

Black Sheep:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

Did you type "hydramat shock absorbers" into your browser? I did and found three different web pages. But the big surprise was this company is out of Croatia!! No wonder they are hard to track down. Proceed at your own risk.
Anziani
'97 CL600 69K

On my 1991 350SD, my tach does not work but I cannot locate where the tach amp is. I have SOME indication that I should have one (an eBay listing) but I don't see the cylinder under the hood anywhere. Thanks.

You have no "Tach amp". It's built into the EDS computer. You have 3 common possibilities:
1: OVP fuse or relay is bad. If you have an ABS or Airbag light on, this is probably your issue.
2: Tach head is dead. Usually replacing the capacitors and cleaning the grounding points on the circuit board will bring it back. If your idle speed is normal and the A/C works, this is likely your issue.
3: Blown fuse for the EGR/EDS system. If you have the aluminum bullet fuses in your fuse box, replace them with copper or brass ones, the original aluminum ones cause way too many headaches.

__________________
Current stable:
1995 E320 149K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 120K (SLoL)

Black Sheep:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

Uh...excuse me... that is called "stance", especially if you have the same broken look in the front. Its considered great looking and impressive. So, uh..back off.

OK, the strut replacement job is waaaay back burner because of expense. The tach is replaced and working but now I have a non-working "spare" that one of our contributors repairs for $35. I'll take him up on that soon, I hope. I do not understand the reply concerning "stance".

Although I am fond of the sls on my wagon because of the load, plenty of fols have converted the system to conventional shocks. Search the forum for details regarding conversion options, to air or conventional shocks. Either was, as has already been mentioned, the rear springs will need changing to non sls springs as the original sls springs carry very little load. I believe most of the shirt wheelbase w126 carscame with conventional shocks spings, and several of the long wheelbase w126, possibly the 420sel or 380se, sel came with regular shocks and springs, so you might have better luck searching those car parts. I believe all of the w126 long wheelbase diesels and 560sel came with sls.

Good luck

__________________
Stable Mates:
1987 300TD 310K mi (Hans)
2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee OM642 165k mi (Benzrokee)