2 questions. My 87 300E has 312K miles and the front springs seem to be compressed by several inches. I did not notice until someone with another stock 300E pointed it out. Do springs ever wear out on the 300E? Has anyone ever replaced them? If I should replace are any brands better than others-I do not need high performance particularly.

Anyone have suggestion on rotor/pad combos. OEM vs ATE vs...?

Thanks MB Doc, Steve Brotherton, and the rest..

Some say that they don't wear out, some say they do On my 1987 124 car, with 269Kmi that seems to be owned by people heavy enough to hollow out the front seats, my ride height was NOT changed by going to new springs. Spring pads do collapse over time, but they do not contribute several inches to overall height.

Its possible that the OTHER person had a car that was TOO HIGH. Bilstein Comforts seem to raise the height (1/2" or so) as can improperly installed suspension components, etc. Do you recall if his rear suspension was high as well??

Measure the distance from the center of the star on the wheel to the underside of the fender lip. I have measured many 124 300E's from the center of the star to the underside of the fender lip they are all about 15" to 15-3/4" in the front. With the rear being about 1/2" higher or lower. A full tank vs an empty tank will make the rear different about 1/2" or so.

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Brian Toscano

Many people like the Balo and many people use ATE. Balo is the closest to the MB dealer discs. I've used both, and both Textar (dealer) or PBR Deluxe pads.

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Brian Toscano

My rear ride height is apparently much higher than my front-I can put my hand between the tire and fender in the rear but not front.
However when I measure front 14 7/8" and rear 15 5/8"-there is prob a 1/8-1/4" error. Thus I must be within nl limits.

My parts guy says re front rotors-OEM($39) is made by ATE and the ATE is $29. ATE power discs are $39. Re rear rotors OEM $29 and ATE $19.

Are OEM ATEs the same as ATEs sold by themselves?

also my front rotors/pads were done at 263K(49K miles ago) so may only need pads. rear has not been touched since 162K(150K miles ago) so may well need both. Our club had a tech session coming up.

OEM are Balo as far as i know - not ATE.

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Brian Toscano

I read somewhere on this site about only using OEM Mercedes brake rotors, especially important for the fronts. Their claim was that even by the same manufacturer, the 'Benz OEMs are better.

I my decision to replace the worn rotors on the 300E I chose cross drilled ones that obviously did not come from Mercedes. So far I really like them. Going through water is great, hardly any wait for water to clear. Fade is never a problem.

Regarding springs, yes they do wear. Mostly rears though from my experience. I would check your suspension bushings as part of your planning. Worn bushings can make your car sit weird and also alter ride height.

I was told by a Mercedes tech that ride heights are determined by suspension arm angles. If correct, then it is the sum of the parts: bushing good and not oblong in wear, spring pad thickness and springs are within specs, and then there are the shocks.

I measured my car and it is within that 15.5" front and rear…. But it looks and feels like it is riding too tall. It has full front and rear spring pads ( 3 bumps / 4 bumps). I need to change the spring pads.

Haasman

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'03 E320 Wagon-Sold
'95 E320 Wagon-Went to Ex
'93 190E 2.6-Wrecked
'91 300E-Went to Ex
'65 911 Coupe (#302580)

312K is a pretty good run for a set of springs.
When folks state that they 'never wear out', I don't think they consider that a car might last this long.

If you do get new ones, it would be very interesting to get back comparative data on the new vs. old uncompressed spring length.
Please let us know.

I would expect that the rubber spring mounts would also collapse over time to some extent, which might account for some portion of your drop.

Of course, once you go through the trouble of pulling the springs, you may as well replace the CA bushings, and cast a critical eye on those balljoints. At that mileage, you are probably due for a third round on these components.

Best of luck.

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1986 300E 5-Speed 240k mi.