124Addict

I re-read your original post regarding the ride and noises but now I am not so certain as to exactly what is it that is really bothering you.

Would you mind being a bit more specific. Is it road noise? or the car's suspension reactions to road imperfections? or .... Give us some details or .... tell us as if we were to go duplicate in our cars and look for the same thing that is irritating you.

Help us help you.

Haasman

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

Your car probably does not have it or else you would have mentioned it, but some W124 sedans and all W124 wagons got the hydraulic self levelling rear suspension. A common failure with this system is the accumulators (air cells or nitrogen cells). The symtoms are initially an underdamped, bouncy ride which deteriorates into a hard, bouncy ride. Having recently replaced ours, I can assure you the difference is dramatic. The ride and damping is now superb. It is amazing when you observe how many W116, W126, W123 wagons and W124 wagons are driving around with bad accumulators. When you follow them on a freeway you can actually see the rear bouncing on the slightest imperfection in the road.

__________________
107.023: 350SLC, 3-speed auto, icon gold, parchment MBtex (sold 2012 after 29 years ownership).
107.026: 500SLC, 4-speed auto, thistle green, green velour.
124.090: 300TE, 4-speed auto, arctic white, cream-beige MBtex.
201.028: 190E 2.3 Sportline, 5-speed manual, arctic white, blue leather.
201.028: 190E 2.3, 4-speed auto, blue-black, grey MBtex.
201.034: 190E 2.3-16, 5-speed manual, blue-black, black leather.

Greg

You are so right and I just saw a wagon yesterday doing just exactly what you described. Actually it was one of my kids. "Hey Dad, look at the bouncing wagon."

Does 124Addict's model have the self-leveling rear suspension? I am not familiar with it.

Haasman

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

Thank you haasman for going out of your way to answer this post. You've been very helpful.

I went into the rehabiliation of my car's suspension in the hope that all the annoying sound i hear from inside the cabin will disappear. When I bought the car there were a lot of rattles, vibrations and cabin noise that i don't know from where the hell it was coming from. In my experience of riding my friend's 300E, i should not be hearing any noise at all except the, sound of the engine, stereo, the aircon, my voice as i sing along with my favorite tune and usual the "thud" sound whenever the car goes through bumps, this was even at a time that he has not changed the front shocks to HDs yet.

First, i started replacing engine mounts, transmission mounts and timing chain.
Second, replaced the front lower ball joints, tie rods, center links and idler arm.
Third, overhauled the brake calipers
Fourth, tightened and lubricated door panel screws and links
Fifth, was the recent repairs i stated at the beginning of the thread including bolt tightening underneath.

These all came from the knowledge i've so far gained from this site.

Don't get me wrong, but i've been satisfied with the suspension repairs so far and i admit that the car is a far cry from its original state from whence i bought it. There are bumps/road imperfections that make me smile because the car already manages it so well (very quiet , indeed, again except for the solid "thud"). However, there are bumps/imperfections, that does not feel well with the car where I still hear a lot of noise from underneath (front). Thus, the question "am I missing something".

Greg, to answer your question, yes, my car model had the rear self-levelling suspension. But I think the PO, instead managed to have it installed with an ordinary bilstein hd with no ill effects so far. My problem, however, is in the front and i dont have a bouncing issue, front and back. I'll be trying to, revert it to the rear self-levelling mode in the future if my budget will allow it since it will cost me about US$1,500.00 more.

As most cars age they tend to get "looser", which is caused by hardening of bushings, tire wear, and general wear and tear. This degradation in ride quality is so slow that it often goes unnoticed until a drive over a stretch of road you haven't traversed for a while sets off a light bulb. Sometimes it's primarily the tires.

A fresh set of tires with a full depth of new resilient rubber will provide attenuation to high frequency road inputs than the thin layer of hardened rubber on a worn tire won't, however, shorter/stiffer sidewall replacement tires will almost always generate more ride harshness than the higher OEM profile. OEMs tune the NVH characteristics to the OEM tires, and significant deviations from the OEM tires will often yield a significantly worse NVH profile.

Duke

124Addict

You posted earlier that you had a friend who has a 300E. See if you can set up an experiment and swap tires/wheels for a few hours. Drive your typical routes and see if that makes the difference. Could actually be interesting and fun.

Haasman

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

124addict,

From my limited experience, rattling from the front suspension was caused by the anti-roll bar rubbers.

I repalced all 4 for about 10 quid. At that price it was a cheap diagnostic tool. Cured it completely, and improved the turn-in no end.......well worth doing.

__________________
Paul Gibbons
'93 320CE
'73 Jensen Interceptor (Resting)
Giant Full Sus Mountain Bike

duke, thanks for the input. But would like to know also if a tire's speed rating provide any significant difference. Mine is currently z rated.

haasman, thinking of that also. I will update you of any development if i get to do it. but as an added note, his 300E is not stock. he's using slk wheel with 7 spokes and using tires sized 205/55/R16 front and 225/55/R16 rear .

paulg, if the anti-roll bar rubbers is the same as the sway bar bushings, then, i've already done that. thanks.

If any of the suspension/isolation rubber you have replaced so far has shown signs of hardening/wear, and particularly if you have been noticing continuing improvements, then go ahead and replace all of it. Mercedes uses a lot more rubber than most designs, and the cost of the isolation that provides is the limited lifetime of the material.

Steve

Yes! Higher speed rated tires have stiffer tread belts and sidewall stiffeners to give them the required stability for higher speed ratings.

I recall reading an article in the WSJ in the mid-nineties about the new S-class. A lot of owners were experiencing significant vibration problems. DB was at a loss to find a fix, and it was causing them a lot of embarrassment. One "fix" was to replace the OE V-rated tires with H-rated tires, but that did not solve all cases.

If anyone remembers this or experienced it, what was the final resolution?

I still have the original wheels and tires for my '88 190E 2.6, but circa 1990 I bought a set of takoff 300E 6.5" wheels and mounted a set of 205/60VR-15 Michelin XGTVs. These were replaced with a set of 205/55ZR-15 Dunlop D40M2s, which had to be replaced with a set of same size/speed rating Dunlop Sport 8000s due to a radial force variation problem.

These lower profile tires did increase ride harshness, but I found it an acceptable tradeoff for the improved steering response and grip. As you go to larger wheel diameters and shorter sidewalls, the harshness will increase and at some point it will become unacceptable, but the crossover point with vary with individuals.

Current models with large diameter short sidewall tires have suspension and subframe bushings specifically engineered for these tires, but ride quality can still suffer. I recently rode in a friends new M3, and it is one of most stiff legged and thumpiest car I have ever ridden in - comparable to older 911s. He also owns a 550 Maranello, which by comparison is smooth as silk, and so is a Z06 Corvette in comparsion to the M3.

Duke

sbourg, thanks, but would you, or anyone, know what other rubbers/bushings need replacement in a 124. I know i was not able to replace shock mounts, springs, subframe bushing (i don't know if it has one in front). Are there others?

Duke, thanks! I thought so also. I'm thinking of changing it later on to a v rating with higher side wall tires.