Sorry fellas........... I only seem to visit here when I need help............. which is pretty often.
One of my 280E's appears slightly lower on the drivers side than on the left. Actually, I measured it and it's about 8mm lower even after the car has sat for a couple of days and has settled.
It does need new spheres which I have 2 good ones of on another vehicle, but is the general opinion that it would be springs?
Or can a faulty strut have an affect on ride height?
Many thanks.

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Tony
76 W116 280SE
74 W107 450SLC
88 W124 300E
82 W123 280TE

You ask about replacing the spheres. Is this car a self leveling type?

The quickest way to check a shock absorber is to just wipe the oil off the bottom part of it. It is going to be dirty, but it should not have a light oil on it. If it does then the seal in it is shot and the oil inside is leaking out.

Even nitrogen shocks have oil in them. They should really be called nitrogen over oil shocks.

If it needs replacing then replace both the fronts at the same time.

Pooka

One side sitting lower than the other would worry me. I believe it could mean a leaking Actuator (strut), a worn spring (strange that it would wear unevenly), or a blockage in a hydraulic line leading to the actuator.

The accumulators (spheres) being worn, even if just one ruptured, won't cause the rear to sit uneven because the (SLS) system would fill the accumulator with more hydraulic fluid and you would just lose the damping from the nitrogen bladder.

Look for leaks in the actuators and look to see if a spring shim on the lower side broke and if there is a good one on the higher side.

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Chad
2006 Nissan Pathfinder LE
1998 Acura 3.0 CL
OBK#44
"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work." - Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)

SOLD
1985 300TD - Red Dragon
1986 300SDL - Coda
1991 - 300TE
1995 - E320
1985 300CD - Gladys

If it's a sprung car, that may be normal especially if the car had been in the ownership of a very heavy driver. I know a guy who's around 400lbs. His car consistently leans to one side.

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With best regards

Al

Thanks all. Chad, you might be onto something with the spring shim. Driving it yesterday, I went over a railway line and heard a knock from the RH rear. Will investigate further on Sunday.
I doubt it is a strut as the vehicle raises and settles evenly, but just the RH side is consistantly 8mm lower.

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Tony
76 W116 280SE
74 W107 450SLC
88 W124 300E
82 W123 280TE

Its probably the spring on the drivers side has sagged abit from the weight of the driver. Is this in Euro I believe its got to be a Euro car with SLS. And the internal seals in the SLS valve determine how long it sits up before sagging down after the car has been parked.

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'95 E320 Wagon my favorite road car. '99 E300D wolf in sheeps body, '87 300D Sportline suspension, '79 300TD w/ 617.952 engine at 367,750 and counting!