How Will I know if my hydraulic compensator spring is still working properly? Under 70000 original miles, but 40 years is a long time.

__________________
Berfinroy in CT
Present vehicles:
1973 300 SEL 4.5
1959 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud I
1959 Ford Thunderbird convertible/430
Past vehicles;
1958 Bentley S 1
1976 ex-Max Hoffman 6.9
1970 300SEL 2.8
1958 Jaguar MK IX
1961 Jaguar MK IX
1963 Jaguar E-type factory special roadster
1948 Plymouth woody
1955 Morgan plus 4
1966 Shelby GT350H Mustang

They will start to leak. They are really nothing but a shock absorber, but they are a really strong one.

They are very expensive to replace but they can be rebuilt. From what I have read many were replaced with the cheaper spring found in the lower models since the difference in ride was hard to tell and the difference in cost was quite striking.

Do not attempt to rebuild this yourself unless this is your like of work. I cannot remember the pressure they are under but it seemed like it was in the hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds.

i have heard that you will also get negative camber in the rear if this goes out

not sure if the 300SEL and the 280SEL are interchangeable but i had a new one installed in my car prior to my purchase of the vehicle i will be selling

__________________
W211 '03 E320 | W108 '72 280SEL 4.5

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...ps9b542eaa.jpg http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...ps5723c50f.jpg

You can put in the spring from lesser 108s

Or you can get a reman unit from the classic center, I can't rememeber what the cost is though. A friend has done a few.

__________________
68 280SL - 70 280SL - 70 300SEL 3.5 - 72 350SL - 72 280SEL 4.5 - 72 220 - 72 220D - 73 450SL - 84 230GE - 87 200TD - 90 190E 2.0 - 03 G500

Nissan GTR - Nissan Skyline GTS25T - Toyota GTFour - Rover Mini - Toyota Land Cruiser HJ60 - Cadillac Eldorado - BMW E30 - BMW 135i

W108, W111, and W110 all use A1113200399 which is NLA. I don't think rebuilt ones are available either. I am pretty sure that the Classic Center will tell you to swap in the spring instead. Mine was dead in my 280S and it was NOT leaking. Very early W110 and W111 used A1113200199, which was replaced by x399.

Oddly enough the 399 part number shows up on this website:
MercedesWholeParts.com is synonomous with quality, low prices and value. We are the premier dealer in Mercedes Benz parts in south Florida
for $558 and I am skeptical that it is correct.

Having said that, a W109 sedan appears to have nothing of the sort. At least not in EPC.... (neither the hydraulic thing nor the big spring)

Here's the part number for the Spring kit: 1105860501 You can google that. But EPC still says that W109 doesn't use either the spring or the hydraulic thing.

You're selling your 280SEl already? Didn't you just buy it?

__________________
2006 S65 ///AMG - 1 of 427 in North America
1986 560 SEL

1. Check to see if you have one. I don't think you do.
2. When the compensator is bad your car's rear end will sag and you will have negative camber. But on a W109 there are other reasons that the suspension will sag (and you will have negative camber).

If your car looks fine from the profile and rides well, you don't have a problem.

no no sorry, i am selling the rear compensator... i am going to a spring. when you lower with a hydro compensator you end up with positive camber. you can "trim" the spring that replaces the compensator to avoid this, so that is my reasoning.

__________________
W211 '03 E320 | W108 '72 280SEL 4.5

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...ps9b542eaa.jpg http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...ps5723c50f.jpg

I can't point out why, but this just sounds all wrong.

You should start a thread just about your car. Include pics and document its progress....

I have the compensator in my car but it doesn't look like it sits as high as other cars... mines a project.. so it will be a while before its on the road and I can see what's really going on with the suspension...

__________________
2006 S65 ///AMG - 1 of 427 in North America
1986 560 SEL

W108s sit low in back because of either a bad compensator or worn out rear springs. I don't think there are any other reason.

i've only had this car about a month or so, and besides some basic maintenance and fixing what things have started to go bad from daily driving it... no one has really missed anything. this is by far the oldest car i have owned and i am filled with hundreds of questions every time i work on it, so i have really appreciated everyones help on here. honestly one of the best boards i am a part of, the last mercedes board i was a member of did not agree too much with my w211 build. however, i did not build it for them... can't please everyone

i honestly figured no one would have any real interest in a build like this (108) so i have kind of just kept it to myself. i realize i am probably a lot younger than most on here, and my tastes are much different. i plan on restoring, and bagging it. this is my friends RHD 108, he is the one that has really pulled me into building a "vintage" mercedes... and yes my heart and vision lay some where in the same realm



P.S.
sorry OP to take over your thread like this

__________________
W211 '03 E320 | W108 '72 280SEL 4.5

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...ps9b542eaa.jpg http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...ps5723c50f.jpg

That looks like a beautiful car except for the suspension issues.

it is on air, so he can have it back to stock ride height with the flick of a switch. it also rides a lot nicer than stock suspension

__________________
W211 '03 E320 | W108 '72 280SEL 4.5

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...ps9b542eaa.jpg http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...ps5723c50f.jpg