Hi,

I saw these photos with great interest as you can imagine. I put second hand spheres in my 250TD and they are just as bad as the originals.

From what you saw in there, do you reckon you could poke a tent peg into the hole of a sphere and tell if there was gas in there or not? I did this with the shot ones I removed and you could tell there was no gas in ther because the diaphragm was flat against the curved end of the body.

I only ask because I can get another 2nd hand pair on warranty from the wrecker, but I don't really want to put in another pair of duds!

I have had a great run with 2nd hand parts in general because the Merc parts are so well made, most are in fully functional condition off a car with 200K on it, but spheres are probably the exception to the rule.

I feel, though, since I've got the chance at some free ones and the connections are already loose and smooth, I figure if I poke a pencil in the big hole I should be able to feel the diaphragm about halfway down the sphere?

Thanks for input.

JamesK