I've read some marvelous posts here on the SLS and various component replacements. I was wondering if someone here could help me on the basic diagnosis part.

Basically, there's no fluid in the reservoir, and the reservoir itself looks kind of wet with fluid on the outside, as if it had leaked out the top or something. Is this under a lot of pressure in the reservoir?.

The lines appear to be dry from the pump and then all the way back to the rear axle. The box in the back that attaches to the lifting bar looks fine, no evidence of leakage. The bottoms of the shock towers are wet with fluid, though. Also, and possibly not related, there is evidence of some kind of oil based fluid on the passenger side floorpan under the rug. Could this have come from the struts?

I guess I need to investigate the leak possibility before looking at the accumulators, which look dry. Is there an approved method for testing for leaks in the system? Is there a good manual that describes this process that you could recommend? Thanks!

Forgot to mention the type of car. It is a 1985 300TD Wagon.

Sounds like both of the struts are leaking and, if your reservoir is empty, you've lost all the fluid in the system because of the strut leaks.

There's no pressure to speak of at the reservoir but, they always seem to be nasty on the outside with oily dirt. The filter for the system is at the outlet where the fluid returns to the reservoir and the fitting weeps (the plastic ring that holds the assy to the reservoir is cracked on mine) a little oil.

Struts aren't cheap to replace but are worth the expense; when working properly, the system functions unbelieveably well.

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

Ugh. I just checked the strut prices. Before I shell out that kind of scratch for parts, I'm going to want to diagnose this a little better. Do you know if the struts are fed by metal lines or rubber? I'm thinking of replacing all the rubber lines first and then testing the system under pressure. Do you know if this system is self bleeding? Also, how hard are the struts to get to? Thanks in advance.

The struts aren't really any harder to get to than a sedan's shock-absorber. The upper fixing bolts are probably frozen; I drilled mine out.
To check for leakage in the struts, just loosen the lower fixing bolts, and drop the struts out of the trailing arms a little ways. If they're slathered with mineral oil, I'd guess they are leaking.
There is a rubber high-pressure hose in between the accumulator and the strut. Everything's pretty easy-to-see from underneath the car, really. Not sure if the system is self-bleeding; I removed mine. If you decide to go this route, replace the springs with ones from a sedan, and use Bilstein HD shocks.
If you decide to repair the SLS and have any interest in used parts, I have one good used strut in the shed, and will soon be doing another conversion which could, potentially, yield two more. Email if you want any of the parts.

Jay.