My 1983 300d has over 400k miles on it and I am working on the rear end suspension..

All new rubber mounts and the 4 pivot joints..3 were good and the 4th was shot creating a clunk- clunk as you went along..Here is the question..

There is a rubber ring that sets on top of each spring...I ordered 115 325 2444 rubber that is 19 mm thick..But the original is 115 325 2344 14 mm thick

Now with over 400k on those springs, do you think that putting in the extra thick rubber piece would cause any harm..I just figured that the springs are sagging after that much time and maybe it would help..

Any thoughts??

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1978 300SD 303400 miles
1983 300D 341270 miles
1980 300SD 320456 miles

I put the thicker pads in the rear end of a W115 and it definitely boosted the rear end's height. I wanted that because I was carrying around a bunch of heavy tools and the boost got rid of the excessive sag.

If the rear end on your car is saggy they'll make a difference. If it's not too saggy you might consider getting the thinner ones. If you don't carry a lot of weight the increased height will also add positive camber to the wheels and will cause your tires to wear more on the outside. That happened to my car when my wife started driving it without all my tools in it. I put the thinner pads back in to fix the problem.

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- Greg -
1973 220D, The Prodigal Benz
1974 240D

Before I started work on it, the car looked like it was a little saggy in the rear..

In the section of the FSM posted here is some applications as to what rubber part to use..9.5--14--19 mm..And it talks about what color the springs are marked with..Red or blue

Is the car going to be on rough roads or smooth...on and on it goes..

I am just going to try the 19..and see what happens

My springs have both blue and red markings on them

I have the special spring compressor to change out the rubber piece, so going back to the 14 is no problem if there is a problem with the 19

Thank you for your response,gmog220d !!

Attached Files

32-240.pdf (191.0 KB, 81 views)

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1978 300SD 303400 miles
1983 300D 341270 miles
1980 300SD 320456 miles

If it were me, I would be replacing the springs as well...

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Looking at what is available here at Pelican...

76 each for some never heard of brand of spring or...

146 each for genuine MB..

I will try the extra thick pad first..The springs show no rust anywhere and to go to a wrecking yard..you just can't tell what you are getting because the cars are usually up on stands..

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1978 300SD 303400 miles
1983 300D 341270 miles
1980 300SD 320456 miles

Metal fatigues over time, the varying weigh put on the back of the car over almost four decades.....does its toll on the springs....no matter the thickness of pads one uses, bushing one replaces....It can not put the spring back into a spring....

A number of members here will attest to how important it is to change out the rear springs for new....the quality of the ride afterwards and height difference...

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The front springs, you definitely need a Spring Compressor.

On the rear springs, you can take them out w/o the compressor.

Remove the Shocks.
Unbolt the Calipers and hang them on the Sway Bar with a piece of wire.
Unbolt the Sway bar on each side and rotate it up.
Place a Floor hack under the Differential.
Remove the 4 13mm Diff mount bolts.

When you lower the Diff., the springs will fall out. as the Sub frame comes down.

Been a while since I did this, writing this from memory. Don`t think the DL has to be unbolted from the Diff.


Charlie


sent from my pos computer

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there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

If the back end is sitting low, my vote is to replace the springs. The 19mm pads are only a 1/4" thicker than the stock pads...not much of a difference. Stick two people in the car and measure the ride height and compare it to the spec for new. That will tell you how much 'real world' sag has occured over the years. Seeing as how you will have the springs off in order to change the pads (a good idea), you might as well swap out the springs. In all deference to our host, there are hundreds of other sources for quality springs for around $100 a pair. In the past year I've replaced springs on two W123's & three w126's as well as a couple of 190's. Never spent more than $110/pair even for "Lem...xx...er".