Last night when driving home from work, I noticed the car bouncing quite a bit and feeling not too firm on the road. The alignment seems fine on the highway and there aren't any noticeable sounds other than a squeak from the front passenger wheel when I bounce the fender by hand, sounds like a control arm bushing. Could it be that one or more shock absorbers suddenly went bad? Two year old Bilsteins on the back, almost two year old KYBs on the front, yeah I know, all I could afford at the time. I load music equipment in the trunk, so that's where the Bilsteins went. I haven't checked for leaks yet, but do shocks go bad without leaking? Thanks

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'81 300SD

Shocks don't have to leak to wear out. Do the bounce test on the front corners and see if the car keeps bouncing excessively after you let go.

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'81 MB 300SD, '82 MB 300D Turbo (sold/RIP), '04 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate

Sooner or later every car falls apart, ours does it later!
-German Narrator in a MB Promotion Film about the then brand new W123.

KYB's aren't known for longevity....initially performance is similar, but fades fast.

KYB = Keep your Bilsteins

When something is half the price or less of the next choice....corners are usually cut somewhere.

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

You're right, the performance is similar when the KYBs are fresh. I ordered a pair of Bilsteins the other day. Can't wait to get my Mercedes feeling like a Mercedes again.

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'81 300SD

I installed Bilsteins on the front, and there was a slight improvement, but still a fair amount of body roll. I was due for a new set of tires, so I replaced those and still have a lot of body roll. The Bilsteins on the back are only a couple of years old. Could the problem be rear sub frame bushings or control arm bushings? The front upper control arms are about a year old and the ball joints are in good shape.

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'81 300SD

Stock W126s aren't known for flat cornering. They handle well compared to their early 80s American counterparts, but that body roll is a known characteristic of these cars. Just take a look at some of the footage of W126 test mules from the late 70s and early 80s and they were heaving and rolling on the test track. But, if you think you have more body roll than usual, subframe bushings might help, and replacing them at this age wouldn't hurt. Your springs might be tired if they're 38 year old originals. New springs will stiffen up the ride and reduce body roll. From what I've heard, H&R lowering springs coupled with Bilstein B8 performance shocks will improve handling, but a lowered look isn't everybody's fancy. If you don't want to lower your car, I suppose B8s with new, stock springs would still lead to an improvement in handling. Have you inspected your sway bars?

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'81 MB 300SD, '82 MB 300D Turbo (sold/RIP), '04 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate

Sooner or later every car falls apart, ours does it later!
-German Narrator in a MB Promotion Film about the then brand new W123.

The car definitely has more body roll than usual. The change in handling appeared suddenly after I made a u-turn. Honestly, it doesn't feel safe to drive. I got under the car this morning and checked everything from the front control arms to the rear sway bar, and everything looks to be in place and tight. I put new tires on yesterday hoping that would help, but not much. I'll go in for an alignment soon and ask the mechanic to look over everything. The car drives pretty straight right now, but I had some uneven wear on the inside of the front tires, so I'd like to prevent that from happening again.

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'81 300SD

It is good to remember that the purpose of shock absorbers is to control the oscillations of the springs when driving down the road. The bounce test on the corner of each corner of the car is good - the car should stop bouncing with 2-3 bounces. Shocks do not always leak when they have failed.

did your sway bar break?

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Allen Kroliczek
Oak Grove Autosport | Oak Grove Autosport
01 G500, 82 300TD, quite a few more.....

The sway bar and links are fine. I'm thinking of maybe upgrading to a 560SEC sway bar if I can find one. It's hard to believe that these sway bars control much sway considering that the links are made out of plastic.

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'81 300SD

i'm talking about the front bar as they're known to break. the front doesn't have any links as it runs through the upper control arm. very easy to miss if you're not familiar with how they break.

at this point, i'd find the source of your squeak, because anything else is just pissing in the wind.

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Allen Kroliczek
Oak Grove Autosport | Oak Grove Autosport
01 G500, 82 300TD, quite a few more.....

Did your inspection include checking the front sway bar bushings at the firewall?

Sixto
98 E320s sedan and wagon
02 C320 wagon