W124 Suspension Spring Pads - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

mcguirjf · #1 10-24-2008, 02:19 PM

Greetings,
Well my W140 search ended in failure so I'm keeping the W124. I went to the dealer this morning to order springs all around and pads. My scores were 58 in the front and 30 in the rear.

Front Spring P/N 124 321 21 04
Rear Spring P/N 124 324 16 04

The dealer print out reads in columns...
Total Points / Spring Part Number / Pad Spring Blue / Pad Spring Red

Now the questions...
Which color pad do I choose? The blue pad is 13mm thick and red is 18mm.

Are the color of the springs suppose to match the color of the pads? Should I wait for the springs to arrive before ordering the pads?

Are the pads used to adjust the ride height?

Anyone have the wheel clearance / ride height specifications for a 1990 300D? Do you just measure the clearance between the top of the tire and the fender?

I tried looking to see what I have and I'm pretty sure there wrong. The rear of the car sticks up in the air and the front coils bottom out.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

compress ignite · #2 10-24-2008, 02:47 PM

Lurking hoping to be educated.

[Thanks!]

yal · #3 10-24-2008, 03:01 PM

I didn't know they came color coded. Is this a new thing?

ds190 · #4 10-24-2008, 09:35 PM

In the MB service manual, that heading of the column for the spring pads reads "Height of the spring-rubber mounts depending on the color code of the spring (mm)", and you have the choice of blue or red.

To me, that means wait for the springs to arrive and then match that color for the pad choice.

FYI, for front spring P/N 124 321 21 04 with a score of 58, the blue is 18mm and red 23mm, and for rear spring P/N 124 324 16 04 with a score of 30, the blue is 13mm and the red is 18mm.

Yes, the pads are used to adjust ride height, but measuring from the top of the tire to the fender is not useful. Most people measure from the center of the wheel to the fender lip, but I don't know what numbers are common. Search the name gsxr for his threads on suspension upgrades to his two 300D cars.

mcguirjf · #5 10-26-2008, 10:06 PM

Update.

I picked up the springs and the two fronts have the same colors, one red mark, one yellow mark, and three white marks.

The rear springs both have three yellow marks. One rear spring has two red marks and the other has one red and one blue mark.

I ordered both blue spring pads for the front and back. The pads are black in color. The fronts have three notches that protrude on the edges. The rear pads have two notches. The front spring pad part number is 201 321 11 84. The rear pad part number is 201 325 10 44.

amg280 · #6 10-29-2008, 03:33 PM

That is true, you have to wait to see what spring color you get before you can decipher what pads to go with. But be advised, on both my W124's, the mercedes points system was way off. I ended up having a low rider 300D and then a not-scared-of-heights E320. I then made my own assessment and got what I thought to be the appropriate spring pads. The pads themselves are cheap, its the labor that kills ya.

And I may be wrong, but I think you need to have matching side to side springs (same color).

jha2297255 · #7 10-29-2008, 10:20 PM

just put vogtlands on 300e, handles =awesome, ride height = awesome,

speed bumps= need to slow it down,

10x better look and handling than (the original? old stock) springs

babymog · #8 10-30-2008, 09:44 PM

Spring colors have to match. side/side.

The red and blue columns mean that the red spring with 3-bump pads will be X high, where the blue spring with the 3-bump pads will be Y high.

I believe the blue is the taller spring. One of my cars sat low in the rear with the correct (red) springs and 3-bump pads, I switched it to the blue springs, the book isn't always correct (and pads are inexpensive, but a pain to swap as amg280 said.

mcguirjf · #9 10-31-2008, 10:29 AM

The front spring pads have three bumps and the rear pads have two bumps. I'll take measurements of both front and rear heights from center of wheel to fender lip before, after, and after the springs settle. I should finsh the job this weekend. Right now the front springs are bottoming out and the ass end is sticking up in the air like a female cat in heat, "Bad Kitty!".

mcguirjf · #10 11-03-2008, 03:34 PM

Well in all the excitement of working on the car I forgot to measure the previous ride height and new spring heights. Damn it! I will say that the car rides much nicer and is much quieter. I torn everything out from under the car up to the front flex joint and worked my way back. Here is a list of what I did…
Front flex joint
Tranny mount
Driveshaft Center bearing support
Rear flex joint
Rear springs
Fixed the creaking sub frame (separate topic)
New exhaust
Now I have the front to tackle with new springs, shocks, lower ball joints, control arm bushings, strut mounts, and brakes.

I will try to remember to measure the front ride height before and after.