Parts Catalog Accessories Catalog How To Articles Tech Forums
Call Pelican Parts at 888-280-7799
Shopping Cart Cart | Project List | Order Status | Help



Go Back   PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum > Mercedes-Benz Tech Information and Support > Tech Help

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 06-05-2016, 03:49 PM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 91
Mercedes 280TE W123 front suspension/brakes

Hey folks,

I'm doing a little maintenance on my 1982 280TE wagon, and had a couple of questions...

Firstly, I noticed when taking the wheels off that the car has Bilstein shocks. Are those standard? I wasn't expecting to see the Bilstein logo when I took the wheels off. I know the previous owner piled a lot of money into this car before I bought it...



Secondly, a couple of weeks ago the brake pad low level warning light started flickering. So, my plan was to replace the pads (of course!). However, when I took the wheels off I noticed that the pad still have about 8mm left on them (see below). Is that really in need of replacement? Seems like a fair bit of meat I thought, although I admit I'm no expert. Any thoughts?



The final thing: recently, I've started getting a bit of a knocking noise from the drivers' side front suspension/steering. It seems like it's knocking when steering and also sometimes over bumps. Probably more the former issue though. I'm assuming it's a bush somewhere. Is that a fairly straight forward job if one is handy enough with tools? Any commonly failing bushes?



Thanks

Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 06-05-2016, 05:50 PM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 726
Your car probably came with Bilstein shocks however they didn't have that sticker on then. Those shocks have been replaced.

For your brakes, check the wire for the wear indicator from the wheel up to the inner fender. They commonly deteriorate.

Your knock could also be caused by a bad ball joint. It looks like the boot doesn't have much life left in it as well.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 06-05-2016, 11:15 PM
Stretch's Avatar
...like a shield of steel
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Somewhere in the Netherlands
Posts: 14,461
...and I'll add that quite a bit can be repaired by DIYers but you need to be careful of the front springs if you end up removing them / having to remove them. Get the inner / disc type compressor for this job.
__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 06-09-2016, 06:04 PM
JimFreeh's Avatar
Benz addict
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Hampton Roads, Virginia
Posts: 3,366
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick76 View Post
Your car probably came with Bilstein shocks however they didn't have that sticker on then. Those shocks have been replaced.

For your brakes, check the wire for the wear indicator from the wheel up to the inner fender. They commonly deteriorate.

Your knock could also be caused by a bad ball joint. It looks like the boot doesn't have much life left in it as well.
It's been awhile since I looked at W123 brakes, but the W124 has sensors on all four front pads. (I'm thinking the W123 has just one per side.

Make sure you look at the inside pad as well. If the caliper is frozen, or if one cylinder is frozen, you can have wear on one pad and not the other side.

The front end, you need to jack up the the suspension, get the weight off the wheel and shake it in both axes, and use a pry bar to check ball joints.

At this age, pretty much all the bushings are suspect, and tolerance stackup can give a loose feel.

Jim

__________________
14 E250 BlueTEC black. 45k miles
95 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 66k miles
94 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 152k miles
85 300TD 4 spd man, euro bumpers and lights, 15" Pentas dark blue 274k miles
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On




All times are GMT -4. The time now is 08:05 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2024 Pelican Parts, LLC - Posts may be archived for display on the Peach Parts or Pelican Parts Website -    DMCA Registered Agent Contact Page