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switching self leveling system to regular suspention
good evening all :)
to start with , im new to the whole form based websites , therefore i dont know if im posting in the right section or not :) anyway ,the other day i was with the mechanic who happened to say that i needed to remove my SLS and replace it with regular suspension system ,to be honest i have been driving this w124/e200/1995 for 2 years ,my father handed it down to me , and since then i have been restoring different parts and so ... anyway back to the subject ,the ride feels stiff and bumpy so im going to change them sooner or later. my question ,if i may ask , how can i be sure that my SLS can not be restored , also what are the benefits of the "regular suspension system" , and how can i know the costs of either fixing the sls or changing it ,what are the best brands of struts ,shock absorber etc to install in my car ,keeping in mind i dont drive it aggressively. would like to add another point ,he offered to install sachs absorbers ,but told me to ask at other places how much will it cost ,before he do so. thank you all :D |
Probably just needs new accumulators. Find a new mechanic.
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thank you duxthe1
but is there a way to test or diagnose the problem , i sure dont trust my mechanic :P but still ,he does a very great job , also if i want to replace the whole system what are the parts i might need :) |
I eliminated the air struts from the rear of my 05 E320 wagon and installed an Arnott spring kit. Very happy with performance and ride.
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The "stiff and bumpy" ride is almost certainly due to degraded accumulators in the SLS system. The accumulators are a spherical chamber, divided by a flexible diaphragm. On one side of the diaphragm is pressurized gas (nitrogen), and on the other side is the hydraulic oil that fills the leveling strut/ride dampener (aka, "shock absorber"). As the suspension deflects over bumps, oil displaced from the strut deflects the diaphragm against the gas pressure in the accumulator. Over time the gas leaks off, and the compliance of the diaphragm is greatly reduced, resulting in "stiff and bumpy". If the struts themselves are not leaking, replacement of the accumulators is probably all that is required, at rather less expense than new springs and "shocks". |
aha what your saying Frank Reiner ,does make sense , alright then next time i go to him im going to ask to check the accumulator , but on the other hand he said " your SLS is dead" but it wont harm to check these before complying to what he offers "changing to normal gas suspension"
thank you very much :D |
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Such a blanket dismissal - "your SLS is dead" - should be cause for skepticism and caution. Rather than you identifying specific components to your superwrench, ask that worthy to describe the operation of the system to you, and to designate the presumed areas of failure. FYI, the SLS comprises the following: leveling struts/dampeners (2), accumulators (2), leveling valve (1), engine driven pump (1), oil reservoir (1), and connecting lines & hoses. Have they all failed simultaneously? |
he told me that the system is dry.
one time we had leakage from the reservoir ,had it solved and replaced the hose. you see im not that expert in cars ,due to the fact i major in medicine ,but happen to know few stuff about them ,that is why i send mine to the mechanic, to check it , and whenever something fail or needs replacement i would go to the internet and study it up , but the thing is the SLS seems to be a complicated regarding future maintenance. what im going to do is ,next time im going to ask him to do a full check up on the SLS , ID the damaged components and weigh the pros and cons ok either keeping it or dropping it. frankly im thankful to all of you guys , i would have just gone to him and asked him to switch the whole thing to gas suspension , but now im going to ask him to actually identify the faulty in it. one question if i may ask please , do you advice me to switch the sls to regular system? |
SLS is a wonderful feature and I would be loathe to downgrade.
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Don't go back to that mechanic, go somewhere else. Especially since you stated that you don't trust him, why would you even go back to him? It's just a waste of time.
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I have been restoring a W140 S500 Coupe, and when the tank is dry. The power steering(the pump does two functions:SLS-PowerSteering) pump takes the hit. It destroys the internals.. On this S500 one of the lines was rubbing on the drivers front spring tower. Add some hydraulic fluid, and start the car up. Watch for leaks. Are your rear shocks leaking at thee bottom? That is one of the places. Next, if this is a East Coast car the salt rusts the lines at a union near where the valve is at. The union on the unibody of the car... Keep the SLS, I love it on both of my cars..I have hauled about 2000 lbs of rock in my wagon. That SLS levels the car... Martin |
well actually no leaks ,except for the one which came out from the main hose of the hydraulic reservoir ,and we got that fixed and filled up , as a conclusion i think the best thing i can do is to have the SLS fully checked before considering replacing it ,to be honest i only thought it would keep the car from dragging to the ground when applying weight to the back ,but now it seems to be a very unique equipment.
thank you very much martin :) although i must say that this car actually doesnt haul anything and it carries mainly two people and probably only drives 100km a week ,as we use other cars beside it ,haha it actually only have 240k on its odometer :D |
I agree with MAVA on KEEPING the system. If the struts (you know them as shock absorbers) are not leaking, then change out the accumulators (already discussed) and there are two mounts on top of the struts that I would change. Flush the hydraulic system using only Benz APPROVED fluid, install a new filter in the chamber in the engine compartment near or on the power steering pump and you should be good to go. The German engineers knew what they were doing and to have a "mechanic" tell you that it should be replaced should be ignored. You don't tell us where you live in your "personal" data but there is a "Recommitted" List of Benz shops somewhere on this forum. They have changed the format and I'm not sure how to get you there. But I would find one in your area and take your car to them for a "second" opinion. After all, you are in "medicine" and that is done all of the time.
Anziani '97 CL600 51K |
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If people knew this, they might be able to point you to a competent, reasonably-priced mechanic. |
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