Re: Argh! Bloody Mercedes

Shouldn't be that difficult - try hiring 'professional' spring compressors.

Expensive car = good build quality = expensive maintainance

Cant blame the car!

So you don't want that glovebox lid then?

I'm not sure at the moment. I want to get this one's springs on it and see if it's capable of passing an MOT, but as I've found a Sera, I'm not keen on having multiple projects lurking around - if the 200 gets an MOT and I can sell it for what it cost me (about £170, probably - £50 + £80 for springs and the MOT fee), then I'll get rid and concentrate on the Sera.

I've done plenty of jobs on Mercedes without any problems, so I'm especially frustrated by this one. The fact that I've had springs bouncing all over the place and frankly, scaring the hell out of me sometimes, hasn't helped.

The proper tool is so expensive it's not remotely funny. One bolt, one threaded channel, four discs. It's precisely what I thought would be needed to replace the spring, and precisely 10x the original cost of my car...

Richard

Try and buy a steering idler for a Carlton.... 140Euro for a little bit of metal. That's not funny.

Ah, but at least it's a part ;)

Got the spring on - borrowed some similar theory, but heavier duty, compressors from a local garage, Much swearing, fiddling with spanners in a cramped space, and frustration with the annoying rubber top mount (I still don't think it's right, but I /don't care/, because that spring isn't coming out in any hurry.

I imagine with the right tools, it's as easy as reading the Russek manual. Shame I'm never going to do it again ;)

As for the poster who said build quality makes for difficult cars to work on - what?! Mercedes are usually the easiest cars to work on, bar none. That very build quality is why I could strip and rebuild the brakes on a 1989 W124 in 1997, without a single seized bolt or stripped thread (including bleed nipples) in sight. Even this junkheap of a

I'm just a crap mechanic with cheap tools ;)

Richard

I've replace a rear spring on a W123 but the car was on a lift. The rear suspension was removed first in its entirity. For front springs use professional tools unless you want to kill yourself.

Adam

That would be me drunk-posting again - just ignore me..

Mercedes are usually the easiest cars to work on, bar

Its just I assumed you meant Mercedes were hard in comparison to other cars, I've replaced springs on a Fiesta Mk 3, Ford Ka, and a Nissan Micra without too much trouble so figured you meant Mercedes were harder than these.

Adam B waffled on in a quite bewildering manner to produce...

proper tools? rofl. This is uk.rec.cars mate. Home of the big impact persuasion device.

Well, depends on what proper tools means.

If you mean the Mercedes tool, which consists of a bolt, sleeve and discs and costs $600, then.... Hah!

If you mean instead of the £10 spring compressors with angled flat edges, the heavy duty ones with shaped hooks and long travel, then yes, I agree totally. With the correct compressor the job was much easier, and safer, though still not straightforward as it would be with the Mercedes tool, which is operated from above the car through a hole in the spring mount.

I don't know how I would kill myself with a coil spring, and I don't want to. I did have the compressors come off a couple of times, and whilst the energy contained is immense, it wasn't actually that dangerous. I would have been much happier if the old spring hadn't come out with a bang, but only because it knocked a patch of rusty bodywork on the wing and caused more work.

And no, I'm not doing the other side. Unless someone wants to lend me the proper tool. Then I reckon I'd have it done in less than an hour.

Richard

Richard Kilpatrick waffled on in a quite bewildering manner to produce...

didn't think you'd do the other side, I reckon there's a whole galaxy of W123 front springs languishing in peoples garages and shed under the label "good intentions", besides, they drive quite well with odd springs in.