hydropneumatic suspension

Does anyone here know much about the hydropneumatic suspension? I have an

1984 Euro 500SEL, this was my first Mercedes that I purchased with such pride and happiness, but my head is hanging low due to the problems I'm having. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Dan

Reply to
Danno
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First thing you need to do is learn all about it. That's so you can diagnose it and fix it or tell a shop what to fix. Many shops, knowing that you're over a barrel, take the "replace everything" approach; that's good for them but not so good for your wallet. That's what you need to avoid.

Basically, there's a hydraulic pump, a mechanical height sensor valve in the rear and a couple of nitrogen / hydraulic chambers (like shock absorbers) in the rear.

You don't state the problem so:

  1. check the fluid level of the hydraulic system. This hydraulic oil is quite expensive, don't dump any old oil into the system (although someone may have by now).

  1. slide under the back of the car and look up at the chambers - are they leaking hydraulic oil? look at the height adjustment valve - is it leaking? is its linkage intact and connected?

You should know that the M-B station wagons 300TD, 300TE and the 560SEL / 560SEC also have this hydropneumatic rear suspension so it's not unknown here, just costly to have repaired.

Reply to
T.G. Lambach

Hi T.G.

Do you know anything about the electrics in the 126 series? Or do you know of a site where there are knowledgeable people on this?

Thanks, cp

Reply to
cp

Those ohms and amps always eluded me, sorry.

Reply to
T.G. Lambach

:-) For me it's that hellish tangle of wires

Thanks anyways! cp

Reply to
cp

You'll get more helpful replies if you state the problem. Is it leaking, sagging, riding rough?

The most common failure is the diaphragm inside the accumulators. When it ruptures, the fluid gets on the side that should be filled with air, and no damping can take place, making the car ride very rough. The accumulators are fairly easy to replace.

Bill Balmer

1986 190E 2.3-16 (another MB with the hydro-pneumatic rear SLS)
Reply to
Cossie

Actually, the Euro suspension isn't all that similar to these vehicles (at least all of the parts are different), but it's virtually identical to that of a 6.9.

Ron

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Reply to
German Star

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