R class rear air suspension (non airmatic)

[Migg]

Hello everyone,

The rear of my R Class behaves in a strange manner. The off side goes right down at times after resting for a while, or sometimes both sides go down to the ground, or none do and the car stays levelled.
My mechanic (indep) says he found leaks on both airbags.
Is this expected behaviour from leaking airbags?
He wants to charge near £200 + vat for each bag when you can find a pair for under £100 on eBay. Any thoughts on this?
Many thanks.

 

[W1ghty]

Hello everyone,

The rear of my R Class behaves in a strange manner. The off side goes right down at times after resting for a while, or sometimes both sides go down to the ground, or none do and the car stays levelled.
My mechanic (indep) says he found leaks on both airbags.
Is this expected behaviour from leaking airbags?
He wants to charge near £200 + vat for each bag when you can find a pair for under £100 on eBay. Any thoughts on this?
Many thanks.

Prices all depend on make and where they are purchased from buddy . Have a look at Autodoc or Eurocarparts to get an idea of make and prices

 

[mioba]

A good merc indy would use genuine such parts. Take it up with him. you get what you pay for.

 

[Migg]

Yes, I guess so. It's good to hear that no one seems shocked about the price difference.
As far as you know, is this to be expected from leaking air bags, or does this look more like a sensor ot valve failure?
I would have expected a leaking air bag to result in the car sagging systematically after resting.

 

[steveq]

I found that my S212 with rear air suspension would drop inconsistently. I think it was cold weather related but if I left the car for a few days or a week without use both sides would drop completely.

I looked up prices for rear air suspension units for an R Class from Aerosus and they are just over £200 for two (the S212 units are £400 for two). That seems like a good price.
I would guess that genuine MB ones are more than twice that price although it is worth checking.

Brands like Aerosus, Bilstein, Arnotts will have a warranty that could be trusted whereas with the cheapo units you are in the lap of the gods.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I found that my S212 with rear air suspension would drop inconsistently. I think it was cold weather related but if I left the car for a few days or a week without use both sides would drop completely.

I looked up prices for rear air suspension units for an R Class from Aerosus and they are just over £200 for two (the S212 units are £400 for two). That seems like a good price.
I would guess that genuine MB ones are more than twice that price although it is worth checking.

Brands like Aerosus, Bilstein, Arnotts will have a warranty that could be trusted whereas with the cheapo units you are in the lap of the gods.

Don’t buy Aerosus. Shocking quality.

 

[steveq]

Hmmmm, I bought and fitted Aerosus air suspension units to my S212 over 4 years ago and not had an issue since then.
The original units were just over 5 years old when they failed so the Aerosus suspension are looking like they will last longer than the originals !!