R230 rear shock/damper leak.

[hfh200]

Gulp. First 'test' failure for the car, a 2002 SL500. It has a large stain on the rear left suspension bottom link from leaking fluid above. I've tried the search function for help but the results don't fully apply to my case. Soooo, since there is no clunk, no warning light, no obvious signs of spurting life-blood from the system, where would the BBS suggest I start my investigations tomorrow morning?
I'm guessing that the ABC (is that the right term?) has sprung a leak throught the seals where the pump-up suspension damper strut slides. Is this common? Has anyone a handy pic of the likely defaulter?

Worst case?

Anyway, I replaced the damper on my 1949 Morris Minor last week and it only cost me about £25 UKP, including £5 for a bottle of SAE30 oil. Surely a Merc can't be much more expensive???

 

[Howard]

If it's a new ABC strut you need , you are looking at about a grand.

 

[jaymanek]

I would clean the area up, get it through the MOT and then look for the best solution.. There is a company called Arnott Inc in the USA that sells remanufactured struts for these.

 

[BlackC55]

...per shock plus fluid, calibration and fitting.

 

[hfh200]

Thanks, guys.

I thought it might be along those lines. Strange that the Morris ones can last 60 years and then only leak when the filler plug thread gets chomped.
So, does it normally go at the top of the piston rod where it enters the damper body? Might I expect to see fresh leakage after every run?
Silly Q, but, where is the fluid replenished?

Rob, near cardiff.

 

[hfh200]

From what I have been able to rear on the internet it seems that strut failures are more often down to lower bearings rather than leaks. Is this correct?
Which 'hole' in the engine bay is the filler? I wanted to see just how much fluid has leaked away. Sod-all info in the handbook.
I used the 'pump-up' feature a few weeks ago to get over some speed bumps on an access road to an industrial estate and that might have been the first time it had been raised so far. Wouldn't it be nice to have been a one-off leak. (fat chance!)

 

[hfh200]

Looks like this. Both concertina covers are crapped out but there appears to be little dampness within and the spring seat at the base seems quite dry. Is there some sort of drain or overflow at the top that might have leaked down? The damp area doesn't have any sort of smell to it.

 

[hfh200]

MOT retest and it passed. If they couldn't see signs that it was leaking then they couldn't fail it. I'd still rather know what the problem was and then fix it but the option to keep on driving it is good news so I'd be grateful for pointers towards the correct fluid, assuming I can identify the correct port to pour it into.

 

[hfh200]

Anyone?

 

[hfh200]

Managed to fix the leaking seal for £300. Result!