Rear suspension conversion

[Lewy65]

I have an E250 W212 Estate '2012' thats has give me nothing but problems on rear air suspension.
Is anyone aware if the airbags can be removed and springs added so its a conventional springs/shocker set up. Im doibg this to sell the car so need it cheap as possible if its possible.
If it is achievable what springs are used?

 

[ChrisHGTV]

There is a kit you can buy but I forget where I saw it. From memory though it wasn’t cheap. Certainly not cheap enough to warrant swapping out the air suspension. You might also need to factor in what the cost of removing the air would be in value/desirability if you’re selling?

I had issues with my rear air so did investigate converting to regular springs. But in the end just got the air fixed. It’s not really a complex system but seems to have a life expectancy of about 10 years and fault finding can be tricky.

I ended up replacing everything on mine. Ironically the airbags I think were actually ok - it was more the lines and compressor that were leaking.

 

[Lewy65]

There is a kit you can buy but I forget where I saw it. From memory though it wasn’t cheap. Certainly not cheap enough to warrant swapping out the air suspension. You might also need to factor in what the cost of removing the air would be in value/desirability if you’re selling?

I had issues with my rear air so did investigate converting to regular springs. But in the end just got the air fixed. It’s not really a complex system but seems to have a life expectancy of about 10 years and fault finding can be tricky.

I ended up replacing everything on mine. Ironically the airbags I think were actually ok - it was more the lines and compressor that were leaking.

Cheers. Ive replaced virtually all of it into for aout 3k so far in 2 different garages. Had enough and bought another car as all in all been in garage about 16months

 

[MerrieMike]

I'm also having problems with the rear suspension (2011 S212 E350 CDI @90000 miles). I think the suspension needs calibrating after having the pressure relief valve cleaned. I'm looking to buy a scanner that will at least be able to do this, and hopefully a bit more, such as being able to tell the ECU when certain parts are renewed. I know that the Youcanic scanner will calibrate the suspension, but I'm also looking at Autel and Launch scanners. The problem I have is that they don't seem to say exactly what the scanners can (and cannot) do for MB's like mine. Any help in this would be very much appreciated.

 

[Lewy65]

Mines been scanned by 2x merc specialists and still no joy hence trying to get rid of the air system completely.

 

[MerrieMike]

I had the same idea, but found that the conversion kits are very expensive, and changing over also requires modifications to the electrics and electronics. I don't currently have the skills to carry out this work and taking the car to a specialist would mean a bill of many thousands of pounds - more than the car is worth.

 

[Lewy65]

Yes I had the feeling it would be expensive as most MB things are. Unfortunately car is worthless without suspension

 

[MerrieMike]

Agreed. I see that you have already tried two "specialists". In my experience these people are a mixed bunch, and I've come to the conclusion that it's best to do the work yourself if possible. Which is why I am enquiring about members' experience with scanners. We have already spent more money than the car is worth on ours - see my previous posts.

 

[MerrieMike]

Yes I had the feeling it would be expensive as most MB things are. Unfortunately car is worthless without suspension

Given you have bought another car, and given the present value of your E250, perhaps it would be worth considering selling it as 'spares or repair'. I often think like this about mine!

 

[ChrisHGTV]

Cheers. Ive replaced virtually all of it into for aout 3k so far in 2 different garages. Had enough and bought another car as all in all been in garage about 16months

Wow I changed literally everything in mine (at independents) and it was less than 2k from memory. It took about 6 visits though! That was the most frustrating part, and most of the faults don’t throw up error codes so you have to go back to basics to find the issue. Is yours just dropping still? What have you had replaced?

 

[MerrieMike]

Wow I changed literally everything in mine (at independents) and it was less than 2k from memory. It took about 6 visits though! That was the most frustrating part, and most of the faults don’t throw up error codes so you have to go back to basics to find the issue. Is yours just dropping still? What have you had replaced?

Mine suffered from water and rodent damage at first, the suspension being a current problem. The ECU, ignition, front SAM and gearbox control units were replaced and some repairing of the wiring looms carried out. It was in various garages for months and cost us around £6K in total including the braking system work we had done when we bought the car (new pads and discs all round, new front calipers, exchange rear calipers). The indy who dealt with the rodent damage got it going again, but said they would need it for another fortnight to finish the job. How much more would that have cost? A local garage can recalibrate the suspension for me at reasonable cost, but I should like to try doing it myself. To do this requires a good OBD2 scanner (which will cost more than the trip to the local garage, but will hopefully be useful in the future). I know that the Youcanic scanner will do the calibration, but I should like to get one that can do a little more, such as letting the ECU know when a new module is fitted.
In the meantime, our MB rides like a dream when it works - we love the comfort.