S124 SLS sphere Replacement Questions.

[shj124]

The rear suspension on my wife's 1990 S124 had become very bouncy and harsh which seems to indicate that new SLS spheres are required.

I have done quite a lot of research on this forum, the web in general, and it seems in principal the R & R of the spheres "should" be quite straight forward. But then it always does sound easy until you come to the one corroded nut which will not move for love nor money!

I know new spheres are available for about £80 - £100 each.

keeping in mind the car is now 28 years old and has received the best the Uk climate can throw at it should I budget for new hydraulic pipes as well? Any ideas on likely costs?

I understand that one of the pipes has now been replaced in M Benz spares listing by a 123 part which doesn't have a flow restrictor and some people insert a wire coat hanger as a fix? Any thoughts on this?

As an alternative since the weather is not yet entirely conducive to spending possibly hours under a car what is the likely cost to get an independent garage to do the job?

Do I need to sell a kidney and a few slices of liver on the Dark Web?

 

[brucemillar]

The rear suspension on my wife's 1990 S124 had become very bouncy and harsh which seems to indicate that new SLS spheres are required.

I have done quite a lot of research on this forum, the web in general, and it seems in principal the R & R of the spheres "should" be quite straight forward. But then it always does sound easy until you come to the one corroded nut which will not move for love nor money!

I know new spheres are available for about £80 - £100 each.

keeping in mind the car is now 28 years old and has received the best the Uk climate can throw at it should I budget for new hydraulic pipes as well? Any ideas on likely costs?

I understand that one of the pipes has now been replaced in M Benz spares listing by a 123 part which doesn't have a flow restrictor and some people insert a wire coat hanger as a fix? Any thoughts on this?

As an alternative since the weather is not yet entirely conducive to spending possibly hours under a car what is the likely cost to get an independent garage to do the job?

Do I need to sell a kidney and a few slices of liver on the Dark Web?

I had this done on my 31 year old 4-Matic Wagon. It was a bit tired and bouncy and flashing the 4-Matic light occasionally. Diagnosed as a leaky sphere I asked Andy @ Wright-Tech in Sidcup if he would do it as part of my restoration.

Boy was he delighted (not) at that little bundle of fun. Force, heat, hammers, impact guns, more heat and more Anglo/Saxon than a Millwall game. He did eventually get them off. But it was a major faff. I’m told that some Citroen Specialists are very quick and cheaper at this task? It could be worth a phone call or two.


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[shj124]

I had this done on my 31 year old 4-Matic Wagon. It was a bit tired and bouncy and flashing the 4-Matic light occasionally. Diagnosed as a leaky sphere I asked Andy @ Wright-Tech in Sidcup if he would do it as part of my restoration.

Boy was he delighted (not) at that little bundle of fun. Force, heat, hammers, impact guns, more heat and more Anglo/Saxon than a Millwall game. He did eventually get them off. But it was a major faff. I’m told that some Citroen Specialists are very quick and cheaper at this task? It could be worth a phone call or two.


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Thank you for the reply and the lateral thinking suggestion ofCitroen Specialists. Other than making some phone calls to get some idea of cost, (how long is a piece of string) I need to get under the car and see what condition the banjo bolts and adjacent pipes are in.

I may in the end bite the bullet and get a specialist to do it as whilst I have axel stands and trolley jacks I have always felt that axel stands as the name implies are for beam axels. They allow too much potential for movement when used to elevate the rear end of a S124 as the only location they can be used is the circular pads under the jacking points. The heads of axels stands being the wrong shape to retain the pads when applying torque to fittings in a horizontal direction.

 

[brucemillar]

Thank you for the reply and the lateral thinking suggestion ofCitroen Specialists. Other than making some phone calls to get some idea of cost, (how long is a piece of string) I need to get under the car and see what condition the banjo bolts and adjacent pipes are in.

I may in the end bite the bullet and get a specialist to do it as whilst I have axel stands and trolley jacks I have always felt that axel stands as the name implies are for beam axels. They allow too much potential for movement when used to elevate the rear end of a S124 as the only location they can be used is the circular pads under the jacking points. The heads of axels stands being the wrong shape to retain the pads when applying torque to fittings in a horizontal direction.

Well you are correct to be cautious. It’s a very big car carrying big weight. You do not want it shifting when you are under it.

As I recall, the issue with mine was age. The spheres had seized in situ, to the point that using larger and larger tools ran the danger of causing larger and larger damage by tearing threads & metal. Applying heat helped but ran a real risk of setting light to the car or certainly causing damage that would be expensive and messy to replace.

The pipes were/are thin and weak. As with the spheres they want to twist and tear if you start using heavy artillery on them.

Feel free to call Andy Wright. He is in Kent but may offer support. Some Citroen Techs retained both the skills and tool sets to work on the cylinders. I recall an episode of Wheeler Dealers where Edd China used a Citroen guy for precisely this reason.

You may get lucky? Some do and have had the spheres almost fall out (not me, I never get that lucky)

Good luck and keep asking away on here.


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[BTB 500]

My R129 has adaptive damping (ADS), which uses similar accumulators (spheres) in all 4 corners. They have a finite lifespan and fail in exactly the same way i.e. hard/bouncy suspension. I had mine replaced a few years back - I used SS Motors near Weybridge (not too far from the OP?), who specialise in older MBs and have specific expertise with ADS. They did a great job for a reasonable price (around £900 for all 4, using all MB parts and including a system flush and new oil):

SS Motors | Mercedes Specialists in Surrey