Self leveling suspension pump on 95 W124 estate - need part number (& part ?)

[neumo]

When I had my 95 W124 E220 estate in for service last time, one of the things that came up was that he said that there is a pump that does the self levelling suspension on the estate & the power steering, all in one dual pump unit. He said the steering part is fine but the self leveling part is knackered, so will need to be replaced at some stage. He quoted me for the official merc part, which was NOT cheap , but said I could get the part off someone like MercMan (or another supplier of Merc parts), which he would fitt for me, for a price. Doing it this way would work out a lot cheaper than going the official route.

Trouble is I need the part number in order to order it, as MercMan could not help without the right part number. I wondered if anyone can help me get the information and/or help me source the part I need. I live in West Sussex, so if anyone knows of a good garage in the South East or London, that could help me out, that would be good.

Thanks. Dave

 

[bolide]

If the pump has failed then the rear won't be self-levelling and I'd expect it to start sagging over time. I'd suggest examining the self-levelling very carefully before committing to replacing the pump

Alan Robertson in Hove (01273 770838) could do the job. He's a Mercedes & BMW specialist and Martin who works for him is a Citroen specialist. Handy, as the rear suspension of a W124 estate is extremely Citroen-like

John Haynes in Worthing (01903 500000) is a true Mercedes specialist and would be a good choice - I'd expect them to be able to diagnose it in minutes

You may be able to get the part number by calling a Mercedes dealer with your chassis number. Mercman in Southampton will be your most convenient place for s/h parts

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[andy_k]

As Nick says, take a look at the system before you spend on a new pump. They are generally the last thing to fail on the system and unless you've been running it with no hydraulic oil in then I suspect it will be OK.

Here's a very rough guide to diagnose the system

1, bouncy or harsh suspension and very difficult to compress when the car is parked = knackered spheres, they are like the citroen ones and if the diaphragm splits then the nitrogen and the gas mix leaving no damping and fluid which you need to replace. These spheres are a "service item" with an expected life of 100k miles. On older cars they tend to get overlooked as it's a messy and fiddly job but it's well within the capabilities of the home mechanic.

2, the car's rear drops when you leave it parked - self levelling valve knackered or in need of an overhaul. The non return part of the valve is no more complicated than a spring and a ball bearing, sometimes just giving the valve a tap can fix it.

3, Car not self levelling when loaded - see above, the valve may either need replacing or the linkage needs looking at - they are in a place which picks up a lot of road crud so can get very rusty

3, leaking fluid - check the struts first of all as they can fail. They are the things that look like shock absorbers but aren't - they simply control the level of the car. Then check the pipes - if the pipes need replacing buy the genuine Merc ones, they are not expensive and fit perfectly

4, wrong fluid - check that you have the genuine Merc fluid in there, the green LM fluid is the wrong type. Drain a drop from the system (the self levelling valve has a bleed nipple on it) and see what it looks like, if it's clear no problem, if it's milky which is highly likely if either ir or nitrogen has mixed with it then you need to replace it with Mercs hydraulik oil

HTH

Andy

tee hee - I've just noticed, this seems to be the Sussex thread

 

[Sp!ke]

Interesting thread... I suspect this is on my to do list on the Limo as the SLS system only sort of works. What I mean by that is that once your driving it gradually builds up pressure and gets level but it seems that it takes a while like the pump isnt doing its job right.

When I picked up the car the resevoir was bone dry. I traced a couple of leaks to the hoses, then filled the system up and bled it but still found that the fluid was frothy when it came out of the bleed nipple despite numerous passes, if I left the froth for 5 minutes it would settle so I suspect its just mixing with air.

The suspension itself feels ok to drive even with 8 people in the car but it does look a little low (not on the floor) and I dont think its working exactly as it should.

 

[neumo]

Thanks for the list of things to try. I will give them a go when it stops raining.... Car sits OK when parked & when loaded; havent tried it with lots of weight in the back but seems OK. I will try the tests & then probably get it sorted out after Christmas, when I get my yearly bonus.