Suspension spheres

[goldestate]

Have owned citroens in past when they fail they scrape the floor and you often used to get a puddle of fluid on the floor
My car just sat down a BIT lower it did not repeat not fall down as I said in my post, it is not from a book it rested on its springs I would imagine you could drive it like that on reasonable roads where as my citroen was beached the difference is marked.

 

[andy_k]

you have not drained your system yet

what happens is that the membrane inside the spheres bursts and the fluid fills up the gap that used to be exclusively nitrogen, the gas mixes with the oil and you get the Guinness effect you have mentioned.

The system which is self bleeding corrects the volume of oil automatically - you may have noticed a slight drop in the reservoir.

Once the spheres are full of hydraulic fluid the suspension has virtually no play so it becomes very hard.

When you finally get around to draining the oil you'll find that the rear of the car will drop since it no longer has any assistance from the hydraulics.

HTH

 

[andy_k]

Hi Chaps I am suspecting spheres! My ride height seems low at the back, I measured to the ground from the underside of the top of the wheel arch today and got the following:-
Left Front 66.5cm
Right Front 66cm

Left Rear 64.5cm
Right Rear 64.3cm

So I definitely have a saggy bottom, any chance of one of you chaps with good suspension confirming that it should be 66ish all round?

Do both spheres go at ones, maybe the ride height lever has seized?
Am open to suggestions.
Regards
Stuart

Assuming that the ride isn't overly harsh,

I'd start by checking the rear springs. They are sharing the load with the hydraulics so could be at fault - see if one has broken

the ride height lever will affect both wheels the same

 

[andy_k]

it is not from a book

i was referring to your post about the multi link rear suspension which may not have been from a book but it was certainly copied and pasted from Wikipedia.

As with so many articles on there - it's only half right. The static ride height is controlled by thesprings and the self levelling valve which also acts as a non return valve for the hydraulic fluid.

Of course, it could turn out that none of this applies to W210s - as I said earlier, it's based on my knowledge of the w124 system

 

[stuboy]

My W210 Estate has been pretty firm at the back recently, it sounds like there is a solid "clump" sound when i go over bumps. I towed a boat a few months ago which may have finished the spheres off, but would they both go at once?
If a coil had gone it would droop one side not both, very unlikely that two coild have gone but I won't rule it out just yet! When we get some resonable weather I will put the car on ramps, investigate further and report back.
Regards
Stuart

 

[goldestate]

Might be subframe mount !

 

[hugo]

i have a similar problem on my 2.3-16 but the car is sagging only on one side. am i safe to assume this is the ram that failed as if the spheres had failed both sides would sag?

also are the spheres the same for all SLS models or do they differ by model - would 300TE sls spheres work on the 190e system?

 

[stuboy]

Thanks to a lovely sunny day i am now armed with all the info i think i need including pics. It seems my problem is probably leeky shocks under load.
I topped up my SLS about 6 months ago and it is down to the min level again when i filled to max, there are also signs of slight fluid leakage around the bottom of the shock gaters.
So my theory is that i top up the SLS and it works for a bit until the leak drains fluid and the springs to take enough weight that the pressure is off the shocks. Does this all sound correct and or familiar?
If so where do U suggest for new ones GSF?
Regards

 

[andy_k]

they aren't shocks, they are just hydraulic struts which control the ride height and transfer the fluid along the pipes to the spheres - the spheres are the shocks

If they are both leaking then you need to replace them, if just one is leaking you can replace them individually as they are not actually doing any damping

Sadly, they are not cheap

 

[Will]

As above.

As they don't really wear out like shock absorbers there should be no problem with good used replacements.

MB struts aren't cheap - I think the 190E SLS ones were about £300 each side, so I assume the 210 would be similar.

Will

 

[neilrr]

Give me a nod if you need some of these (new)

franey, do you work in an MB parts dept. or dealership?

 

[stuboy]

Does anyone know weather the SLS struts are one piece or if you can take them apart after you remove them? My frindly local hydraulic chaps think they can rebuild them if they come apart.
Stuart

 

[bennesspipers]

Neilrr, no,franey doesnt work for MB parts, but he does sell quality replacement parts,often made by original manufacturer, i'v used him several times, & he's a clued up guy.

 

[E320Trip]

S 210 spheres

Hello does any one know how much these things are for a 210 estate I am contemplating changing them !

Hello all and particularly Goldestate, Did you get around to changing your spheres? I was thinking of doing the same. I am concerned that I may have to change the hydraulic lines (shock to sphere and sphere to ride height valve) as I doubt the lines will come away simply; haven't tried them yet!
Would you say my concerns are well founded, or could I just proceed with relevant spanners?!?
I have read AndyK's post re changing spheres on w124 and though it's a different model, I get the impression that the lines don't release easily.

p.s. I think I will be getting my Lemforder spheres from Eurocarparts at approx £50-60 plus vat each.

 

[franey]

Hello all and particularly Goldestate, Did you get around to changing your spheres? I was thinking of doing the same. I am concerned that I may have to change the hydraulic lines (shock to sphere and sphere to ride height valve) as I doubt the lines will come away simply; haven't tried them yet!
Would you say my concerns are well founded, or could I just proceed with relevant spanners?!?
I have read AndyK's post re changing spheres on w124 and though it's a different model, I get the impression that the lines don't release easily.

p.s. I think I will be getting my Lemforder spheres from Eurocarparts at approx £50-60 plus vat each.

For your info, mine are £120 / pair inc vat and delivery (UK) by Febi Bilstein, just got new ones in stock, Made in Germany.
The correct oil also in stock (fuchs) at £10 / litre.
Use the correct oil!!

B

 

[E320Trip]

Hello Franey,

That could be interesting.....
What do you think about the pipes and washers to connect to the speres?
Should I expect to replace them?

 

[goldestate]

clean then soak the pipe junctions and connections now ie well before you start with penetrating oil, wd40 is not what I would call penetrating oil, I haven't done it yet, not up to such excitement just now.

 

[franey]

It looks like a suck it and see job, I would suspect though that the tube nuts will be pretty much tight in the sphere and maybe even seized to the pipe. As has been stated, perhaps a good idea to give them a good soak in penetrating oil before trying to undo them.
I just had a look on EPC and found that one of the OE pre formed lines to the spheres is only about £4.00.
Based on that, if I were doing the job I think I would buy the two lines that go to the spheres before I started and replace them whatever.
You then have the next nut to undo where it joins into the coupling T Piece, will that undo ok?
Armed with the spheres and two pipes I would be reasonably confident of making good progress and completing the job.

 

[E320Trip]

I have just been invesigating the sphere and it looks like even if I could remove the pipes smoothly there is very little room to remove the sphere itself as it sits on a bracket which is very close to the rear subframe. I am hoping that when the pipes are off I will be able to bend the bracket into a more suitable position, though it looks tough. Will try the penetrating fluid in the meantime though. Thanks Franey.

 

[E320Trip]

Hello Goldestate. The distance as mentioned to Franey is very tight between sphere and rear subframe. Don't know how to get around that one. I think I'll soak in penetrating oil, then try to remove the pipes, then see if the bracket allows bending.