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Garage => Mechanicals => Topic started by: 500eguy on 19 February 2007, 12:39 AM

Title: High Rear Ride height, HELP!
Post by: 500eguy on 19 February 2007, 12:39 AM
hello guys, i need someones advice on my rear ride height. The card has no hydraulic suspension and there is no towing coupling fitted. I am really wondering why it sits so high in the rear! here is a picture...

(http://gallery.w116.org/dl/8623-2/DSC01775.jpg) (http://gallery.w116.org/v/show_room/DSC01775.jpg.html)
Title: Re: High Rear Ride height, HELP!
Post by: s class on 19 February 2007, 07:07 AM
500eguy,

I have seen your pics in the gallery and the car is great.  Your interior is nice.  But I think the rear end is definately too high. 

My 280SE had a stance like that when i boughht it, but in my case it was due to stiffer springs fitted for towing.  The handling improved immesurably when I fitted the correct springs. 

You say the car has not trailer coupling - but I asusme you've checked underneath to see that it never has had one.

It seems that either the springs are not the correct items, or they have been "retensioned" - too much - or some rubber bolsters have been stiffed between the coils - check for this. 

I think you need to replace the rear springs - preferably new ones, or else decent breakers yard items.  When I replaced mine 10 years ago I used breakers yard items and they've been fine - but you need to be careful when you choose them.  New is a safer bet if the budget allows.  Be aware that there are probably at least two different versions (different stiffness) springs depending on whether the car has self leveling or not.  You could check at your local MB spares outlet for part numbers, or better still someone here with a catalogue (PB?) could check numbers for you. 

I shall make a mental reminder to check tonight the part numbers on some spare rear springs I have at home.  They came from a car without self leveling.

Ryan
Title: Re: High Rear Ride height, HELP!
Post by: Seb450SEL on 19 February 2007, 09:28 AM
Hey 500EGuy,
   Although you may not have the full hydro suspension, many 116's have self adjusting rear suspension, this is like a ride hight assist to help the spring and works on the basic same system as the full hydro system, if you have this like I do there will be a small fluid tank in the right hand side of your engine bay( behind the head light), a pump mounted on the engine, a pressure switch mounted on the body which connects to the rear anti roll bar and special shocks at the rear. This system works great, you will notice when there is 5 in the car and a few bags that the rear will raise and the car will level its self out automatically when the engine starts.
   My guess is that the switch is not set properly. Mine was actually a tad low when I got it and the rear looked like it would sag sometimes. You are able to get under the car and adjust it yours self with a few basic tools. It is so easy I am not going to explain it because you will see for your self.

Hope this was of help
Seb
   
Title: Re: High Rear Ride height, HELP!
Post by: 500eguy on 19 February 2007, 02:59 PM
this could be to.... by any chance do you have pics of this system so i can better distinguish what they look like? thanks for all the tips guys:)
Title: Re: High Rear Ride height, HELP!
Post by: oscar on 19 February 2007, 03:31 PM
Hi guys,
Seb, I'm pretty sure 500eguy doesn't have self levelling because of this thread (lowering springs) (http://forum.w116.org/index.php/topic,1151.msg9907.html#msg9907) where I've posted pics of the setup.  So I'm guessing 500eguy has conventional suspension in the rear.  I must also confess to using the term hydropneumatic suspension loosely when I should say self levelling.

BTW Seb, do you know whether to shorten or lengthen that adjustable rod on the self levelling pressure switch if I want to lower the rear?  You can answer in that other thread if you like here (http://forum.w116.org/index.php/topic,1151.msg11129.html#msg11129). Cheers
Title: Re: High Rear Ride height, HELP!
Post by: 500eguy on 19 February 2007, 04:56 PM
where are springs available that aren't OEM?

(http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h312/ferrariphotos/DSC01766.jpg)

(http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h312/ferrariphotos/DSC01767.jpg)

Here is what the underneath of my car looks like, is there anything that looks out of the ordinary? i know pictures are really useless when trying to find a problem...

Title: Re: High Rear Ride height, HELP!
Post by: oscar on 19 February 2007, 06:22 PM
500eguy, your last sentence should read ".....pictures are really usefull...."

For instance, (you probably know about this already) your missing a bung plate (not official term) :) for the underside of the spare wheel well and a drain grommet is missing behind it.  Nothing to do with suspension I know but yet another thing to add to the to do list. 

To the suspension, compare your photos with mine.  Any levelling system equipment is highlighted (the accumulators or spheres and the levelling valve with the adjustable rod).  Everything else looks very similar. Trying to work out the number of turns in the springs appears to be 7 in yours and mine.

Pat's suggestion I think could help.  I'm also starting to think the rear shock absorbers may be oversized or rather overpressurised or too heavy duty.


(http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/6792/rearsuspension1medium1aa6.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/1575/rearsuspension4medium1na2.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)


Click for bigger images
(http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/5821/rearsuspension3medium1ig7.th.jpg) (http://img412.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rearsuspension3medium1ig7.jpg)(http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/3642/rearsuspension5medium1kz4.th.jpg) (http://img184.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rearsuspension5medium1kz4.jpg)
Title: Re: High Rear Ride height, HELP!
Post by: Papalangi on 19 February 2007, 07:13 PM
Aftermarket gas charged shocks will raise the rear also.  Not sure how to tell if you've got them without taking one out to read the fine print.  If they are gas charged, they'll be a pain to put back in as they will extend to their full length when removed.

Michael
Title: Re: High Rear Ride height, HELP!
Post by: s class on 20 February 2007, 01:08 AM
THanks PB for looking up the part number.  I checked my spares at home, which came from a 280SE without self leveling.  The one is marked 116 324 080 4NAE which matches the number you have given, the other is marked 116 324 110 4NC1 - different ?!?

I think it would be best to trust the number 116 324 080 4 that PB has given. 

Looking at 500eGuy's pictures, it looks like the rear end is really high - too high to be accounted for by the wrong rubber buffers IMHO.  I also think gas shocks couldn't do that unless they were like truck duty stuff.  I have aftermarket gas struts in my car, no problems.   

We need to conclusively establish first though whether the car has self leveling though.  If the car indeed does not have self leveling, then my money is on those being the wrong springs.

Ryan
Title: Re: High Rear Ride height, HELP!
Post by: 500eguy on 20 February 2007, 05:51 AM
i will be up in the morning with better shots of the back springs , and front of the motor.
Title: Re: High Rear Ride height, HELP!
Post by: john skene on 24 February 2007, 01:34 AM
In the long distant past a friend had his front springs reset on a Friday, and the front end looked similar to your cars rear stance. As he could hardly see over the bonnet he had to leave it at the Granville spring "experts" premises until they could reset them on the Monday. It seemed they had misread the specs and set them too high. Any chance the previous owner has had them reset incorrectly?
Title: Re: High Rear Ride height, HELP!
Post by: 500eguy on 24 February 2007, 04:39 AM
That could def. be a possibility. I will drop it off to my Benz mechanic next week, then for body work, then grab a set of some Pentas and i will be good to go:)
Title: Re: High Rear Ride height, HELP!
Post by: 500eguy on 27 February 2007, 02:34 PM
ok, dropped it off at the MB specialist and he said it needs rear springs and shocks. he is going to use used parts and he is charging me 150 for parts and 350 for labor. so bout $500, does this seem expensive?
Title: Re: High Rear Ride height, HELP!
Post by: s class on 28 February 2007, 03:15 AM
Assuming the car does not have self levelling, you can buy new Bilsteins for under US$100 each at AUtohaus.  Used springs at a breakers yard should be pretty dirt cheap.

Its quite a big job to do at home, lying on your back, but I've done it on a couple of cars.  the struts are very easy, the springs are the tricky part.  In a workshop with a proper hoist, an experienced MB mechanic would probably only need an hour per side.  I only needed 4 hours in total to remove my struts, springs, lower control arms and rebush them and reassemble, lying on my back at home, but then again I'm very familiar with the car and knew exactly what had to be done in what order. 

Have a look at this thread where I describe the process : http://forum.w116.org/index.php?topic=555.msg4249#msg4249 (http://forum.w116.org/index.php?topic=555.msg4249#msg4249)  Given that I was rebushing, I went further than you will need to.  You shouldnt need to remove the control arms. 

Good luck
Title: Re: High Rear Ride height, HELP!
Post by: s class on 28 February 2007, 03:20 AM
500eGuy,

ANother thought - when I first got my 280SE it had the wrong springs - extra stiff.  It was CONSIDERABLY more difficult to remove them than the standard springs due to their extra stiffness.  It was on that occasion that I had a compressor failure incident that I refer to in the above thread link.  So OK, considering that I think yo can count on a few more hours of hard struggle labour than would be the case with the correct springs.

Ryan
Title: Re: High Rear Ride height, HELP!
Post by: 500eguy on 28 February 2007, 04:31 AM
i also forgot to mention that he is also charging to take the springs off the parts 116. I figured after thinking about it, it is not to bad. the thing that is hindering me is that i don't have a decent place to work on the car. I will call the mechanic tomorrow, i may try to tackle this job myself.... ???
Title: Re: High Rear Ride height, HELP!
Post by: s class on 28 February 2007, 05:14 AM
500eguy,

THis is doable at home if yo are reasonably well equipped.  You must have enough decent safe stands and a good high lift jack.  It is not rocket science, but you do need a reasonable level of general mechanical experience, and preferably suspension experience.  Just be very very wary of the springs, and always think carefully and double check before removing bolts.  Make sure yo know what is in tension and what is in compression, and how to counteract these forces before you start unbolting. 
Title: Re: High Rear Ride height, HELP!
Post by: oscar on 28 February 2007, 05:31 AM
What's more, in the library I noticed the other day whilst looking for hydro stuff, a good rundown on removing springs and shock absorbers for conventionally sprung vehicles.

Pick a 450sel, then chasis and body manual then look up the suspension part. 
Title: Re: High Rear Ride height, HELP!
Post by: 500eguy on 28 February 2007, 02:56 PM
he was'nt to clear on the shock absorbers, i will talk to him today. He was talking about Blistein shocks, maybe he is putting a set of those things on there. I will keep everybody updated. Oh, thanks so much for the quick and helpful responses guys.
Title: Re: High Rear Ride height, HELP!
Post by: 500eguy on 09 March 2007, 05:50 AM
ok, today after paying $508.00 in a repair bill...the car is fixed. It has a normal ride height now, not to mention it handles great! before it was very sketchy when you would take a corner, esp a fast one! the problem was Heavy duty springs and shocks. They were put in the car, i guess to stop it from bottoming out when a load was in it. So next stop is the body shop!
Title: Re: High Rear Ride height, HELP!
Post by: oscar on 09 March 2007, 06:25 AM
Great to hear!   :)

The bill sounds reasonable too yeah?
Title: Re: High Rear Ride height, HELP!
Post by: s class on 09 March 2007, 06:36 AM
Johhny B,

Thanks for the feedback.  Its a pleasure trying to help guys, and always enjoyable to get happy feedback.
Title: Re: High Rear Ride height, HELP!
Post by: 500eguy on 10 March 2007, 12:46 AM
Gosh, the car really is handling like it should, he put good used springs in the car and new shocks.... goes to paint on Tuesday!:)
Title: Re: High Rear Ride height, HELP!
Post by: 500eguy on 10 March 2007, 08:38 PM
the same black that is on the car, i just need to take some rust out of the car and fix some dents and things of that nature.... that is pretty much the only thing that is letting the car down.