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Replacing upper strut bushes on rear suspension 280SE

Started by NGK, 21 October 2022, 12:41 AM

NGK

Hi all,
I have the rear struts with SLS on my 1979 280SE and want to replace the rubber bushings. I understand that they comprise of two per strut. After pulling out the rear seat I can see one rubber and presume the other is on top of the underneath strut (unseen). It looks to me that the underneath rubber is between the body of the vehicle and the top rubber. What are the steps to replace these? Do I need to remove the strut and oil line, and if so how do I negotiate the oil line issue? There is a bit on the internet about removal of a normal strut (without SLS) but not of the latter. Any advice or procedure would be very much appreciated. Cheers NGK.

daantjie

On the 6.9 at least I found it pretty straightforward but you need to safely jack up and support the rear so the rear axle is unloaded and hanging down.
Personally I would remove the struts completely and do the job on the bench.
This way you can clean and inspect the mount points for dirt and rust.  The cups in the trailing arm are notorious for collecting crud.  There should be a drain hole but usually they get plugged leading to damage to the bottom joint boots.
Daniel
1977 450 SEL 6.9 - Astralsilber

NGK

Thanks Daniel, I guess you mean support the entire axle, having jacks under both sides?
How did you manage the oil issue? Did you empty/bleed the oil from the reserve or from the actual strut line?
Or, somehow lock off the individual strut oil line?

daantjie

#3
Jack rear up by the diff, then place 2x jack stands, 1 on either side at the connection for the rear subframe.  Observe safety precautions of course like chocking front wheels and have redundancy support for your jack stand supports.  Also have level, solid ground.  As you let the jack stands take the weight the rear axle becomes unloaded.
I was not too concerned about oil loss really, just catch the inevitable leaks to reduce overall messiness.  You don't lose that much oil anyway, just top off the reservoir afterwards.  The system self bleeds as it runs.
Daniel
1977 450 SEL 6.9 - Astralsilber

NGK