W116 6.9 and W126 HPF accumulators available from Mercedes Benz again

[andrewk]

Hello all,

I have some good news to share. The hydraulic pressure accumulators which suit the W116 and W126 HPF system - and have been unavailable for some time as genuine parts, are now available for purchase again.
Part numbers for these units:
A1263200715 (front and system)
A1263201315 (rear)

I visited Classic Center in California last Friday and they advised that new stock is available and can be ordered. Previously, the stock was held for internal use only due to lack of new production and stock in Germany.

I purchased a full set for my 6.9 which is a big relief, given that the Febi parts are not available here in Australia any more - and I bought and used the last two Febi rear accumulators available here (with 2019 date code).

The accumulators are IATA regulated for air cargo due to their Nitrogen pressurisation and are classified as dangerous goods (UN 3164). So, this presents a problem if you need air freight - but European and North American customers will not have an issue with ground freight.
It is probably worthwhile to have a spare of each type if you have a 6.9, and a full set if you could justify the cost. I am relatively new to 6.9 ownership but this definitely seems like a sticking point if the parts become unavailable again.

If you are in Australia, I am working on a solution for the importation of the accumulators are a fair and reasonable price - approximately 40% less than the MB dealer price. If you are interested, please send me a PM so I can figure out if it is a worthwhile endeavour. I run a chemical manufacturing and distribution company so dangerous goods freight is something we are able to arrange though it is definitely more complicated than just sticking things in a box and leaving it with an air courier.

As my accumulator set is still in the USA (and I flew home this morning), I was not able to ascertain the manufacturer of the spheres. They do seem slightly different to the Febi parts in terms of the writing, welding. That may well be speculation but i'll post detailed pictures once my set arrives via UPS in the next few days.

Best,
Andrew

[daantjie]

Good to hear, but I'm scared to ask the cost..?

[andrewk]

$225 USD per piece (I think? don't have the receipt handy right now). I also paid Long Beach sales tax of 10.25% on top of that as I collected them in person.

[daantjie]

Not too rough I guess.  About 8 years ago I bought a full set of 5 Febi brand for $1K CAD landed.

Wonder if they'll ever bring back the struts.  AFAIK Sachs destroyed the tooling for all hydro struts for the 6.9 and later 126 with full hydro.

[Jed]

Great to hear that Mercedes has again made these available.  Tempting to buy a set and shelve it until needed but I don't think these will fair well on the shelf for potentially years? Between the nitrogen charge and the rubber diaphragm I would think these have a shelf life? Any thoughts?

[andrewk]

Not too rough I guess.  About 8 years ago I bought a full set of 5 Febi brand for $1K CAD landed.

Wonder if they'll ever bring back the struts.  AFAIK Sachs destroyed the tooling for all hydro struts for the 6.9 and later 126 with full hydro.

The struts are not especially difficult but I have heard that the tooling was destroyed from multiple, credible sources (e.g. Sachs distributor here in Australia) as well as very many posts on this forum. There are some cast parts which could be re-tooled with relative ease, but there needs to be the demand to warrant production or, reproduction of a part which is not in high demand. Cost would likely be high. The cast parts could also be machined without new tooling but that would increase unit cost. Large manufacturers such as Sachs are unlikely to CNC machine previously cast or forged parts. Maybe we just need an executive there with a 6.9 and seeing this post. I won't be holding my breath.

The level control valves are available - $1700 USD list which is expensive. 126 320 06 58. mboemparts have them on sale for $1259.70 - https://www.mboemparts.com/oem-parts/mercedes-benz-valve-hudraulic-suspensn-1263200658 but again, quite expensive. Rebuilding an existing valve runs $776 (600 Air Suspensions) if machining is required. I have had the issue where a core I purchased was too worn or damaged to repair, but that is rare.

I am very interested in new manufacture of the front mounts 116 327 18 81 (NLA) as a rebuild of existing parts is expensive at 370 Euro per piece.
Also the top donut mount for the rear struts, NLA but seem to be availabe on indent from Niemöller PN 1163271581.
The rear mounts are also NLA but I managed to get some from Niemöller @ 230 Euro per piece (ouch). 116 327 14 81

Top mount rebuild is also available here; https://roland-merz-katalog.de/rubber-bushing-hydropneumatic-spring,-leg-to-frame,-mercedes-a-116-327-18-81,-reconditioning-of-old-parts-in-exchange

[andrewk]

Great to hear that Mercedes has again made these available.  Tempting to buy a set and shelve it until needed but I don't think these will fair well on the shelf for potentially years? Between the nitrogen charge and the rubber diaphragm I would think these have a shelf life? Any thoughts?

The last production date I have found for the Febi parts is 2019. So, I installed 4 year old spheres and they work fine for now. I think the key for longevity will be to ensure the car is driven regularly and there is clean, uncontaminated oil in the system to lower the risk of rubber membrane degradation. I have seen commentary that the MB genuine spheres are more durable and last longer, but I don't have any evidence about that either. Only speculation here. Maybe a more experienced member could provide their experience on this matter.
The good thing is; if you buy the spheres, Mercedes get a sale. That means their reasoning to reproduce the part is validated. The production run might be in the hundreds of units, so any continued sales will be helpful to this part remaining in production. Also, the fact that the failed spheres prevent the car from running. I am not sure what weight is given to that information. I am probably cynical, but a company's motivations are usually making money, everything else is unimportant. Mercedes have pretty good parts availability when compared with other car manufacturers. If the value of the vehicle goes up, that is also another reason to reproduce parts. Is why you can find almost any important part for a Pagoda or 300 SL.

[MM_Starter]

Hello all,

I have some good news to share. The hydraulic pressure accumulators which suit the W116 and W126 HPF system - and have been unavailable for some time as genuine parts, are now available for purchase again.
Part numbers for these units:
A1263200715 (front and system)
A1263201315 (rear)

I visited Classic Center in California last Friday and they advised that new stock is available and can be ordered. Previously, the stock was held for internal use only due to lack of new production and stock in Germany.

I purchased a full set for my 6.9 which is a big relief, given that the Febi parts are not available here in Australia any more - and I bought and used the last two Febi rear accumulators available here (with 2019 date code).

The accumulators are IATA regulated for air cargo due to their Nitrogen pressurisation and are classified as dangerous goods (UN 3164). So, this presents a problem if you need air freight - but European and North American customers will not have an issue with ground freight.
It is probably worthwhile to have a spare of each type if you have a 6.9, and a full set if you could justify the cost. I am relatively new to 6.9 ownership but this definitely seems like a sticking point if the parts become unavailable again.

If you are in Australia, I am working on a solution for the importation of the accumulators are a fair and reasonable price - approximately 40% less than the MB dealer price. If you are interested, please send me a PM so I can figure out if it is a worthwhile endeavour. I run a chemical manufacturing and distribution company so dangerous goods freight is something we are able to arrange though it is definitely more complicated than just sticking things in a box and leaving it with an air courier.

As my accumulator set is still in the USA (and I flew home this morning), I was not able to ascertain the manufacturer of the spheres. They do seem slightly different to the Febi parts in terms of the writing, welding. That may well be speculation but i'll post detailed pictures once my set arrives via UPS in the next few days.

Best,
Andrew

So its possible to order it from the offical website right?

[andrewk]

I order them from Mercedes Classic Center direct, a lot of parts are not available on their web store - and I can't ship to Australia on the web store either.

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