dieseldog

Working on a 1991 190E 2.6. .. 155K miles ALL stock. Posting the VIN as it may help with my issues: WDBDA29DXMF747008

I was replacing my lower control arms recently due to blown ball joints. one of my front springs was a little (or more than a little) rusty and broke when it flexed while I was extracting it. I was doing control arms and steering rods so I figured I'd do a pair of springs now too... since one was broken. When I pulled the original springs there were no spacers on top of them.

All over ebay, amazon etc are Lesjofors springs.. I bought these:
ebay spring set

The description states: fits all 201 2.3 2.5D 2.6 etc. The box states OEM number 2013212104. they had a static height and # of coils identical to the originals... so I put them in and got this:




COMPLETE collapse of coils from the weight of the car... no where NEAR the required spring rate.

I found one other part number in another ebay sale site: Second set of ebay springs 2013212204. Also states fits ALL 190E 2.3 2.5, 2.6 etc. I don't see how this is really possible. I would think MB had different spring rates for different engines/ weights. I googled for a good bit last night trying to find the spring part numbers for the various models without success. My questions:

How do i determine what part number spring belongs in this car?
Has anyone used LesJofers springs in a 2.6 with success? Which ones did you buy?
How many front spring variations are there for the 201 chassis.. is there a list somewhere?

Thanks everyone.

dieseldog

mystery solved.. I hope this helps someone else!