MattZardeskas

I just picked up a 1995 e320 wagon and love it. BUT the rear Merc shocks with the auto level have been taken out and replaced with aftermarket shocks. The car rides fine with only 1-2 people in it but will bottom out over speed bumps when it has a full load. It appears that the factory springs were not upgraded.

I would like to get the original load leveling suspension back in the car ASAP. The lines for the load leveling system are blanked off in place so I thought I would find a set of the used Merc load leveling shocks and install them.

Can anyone provide me with a procedure on how to bleed out the load leveling system? (I did not find one using the search function) Any advice for trouble shooting would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks

Matt

renault12ts

It's self bleeding.

MattZardeskas

Thanks, have never had a self bleeding hydraulic system before.

Looking forward to hooking the leveling rams and see what happens when I start it up.

MattZardeskas

What is the correct part number for the rams in the rear of a 1995 e320 wagon?

I ordered a set of used (ebay) and was told that part number 124 320 25 13 with a big number 8 on the side would work. I have the car up on jacks pulled out the stupid aftermarket shocks then found out that the new ones did not fit. They are about 50mm too wide to get in the rear lower control arm. I could grind them down to fit but it's a 400 dollar one way modification.

matt72

nothing will happen when you start it up unless you have a bit of weight in the back,the spring holds the car at thenright level,empty.

MattZardeskas

There are no rams currently installed, so any weight makes it bottom out. A previous owner had removed the rams and installed some junk shocks.

MattZardeskas

Checked with Mercedes and the rams I have should work but it looks like the clown who put in the aftermarket shocks deformed the control arms by over tightning them. Time to fix or replace the control arms.

ds190

And, there is a bleed screw on the leveling valve by the rear axle.

ds190

No, the springs AND the pressure in the hydraulic struts holds the back end level. Springs alone do not hold up the weight of the back, which is why there is NO MB shock absorber (meaning non SLS equipment) to replace the strut. ALL wagons came with SLS.

Pressure is added to the struts to level the back when weight is added, and released when the added weight is removed.

ds190

That is the correct part number. The base of the hydraulic strut is wider than the shock absorber on an E class sedan or coupe, so the PO would have deformed the spring link when over tightening a shock installed there. You should try to bend it wider for the strut to fit, but a new spring link is not that expensive.

You might check out benzworld dot org or peachparts dot com, as there are many folks posting about wagon rear suspension and SLS issues. The factory service manual is also available at benzworld in a DIY sticky.

MattZardeskas

I have the new(used) struts back in and the car rides level and no longer bottoms out but is very stiff in the rear. I noticed a kink in the lines connecting the struts to the SLS. Now I need to source new lines and see how it rides. If no improvement then next step after that is the accumulators.

Anyone have a source for the replacement hydraulic lines?

MattZardeskas

I sourced and installed the rear struts/rams and the rear leveling seems to be working well, but the ride is still very harsh. Bumps on the rear are hard and hunt(don't dampen).

Now what? Accumulators?

renault12ts

Yes.

matt72

i would disconnect the adjuster on the self levelling and manually move it up and down,if the car moves up and down evenly and fast i would think the accumalators are ok. i would suspect the rams on the shock are slightly bent if the car moves up and down ok doing the manual adjustment

MattZardeskas

If the leveling system works when I put 4 kids and a dog in the back. It holds position then the car sits.

Why would you think the rams?

matt72

like i said i would get underneath it and undo the self level linkage at the valve and move it up and down to see if the car moves all the way up and down.
The ride is quite harsh/hard when the cars are empty but with some weight in the back it should feel softer,they are designed to carry some weight

renault12ts

They are also designed to be very comfortable when only the driver is in the car. If it feels harsh...then something isn't right.

matt72

maybe mines not right either,it seems most of us have hard riding rears though,even with spheres replaced