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Last night as I was picking up ROwife at the airport I noticed the rear tires seemed awfully intimate with the fenders. Headlights seem aimed kind of high as well. The car has 171,000+ miles on it, drives just fine.
Looked underneath and nothing is obviously broken. Collective thoughts on wtf is going on or is this normal ride height? If they were airmatic springs I'd be looking for a leak or such, but it's just a coil spring suspension. Shot springs?
The usual suspects would be too much junk in the trunk and worn/broken coil springs. There's several videos on replacing the springs and having a break is very common.
Two busted springs. Don't know as I've ever had a broken spring on any of my cars in my 50+ years here, but so it goes.
FCP euro offers 3 different part numbers with 3 different colored band codes on each spring. Anybody know what the differences are between P/N 2113240504, 2113240604, and 2113240704 besides price? The ...-604 is on clearance. Stock suspension, 171K+ miles on the car.
Two busted springs. Don't know as I've ever had a broken spring on any of my cars in my 50+ years here, but so it goes.
FCP euro offers 3 different part numbers with 3 different colored band codes on each spring. Anybody know what the differences are between P/N 2113240504, 2113240604, and 2113240704 besides price? The ...-604 is on clearance. Stock suspension, 171K+ miles on the car.
You have to look at the color code on your current springs. I think in theory you should also be able to put in your vin into EPC and it should tell you the part number for the springs. There was probably sport and luxury and maybe there's a difference between 4matic and rwd.
Changed the springs in about 4 hours today taking my time and making sure it was clean and right. Both left and right rear springs were broken about 3" from the bottom end of the coil. I followed the instructions found on Pelicanparts.com website for swapping rear coil springs, and the only things I'd add to that tutorial is to pull the tailpipes out of the way and use plenty of PB Blaster. Pulling the muffler and pipe hangers (the last two on each side) allowed things to be moved around to access the rear control arm inner bolts (toe in adjusters) easily.
The car sits at the correct height now, and all it needs is an alignment.
Last edited by rapidoxidation; 04-17-2021 at 11:07 PM.
And now the front springs are done. My MIL has been using the car for the last couple of weeks, and I happened to look over at it a couple days ago... "boy that front end looks low"... bounce on the shocks: Bouncy like a rubber ball. Took the front passenger side wheel off, and the spring is just resting there, held only by the strut shock.
There's 173K miles on it. I doubt I'm keeping it for a whole lot longer. Gonna put some Unity Struts on it. A pair of them at Summit Racing is about $280, a pair of the identical part is on Amazon for $150. Amazon should be delivering mid week. I'll update as needed.
Finally got the struts delivered yesterday, and easily had them both installed in about an hour (because I had already removed the busted/worn ones). The car sits correctly now, and a spirited run shows that all appears well.
On a more playful note, the car will still happily smoke the tires. I asked it to for the first time since owning it for 7 years, and the diesel complied easily for the 1.5 seconds I wanted it to.
I really like this car, perhaps more than my '13 E350. It's a shame that things are wearing out and becoming not as reliable.
Last night as I was picking up ROwife at the airport I noticed the rear tires seemed awfully intimate with the fenders. Headlights seem aimed kind of high as well. The car has 171,000+ miles on it, drives just fine.
Looked underneath and nothing is obviously broken. Collective thoughts on wtf is going on or is this normal ride height? If they were airmatic springs I'd be looking for a leak or such, but it's just a coil spring suspension. Shot springs?
I have exactly the same problem but no broken springs. 2007 E320S. With no junk in the trunk and the spare removed the ride height at the rear is barely OK. I have ti live with it.
I have exactly the same problem but no broken springs. 2007 E320S. With no junk in the trunk and the spare removed the ride height at the rear is barely OK. I have ti live with it.
You don't have to live with it, you just need to replace the right parts. Things wear out over time. I replace springs all the time and some people think they should last forever. Not around here as there's too many potholes so they really get a workout, I suppose in some areas of the country with smooth roads they can last a lifetime. When they sag, it means it's time to replace the springs. I've put them side by side with new ones afterwards and they're at the same height without weight on them, once there's weight on them, they can't maintain the same height.
Gonna bet the bottom couple or three inches of your springs are broken in the spring saddle, even if you can't see that they are.
Fresh springs brought everything back to normal, and I seem to remember that I replaced the front springs not long after I did the back ones.
I appreciate the comment but the springs passed the UK MOT and are completely corrosion free. They still look like brand new with the black paint and colour code immaculate.
I appreciate the comment but the springs passed the UK MOT and are completely corrosion free. They still look like brand new with the black paint and colour code immaculate.
It doesn't matter if they look brand new or not. They sag with time. I replaced mine and had them next to each other. They looked the same in size with no load, but the new springs brought the height of the car further up.
04-05-2021, 12:04 AM
Is this still running?
