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I was given a E320 Wagon 4Matic with a blown air ride system. Has 180xxx miles on it, the interior is covered with dirt and grease, had to replace the right hand door mirror. But, as horrible as all this sounds, it runs incredible well, has brand new tires on it and is actually kind of fun to drive.
I attempted to substitute the air ride with an inexpensive coil system I found on eBay for $260, finally got it on but the car still rides too low. It sits at least 2 inches lower than the front and looks ridiculous. Also the "too low" warning light is still on and can't figure out how to eliminate but the important thing is the height. If anyone has put one of these on and had the same issue please let me know the resolution.
I have only owned one other MB and it was a 84 diesel that was in mint condition. Unfortunately it wasn't a turbo so it was slow as hell.
Any ideas or questions about my current problem please let me know. I have attached a photo of the car to show how it sits.
Was the coil spring conversion you bought designed specifically for a wagon? The wagon weighs 300 lb more than the sedan, all of which is on the rear axle. If the coil springs aren't specifically designed for a wagon, well there's your problem. Does the car have coil springs in the front? It looks like whoever installed your front struts screwed up the adjustment. The front struts need to be disassembled and adjusted for height.
For for 260 bucks you could have bought a new rear air spring to fix the existing rear air suspension.
Good luck
Here is a picture of what I bought, supposedly for a 05 wagon 4 matic. These are supposed to be for this car. The front springs are original, never been off or adjusted, I only did the back where the air ride was. The guy who had it before me put a hitch on it and was hauling stuff too heavy for the car to handle and eventually blew out the air shocks. I wasn't going to try and rebuild this expensive system since this car isn't really worth a couple thousand dollars, I'm not going to spend over a $1,000 to repair it. Thought this would be a quick and easy fix but it turned out to be really difficult to break all the bolts loose, get it on, and then find out it isn't even right. Of course they say they will give me my money back if I send the product back, but I have to find something to replace it and do the job all over again... no fun.
If you click through to the description it says the item fits both sedan and wagon.
That's not physically possible because the rear end of the wagon is 300lbs heavier than the sedan. These springs are clearly designed for a sedan. The wagon requires stronger springs. The shock absorber length looks ok for wagon. Find a more reputable kit like Arnott or Strutmaster with springs specifically designed for a wagon.
As for your front suspension, someone at some point replaced the front coil over shocks and the spring perches need to be readjusted back down. The springs aren't the problem, it's the way they're adjusted on the shocks. The way your car sits right now, it's not safe to drive.
I contacted the company and told them that there is no way the springs can be for both the sedan and the wagon and to send me the correct springs... who knows what they will say. They don't really seem to know anything about their product, probably just some middle man making some money.
I don't know anything about the front. If you can tell me or direct me to something that shows me how to adjust them that would be great. Once again, try to do everything myself, but I am that way with all my cars. It was 3700 miles past service, so I changed the oil and air and cabin filters. I think if I could get this suspension figured out it and clean up the inside, it could me a nice ride for a while. I lucked out on replacing the right side door mirror (it was knocked off), found a white one on eBay for $75.
You'll need to remove then disassbled the front coil overs with spring compressors. Once the springs are off, remove the bottom spring perch (slides up) and you'll find grooves cut into the shock body. In one of those grooves there's a ring. Move that ring down a few notches. Somewhere in the middle is a good bet as pictured below but it might take a few tries. Sachs and Bilstein replacement shocks come with the ring in the all the way up position. A lot of mechanics completely ignore the instructions that cone with the shock and have no idea the adjustable ring is there because it's hidden behind the lower spring perch. https://www.benzworld.org/threads/lo...hocks.3029894/
Thanks for the advice. Can you see where the ring is located by just looking at it while it is on the car? Not looking forward to this job, hate working with springs. Probably save it for when I get the right rear spring and just do it all at once. I appreciate all the info.
Thanks for the advice. Can you see where the ring is located by just looking at it while it is on the car? Not looking forward to this job, hate working with springs. Probably save it for when I get the right rear spring and just do it all at once. I appreciate all the info.
No, it's hidden underneath the lower spring perch. The whole thing has to come apart.
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