124 Estate bouncy rear end...

[Chazchuzzlewitt]

I looked at a 124 estate today that had a really bouncy rear suspension, over bumps it was almost comical. I'm guessing that usually means spheres? Rock hard/almost no travel with the engine off. I had a look underneath and the bellows for the struts were ripped (I'm guessing from all the bouncing/too much travel) but no sign of leaks, and plenty of fluid in the reservoir. Pic attached...

 

[Judwin]

I'm new here, with zero experiance on Mercs, but...

....on every car I've ever owned that'll be a dead strut/shock/damper (whatever you want to call it). It can be quite dangerous because if there is any imbalance in rotating parts (wheels, tyres etc) then the vibrations caused can build up at certain frequencies causing the rear wheel to literally bounce up and down as you're driving along.

Rear dampers are usually quite easy to replace - one bolt at the top, and other at the bottom and it'll fall out (perhaps with the assistance of a torque intensifier) - although as I say I've zero time on Mercs.

 

[V6Matty]

I looked at a 124 estate today that had a really bouncy rear suspension, over bumps it was almost comical. I'm guessing that usually means spheres? Rock hard/almost no travel with the engine off. I had a look underneath and the bellows for the struts were ripped (I'm guessing from all the bouncing/too much travel) but no sign of leaks, and plenty of fluid in the reservoir. Pic attached...




View attachment 71457

Nearly always the sphere’s on these that give the bouncy ride, pretty simple to replace if you have a lift, they can be done on axle stands but it’s not really idea and doesn’t leave much room to get things in and out