1998 T210 brake- and suspension-pipe corrosion

[ennio]

at M-B dealer service this week, have been told my 1998 T210 has heavy corrosion to self-levelling suspension-pipes and some corrosion to rear brake-pipes.

this sounds like a design-fault: ferrous metal under the car which the service schedule does not maintain (Steve at independent SP Autos in Stockport tells me that in the past the M-B practice was to wire-brush and grease, but no longer).

anyone tried a warranty claim for repair/replacement, or have any advice?

thanks
ennio

 

[Richard Murray]

Corroded Pipes

Isn't it just par for the course? The car is 7 years old, and under normal driving conditions the pipes will be subjected to road salt, grit, water and a number of other pollutants. From time to time the pipes may need to be replaced, depending on the extent of the deterioration. Not sure if there is any way around this - unless you Wax-oil from new.

Richard

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

I'm afraid its a merc trait that at some point the self levelling suspension pipes will require replacement. I ran a 124 300TE for 12 years and had to replace the pipes when the car was about 14 yrs old, which I thought was quite good. It sounds as though you have been a bit unlucky having to replace them after seven years, but so much depends on the conditions the car is used in (how much salt it sees and there may have been accidental damage).

The pipe mounting points to the floor pan are the usual point at which they corrode and leak and a little grease or occasional waxoil will prevent this.

Unfotunately not many garages do this preventitive maintenance any more. I usually tell my garage to do a light oil spray under the car every year which is why mine probably lasted so long.

Once replaced you can make sure some sort of anti-rust maintenance is carried out.

Do make sure the job is done properly the system runs at very high pressure.

Hope this helps!

Malcolm

 

[Bolide]

Pipe corrosion

That's a useful heads-up from the dealer as corroded brake pipes are an MOT fail

Many of the MOT fails I've seen in the last 2 years on local cars have been corroded rear brake pipes. Good MOT testers are red-hot on these for obvious reasons - possible instantaneous brake failure being just one

I live by the coast and suspect the problem's worse here because of the salt


Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[ennio]

thanks for you replies.

Indie-specialist favours fitting fabricated copper replacement pipes as these will not be affected by salt, road dirt, et cetera.

Hence suspiscion about poor design (or poor design of service-schedule given ferrous pipes).

 

[maddog]

thanks for you replies.

Indie-specialist favours fitting fabricated copper replacement pipes as these will not be affected by salt, road dirt, et cetera.

Hence suspiscion about poor design (or poor design of service-schedule given ferrous pipes).

brake pipes are traditionally steel not copper so its the industry standard

 

[clive williams]

thanks for you replies.

Indie-specialist favours fitting fabricated copper replacement pipes as these will not be affected by salt, road dirt, et cetera.

Hence suspiscion about poor design (or poor design of service-schedule given ferrous pipes).

I always fit copper/nickel replacement pipes as the pure copper pipes are affected by road salt more than Cu/Ni but they are both much superior to steel pipes (which all manufacturers fit) for corrosion, Cu pipes are easier to bend than Cu/Ni and are probably favoured for that reason (they are also a little bit cheaper!) The burst strength is also slightly lower but that should not worry you as you are unlikely to get close to the limit.

Clive

500E
E320CDIT210