260E handling/ride comfort - Crash/bang-is it me or...?

[G4VSQ]

I love my 260E (I must do, I've spent so much on it so far...) But what is getting on my w*ck is the quality of its ride. On anything but the nicest, smoothest, unrutted surface it spends most of its time going "bang, crash, thump" into every small road imperfection. This is a MERCEDES after all, so I had expected a smooth, elegant ride. What I have is a ride rather like my wife's Nissan Micra!

OK, it could be that the front shock absorbers need replacing. All the shocks pass the bounce test, they aren't leaking etc. I had new springs last week-didn't make any difference as far as i could tell.

So is it me? Did I expect too much? Any views? And should I replace the front shocks with Boges or Bilsteins?

...

 

[dave elcome]

260E handling/ride comfort

I put a similar question some months ago, the link below will give you the answers i got

http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/cgi-bin/ikonboard/topic.cgi?forum=2&topic=350

In the end i changed the car for a 300TE with lower mileage, the new one has a much smoother ride, obviously the old one needed new shocks.

 

[DougE280]

260E handling/ride comfort

Don't underestimate the effect of worn dampers, as well as the ride going off, the handling in extreme/emergency situations could give you a very nasty shock.

My E280 was totally transformed by fitting new front shock-absorbers. The ride was made more comfortable and there was a real noticeable sharpening up of the handling.
At 72k miles, the car had just passed an MOT test and the "bounce test" seemed to indicate no problem. However the ride was getting worse by the week and happily, these were the first (and only) part I have had to replace to return my car to how I first remember it being.

I fitted Bilsteins @ £42 each (plus VAT) from Eurocarparts and it took about an hour per side - all new bolts and nuts are supplied and if you know what your doing, it's not even necessary to use spring compressors.

The best £100 spent on the car?     Possibly?

 

[Andy]

260E handling/ride comfort

Hi all

On 124's and 201's the bounce test is a waste of time. Unless the fluid as leaked out it will pass. Any vehicle which has covered in excess of 80k and definately over 100k will need a set of shock absorbers.

Fit Bilsteins! Original equipment and I never have problems with them.

You mentioned replacing the springs. Unless the springs are broken or the vehicle is sitting low. The shockers are always the first thing to go for. And never fit non genuine springs otherwise you will have to replace them again!!!


Regards

Andy @ www.mercedesservicing.com

 

[G4VSQ]

260E handling/ride comfort

Thanks Andy.

I wonder why you recommend Bilsteins? I was told that Boge are the original fitment by German and Swedish (I will still be buying the Bilsteins!)

I replaced the front springs as the nearside one had a piece broken about 30cms from the end. I used genuine MB springs.

The thing that still worries me is that the new shocks will help stability, but the ride QUALITY will still be harsh, with all the bump, thump and crash of before. The ride quality is certainly better when the car is fully loaded with people and luggage, so this implies to me that the suspension is too hard. Were this series of cars really built with hard suspension or is it just the roads around Berkshire?!

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to reply.

 

[Andy]

260E handling/ride comfort

Hi

Bilsteins are the original equipment. Boge are as well, but Bilsteins are tried and tested. I have never yet had a problem with them. I would try the pot holes again after you fitted them. If the shockers are worn and soft. They will contribute to the knocking\crashing that you are complaining about. The suspension is being allowed to move too quickly causing the crashing and it is not being damped out by the shockers.

Hope they cure your problem.

Regards

Andy @ www.mercedesservicing.com

 

[G4VSQ]

260E handling/ride comfort

An update which might be of interest to anyone considering replacing their shocks-DO IT!

I replaced the front shock absorbers last week with a pair of Bilsteins from EuroCarParts (£40 plus VAT each).

The car's ride is definitely improved now, with the front feeling "softer" and less "lively", and it tends now to absorb the smaller bumps. It DOES still crash and bang into the larger road irregularities though, and the car
tends to "pitch" or "corkscrew" from side to side quite a lot. I have bought a pair of Bilsteins to replace the rear shock absorbers now as well, although the ones fitted at present seem to be OK, but you really can't tell. I expect replacement will make a difference.

The excessive pitching may well be knackered rear anti-roll bar bushes (I've done the front bar). I have also started to notice that the steering now seems to be less than precise, with the odd occasion where the car feels like the front is "wiggling" and it then seems intent on going not quite where I want it to! So there's probably a bad steering joint somewhere as
well...it never ends, and I thought these were meant to be well-made cars!!!

I'm still glad I bought it though. At the moment....

 

[dave elcome]

260E handling/ride comfort

They are well made cars!! i see from another of your posts that your vehicle has covered 151k........ask yourself if a Ford would still be running at all, let alone this well at the same mileage??

 

[Andy]

260E handling/ride comfort

Hi all,

Its interesting to note G4SVQ remarks about his vehicle. The fact is because the vehicle is made so well that you can put the vehicle back into near new condition by fitting worn out parts. Most  of you reading this will know from experience that you can't "polish a turd". So my meaning is most vehicles when they have covered a high millage. No matter how much money you throw at them they just never drive the way you expect. Not so with MB. Well so long at its not be to badly abused in the first place. The fact is that most of us on this site run older MB's. Why? Because they still give very good value for money, when compared with other vehicles out there for the money.

Where a lot of my customers go wrong is that they expect there older vehicle needs nothing doing. But like anything else parts where out like any other vehicle. Fact of life I am afraid.


Regards

Andy @ mercedesservicing.com

 

[G4VSQ]

260E handling/ride comfort

Hi all,

I'm not quite sure exactly what Andy was getting at, but I do agree with some of what he wrote: even though it's a Mercedes, it's still a machine like any other and it will wear out eventually. I'm certainly NOT into "turd polishing" (lovely phrase!) and my car is basically OK FOR ITS AGE AND MILEAGE.

Now this doesn't mean that I won't be spending what is required to put it into both safe (the most important initial requirement) and then nearly "good-as-new condition. It is certainly NOT a cheap route, but as I have posted before, I have wanted this particular class of Mercedes for many years and when I found one for £1, 600 with a generally excellent body and repairable innards, I went for it. I KNEW I would probably have to spend much more than I paid for the car to get it into great shape.

My comments about Mercedes being well made was somewhat tongue in cheek. Yes, I know they are well made, but my earlier remark about all machines wearing out still applies. I would, however, expect Mercedes parts to wear rather more slowly and on the whole they do. This car has a full main dealer service history, so you would expect the wear process to be slower still. But the more I look into the car, the more problems I find, although some of them are, I admit, only problems because I have very high standards-yes, I am a boring perfectionist, a very hard thing to achieve with an ageing machine.

To finish this ramble, I had the tracking done yesterday...it has improved the feel of the car immensely. Apparently when the tracking was done last time when the new tyres were fitted, the fitter had set all the settings wrong! This has now been corrected and I will visit the fitter today to get my money back!!