HERBIEMERCMAN
Senior Member
- Joined
- Dec 15, 2008
- Messages
- 1,407
- Reaction score
- 40
- Location
- PRESTON, LANCS.
- Your Mercedes
- 97. E300.TD. 7 SEAT.ELEGANCE. EST.TOYOTA SUPRA MK4. RS. VAUX. CORSA.GLS AUTO. SPORT.
hi everyone, many club members will be aware of the nightmare situation i have had with the hydraulic self levelling suspension not working on my 1997. e300. td. 7 seat. est. car. the problem started when i sent the car in to my local garage to have a rear brake pipe replaced. the garage owner is a friend of mine, unfortunately he allowed one of his inexperienced fitters to do the job, he eroneously mistook all the 6mm bundy sls (self lev syst) pipes for brake pipes and removed them, folded them up and binned them. mercedes do not supply these pipes so they re-piped the system using 6 mm copper pipe which i provided including all the couplings and hydr oil. somhow all this had become my problem. the copper pipes failed due to leaks caused by differential expansion as the high pressure sls generates heat when the car is fully loaded. so i had to source several lengths of 6mm bundy tube, when they arrived at my local garage they sent them away saying they did not know what they were for. they started to fit the new bundy pipes but then said that their 6mm flaring tool was missing, so i had to find one. they returned the car this time with no oil leaks, but little did i know what i know now 18 months later, big time frustration. i again went to my local garage and said the self lev susp was not working and the ride was very bumpy. from the info kindly provided by members of this club i asked them could the pipes be wrong, i got an emphatic no way.they said we will fit new spheres, this cost £312. and the past pipe etc, oil i had now forked out £485. they had the car for a week it was returned with the slv still not working and the ride still bumpy. it was returned for a further week and at the end a new tandem pump was reccomended at £325. they then said bring it in for a final check prior to ordering the new pump, after a week they had done nothing so my wife took the car away. i cannot say what she said as the club does not allow bad language. my brothers have mercs so they reccomended a good "inde" leon thornley, thornley motors, walton-le-dale, preston pr5 4jn. tel: 01772881882. mob: 07985424930. this guy has 12 yrs. merc. exp. he really knows his stuff, electrics and mechanics, he was like a "breath of fresh air". he repoted that the sls pipes were incorrectly connected and were rough, the tandem pump needed a new pressure flow flex pipe ( £60 from mb germany),and the pipe configuration at the rear axle would not allow adjustments to the slv valve etc. labour £171 and vat £35, tot. £265. he also does mot's. so a brake pipe cost me £750. but i learned a lot and it's a true saying "horses for cources". herbiemercman.
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