soft suspension - springs or shocks ?

brens-e200

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1990 230E W124, 1992 220ce
hi

I have noticed lately that my 1999 E240 (w210) elegance suspension seems to be rather soft and the car wanders on the road all .

The suspension is very easily pressed down on all 4 corners and bounds back to level after about 2 bounces

Early last year i got all 4 shocks replaced ( bought from GSF ) and there was an improvement so I'am just wondering

1. is there a definitive test to determine if its the shock or spring that require replacement.

2 looking at maybe firming up the ride a little ( not to avantgarde level) what combination of shocks/springs would be recommended ?

thanks in advance

brendan
 

brandwooddixon

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Elegance have the softest suspension of all models for you car's age.

You'd normally expect shocks to last 50k miles plus. MB ones usually last 90k miles.

I think 1.5 bounces is the usual for good shocks, when doing the bounce test.

There are many things that can make the car wander.

On a car this age I would check for broken springs (the last few inches of the bottom coil normally break off and can be hard to spot - look -feel for a sharp non-flat edge).

Also check the bushes of the rear subframe (see the DIY section). These have a big effect on the car wandering, cornering behaviour etc. If you car pulls slightly one way when accelerating in a straight line and then pulls back the other way when you remove your foot from the accelerator then they've definitely gone.

I've heard of people replacing shocks and springs with Bilstein sets. I think one of the members here used the B12 to good effect, but it's a pricey route.
 

television

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I would say that 2 bounces is too much and there should be almost nothing. Poor shocks do affect the stability of the car, it can dip with a bad road surface and wander or change coarse
 
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brens-e200

brens-e200

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many thanks for the help

hi brandwooddixon & televsion

thanks for the advice . i will check the condition of the springs over the weekend and i have not noticed any pull when taking off/slowing down but will try that this morning.

admittedly i replaced the MB shocks with ones from GSF ( the highest spec ones they had ) when the car had 100k miles on it without replacing the springs.

From going through the service history i don't find any reference to springs been replaced , could I now be looking at aged springs with 118k on the clock ?

thanks once again

brendan
 
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brens-e200

brens-e200

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1990 230E W124, 1992 220ce
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quick update

hi brandwooddixon

just to let you know that there is no pull either coming on or off the accelerator as I tested it numerous times today.

thanks for the help

brendan
 

wireman

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Shock absorbers, perhaps the one on the steering.
 

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