Springs have sprung

[Jack Le'Lanne]

Hi. I hope somebody can put me in the right direction.
I have a W123 240 TD '85.
The previous owner changed the suspension from the self leveling type to Just coil springs and shocks. The rear springs need to be replaced.
I have bought 2 sets of the wrong type already. The ones on it at the moment are 'Kilen --------115 324 2204' (part of the code is worn off) they are about 140mm diameter and 16.5 mm thick. The compressed height at the moment is about 220mm. A
I'd be happy to replace them with the ones that are in it if I could find a match.Any Ideas as to which springs wouild be suitable? I haven't fitted springs before.
Any help would be really appreciated.

J

 

[Bolide]

What makes you think the springs need to be replaced?

You'll need to find the "right" spring for this application. That's not going to be easy unless you can find a spring for a W123 estate without self-levelling

If Mercedes made a W123 estate without self-levelling use parts from that model

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[Jack Le'Lanne]

Thanks for the response.
The suspension is a little lower on one side and the car bottoms out more than it used to. It looks a bit lower all round. Perhaps the springs arn't the right ones but they seemed to work ok up until recently.
The W123 estate didn't come in a dry suspension model as far as I know.
Or did it?
I did get a set of springs for a mid 80's E280 as I was told by a merc mechanic that these would be the most suitable (using trial and error with the 4 different sized buffers to get the height right). These however look too long and too narow to fit the mounts on the car.

 

[Bolide]

IMHO if there wasn't a dry W123 to get parts for you'll struggle to get it to work "right" with steel springs. But I'm sure many will disagree with me

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[Jack Le'Lanne]

Struggle is right. I just though somebody on the Forum would have been down this road before. Might have save me some grief.

 

[Bolide]

The rear of a W124 has self-levelling with small springs to help the self-levelling struts. These springs are not designed to provide a means of suspending the entire mass of the car - the strut is. If you don't use the strut to support the car but use a heavier spring to replace the helper you're moving the load to an area that's not designed to take it

The W123 may be the same. I'd check the spring mounts very carefully for damage

I suggest looking on the various W123 Forums to see what owners suggest

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk