TE: Self Levelling & Central Locking

[AlanWT]

Hello All -

I have seen a locally advertised 300TE; 124,00 miles, 'some' history, £1295.

Phoned the guy, who was upfront and told me that the self levelling rear suspension and central locking didn't work.

Do you think the car would be drivable and MOT'able if the S/L doesn't work (ie, could I use it as it is until I can rustle up the wonga to have it fixed).

Also, I forgot to ask if the doors can still be locked individually even though the central locking doesn't work - does anybody know?

As usual, opinion/advice welcome!

Cheers

Alan

 

[andy_k]

I'd be very doubtful if you'd get it through an MOT with the self levelling suspension not working.

But and this is a very big BUT before you even consider buying it find out what is wrong with the self levelling system. Saying it's expensive to fix is a bit like saying it's not very warm at the North Pole in winter

Rear struts - if they are leaking they need replacing - cost £250 each

Rear spheres - if the suspension is hard and bouncy they need replacing and if they haven't been done before at 124k miles they will be due for replacement - cost £150 the pair (they must be replaced in pairs)

Self levelling unit - if that's the culprit everything else will work it just won't rise under load or correct itself - cost £180

Pump - no pressure anywhere in the system then the pump has probably failed - cost £200

Fluid - bleed and replace - cost £20

On top of those prices you need to add any labour costs. MB quote 5.5 hours to replace the rear spheres so unless you plan on doing the work yourself there's another £500 to add to the bill. I think they reckon on 3.5 hours for the struts adding another £300 but don't quote me on that one .

You can do the work yourself and save money but i would suggest that you try and find out exactly what isn't working then get the price lowered even further.

The central locking isn't as important in itself but and this is another one of those big BUTs if it's vacuum related then it will have an affect on the whole car and will need sorting immediately.

My advice would be to leave the car with it's current owner and buy one that doesn't need a grand or two throwing at it just to get it through an MOT and driveable.

HTH

Andy K

 

[AlanWT]

TE S/l & C/L

Hmmm, thought it was too good to be true. Thanks Andy - appreciate your advice: I think I will follow your suggestion to leave it with it's current owner. If I hadn't read your comments I'd have gone to see it full of determination to drive a hard bargain, then offered full asking price the instant I clapped eyes on it!

Alan

 

[drpoppers]

Can the rear spheres be regassed/recharged? I feel the suspension on my 560sec is a bit harder than it should be. I've had a citroen before and the spheres needed to be regassed to sort this. Fortunately we have a pet mechanic at work who is ex-citroen and is familiar with self levelling suspensions.

 

[andy_k]

by far the most common failure of the spheres is that the diaphram splits which means that no amount of regassing/charging will have any effect.

If they do split, then the only solution is to replace them and the fluid as it will be contaminated due to the nitrogen in the spheres being forced into it - it turns a milky white colour (or at least in my limited experience)

Although very similar to the old Citroen system there are some pretty major differences with the W124 set up - not so sure on the S class cars though.

Andy K

 

[drpoppers]

would this milky white be visible in the reservoir? I've had a look at the fluid and it seems ok. The problem I have is that I'm not 100% sure what a perfect ride would be like although I think it would be smoother than I'm getting. There aren't a lot of 560sec's around my neck of the woods to have a go in.

Also, in the manual it shows a plunger that can adjust the ride height. Is this just a US specific thing as I haven't got one.

I have sorted out the clunking noise I had when going over big bumps. Tightening the spare wheel holder stops this.

DrP