W211, common rear suspension faults please.

G-a-r-y

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My W211 320cdi Estate now drives perfectly.
The only problem I have is with the rear suspension, there are no knocks or bangs, it's just when I hit pot holes or very rough roads the car seems to jump side ways.

What should I look for first?
 

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Sub frame mountings is one, the front 2
 

Corned

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I think it's a trait rather than a problem.
 

mej

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This is remarkable. My S211 does the same thing, but only on 2 bends, one down the road from me in UK, usually taken at 50mph ish, the other in France taken at around 30mph ish. I have travelled both roads for over 26 and over 10 years respectively in a variety of cars, pretty much all MBs, without this extreme behaviour. And, of course, when the 'too clever for its own good' computer realises that perfect contact a been lost it cuts the power, which further disturbs the handling and the line you've taken. I currently also drive both roads in a variety of MBs, from a W126 through various W124s to SWMBO's A class; only the S211 overreacts in this way.
 

television

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Could the rear tyres be too hard, particularly as this car is used for towing. this can cause the rear top hop
 

y13pmc

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hi yes i have same problem had it all checked out yesterday as i also have an irritating
knock on the rear indy checked bushes /mounts shockers new one fitted last week /anti roll/exhaust /could not find anything emptied boot still no joy (buy some ear plugs he said)
pete
 

_Taz_

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my S211 sometimes shows that same jitteryness, on a certain road home, there are lots of sunken manhole covers...

as you go along, you can feel the rear of the car "skip" as if the shockers are too slow to respond....

but then again, I do ride on 19's, so that probably has a lot to do with it...

but it's very odd, as my A6 estate doesn't behave in this way, saying that though the 4x4 system drives totally differently..

my mind is at rest, as others seem to have the same "trait"....

probably not enough weight over the rear axles probably !
 
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G-a-r-y

G-a-r-y

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I took TV's advice and checked my tyre pressures, ,the fronts were 37 and rears 40.5 psi
(it must be the heat)?
They were set to 30 and 37 a month or so ago prior to a long journey around France and have not been touched since.
 

AlastairD

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I had the same thing, new rear shocks sorted it. 120 quid each from merc and fitted them myself on the drive. Diagnosis was easy though as they were leaking.

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television

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Without the caravan on I would never go over 32-33, the ride is just too hard
 
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G-a-r-y

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Without the caravan on I would never go over 32-33, the ride is just too hard

Caravan nose weight is only 80-100kgs, that's one fat person in the back.
 

Ricardo_e220

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I think even 37 is too much in the back. Mine was set to the full car weight for quite a while ( can't remember but about this) and with mainly myself in the car has also worn the middle out of the tyres, indicating they are over inflated. Costco put some new Michelin on recently and set them to 29 front and 30 rear and it seems more comfortable/settled on less smooth roads.

I wasn't aware that there were any shockers on an s211 I thought it was all airbags?
 

television

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My SL had tyre pressures of up to 37 for the rear loaded, but I could never put that much in there and I ran it 32 all round, I do the same with my CL500.

You can always see how you are doing when the tyres are ½ way through their life, just measure the out sides, then the inside and you can then adjust the pressure for even wear across the whole tread.
 

Corned

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The book states that the S211 full load pressure is 45psi. That's going some.

I find 35 is plenty for average use and some hefty load lugging for my business. What anyone would need/want 45 for is anyone's guess.
 
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television

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What anyone would need/want 45 for is anyone's guess.

A husband and wife plus 3 kids who cannot stop putting food in their mouths :rolleyes:
 

AlastairD

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I wasn't aware that there were any shockers on an s211 I thought it was all airbags?

The airbags replace the springs, shocks are still required.

The shock now comes without the small cylinder on the side, this did confuse myself and Mr merc spares as I thought I had the wrong parts.

One had been replaced before I had the car, it had only done 70k then so I guess this is a common fault!
 

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mej

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Are not the shocks - item 40? the replacements for the old hydraulc SLS ram on earlier models?

What anyone would need/want 45 for is anyone's guess.

Hypermiling I would suggest. Tried it and logged no discernable improvement in consumption.
 

Pathfinder

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Rear tyres will start going bald in the centre in no time at those sort of pressures.
 

AlastairD

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Are not the shocks - item 40? the replacements for the old hydraulc SLS ram on earlier models?

Standard setup is self leveling, I think 40 is Airmatic.
 
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Burtie1967

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If any body does find the answer to the original question I wouldn't mind a bit of info my merc tends to rock to the side when it changes up gear now and again any help would be appreciated
 


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