1985 300TD Wagon rear suspension (Full Version)

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1985 300TD Wagon rear suspension

  

pmiston -> 1985 300TD Wagon rear suspension (2/8/2008 7:28:06 PM)

I just purchased a 1985 300TD Wagon this afternoon....I am a little over my head with this one as i am now seeing things under the hood that i have never seen before. So I ask that you impart some of your knowledge.

the car does not sit too low but sits lower than I think Mr Benz thought it should

I see a reservoir with a green tag on the left front of the engine compartment...after wiping off the grim I read the green tag and it says hydrolic fluid...this puzzles me because I asked the man I bought the car from if it had a rear leveling hydrolic system...he told me NO NO nien..I believed him because he owned the car since new and was a German, and I figured Germans know German cars.. but at 78 years of age...I am sure he forgot more than I will ever know! LOL....So it appears I have some sort of hydrolic leveling system on this car after all

Question

What should I check for to determine what I in fact have and if it is working. The engine needs a bath and i plan to steam clean it tomorrow...so i will have a better look see at it.

If the system is bad...can it be fixed at a reasonable price and if not is there a mod that can be done such as air shocks or a regular analog suspension system to replace it

More question at day break!!! and thanks for any advice

  
ForcedInduction -> RE: 1985 300TD Wagon rear suspension (2/9/2008 2:38:34 AM)

Suspension conversions usually fail to impress because the TD has much more weight hanging out further back than the sedan and the TD has much higher cargo capacity than the sedan. Putting a load in the back has more leverage against the suspension than it does in a sedan. You wouldn't be able to put even half the cargo in the back of a converted TD without it sagging. Several people have tried to delete the SLS system and the all of those that have reported back haven't been happy with the results.

Preventive maintenance is the key to long SLS life and low repair bills. Use only the correct Febi/MB suspension oil, never let it run low on oil, change the fluid and filter every two years or 30,000miles, fix leaks asap, don't overload it (1,100lbs is the load limit) and replace the accumulators in pairs if it has a very hard or very soft ride.

pmiston -> RE: 1985 300TD Wagon rear suspension (2/9/2008 6:51:55 AM)

Thank you for the info..I have a question about "ALDA/EGR removed and by-pass oil filter" could you elaborate on why you have done this and the benefits. Egr I understand.

ForcedInduction -> RE: 1985 300TD Wagon rear suspension (2/9/2008 12:51:09 PM)

Removing the EGR means the engine breathes only clean air uncontaminated by soot and oxygen poor exhaust.
Removing the ALDA makes the pump run as if the engine is at full boost all the time. Since I have a VNT turbo I have much more air available at a lower RPM range than with a normal turbo, the ALDA is pretty much useless to me. Removing it removes the "launch" as boost builds which makes acceleration much more smooth.

The stock oil filter is junk. The built-in bypass section has cotton gin waste as its filtering medium and is useless at best.
Jump to post #91 in the linked thread. http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=104768
It is severely precontaminated from the factory and is loosely packed. This increases the risk of debris entering the engine rather than being filtered out and allows oil to form channels through the cotton completely defeating the reason for its existence.
The bypass filter I added is an Amsoil EaBP-90 which filters down to about 1micron. It does not remove soot completely but it keeps contaminates under control and allows me to safely extend my oil change interval.

I use the WIX primary oil filter which does not have a bypass section like the rest of the stock filters do. It makes oil flow into the engine more reliable, has a larger filtering capacity and is not contaminated before it is installed.

mr2by4 -> RE: 1985 300TD Wagon rear suspension (5/30/2008 7:23:55 AM)

I have a wagon and have converted the rear.
I am VERY happy with the results.
I think that this is a like a knee or hip replacement. It may not be as good as the original was supposed to be, but is MUCH better than the non-working original.
My problem was trying to find reasonable sources for parts and people knowledgable on how to diagnose and repair that system. If yours is not working and you just start swapping parts you can spend well over $1k and not fix it. The conversion was done and running for about the cost of one SLS rear shock.
I have the Mercedes Source conversion and with light loads, passengers or just the driver I can report that it drives exceptionally well, handling is vastly improved as is ride quality over my failing SDLS. I have not tried to haul heavy loads or a trailer, but sicne the car is only rated to 1050 lbs capacity stock, I think that I will be OK.

  

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