Its time to finally address the awful leak in the mighty Mercedes 560SEL. Monkey Wrench Mike takes a controversial measure and removes the self-leveling suspension. Purists, don’t hate. The time has come!
To get rid of the oil slicks on the driveway, try the following (requires at least 24 hours of dry weather). Sprinkle a liberal quantity of oil dry on the stain(s), enough to fully cover the stain. Leave on for at least 24 hours, then sweep up. I do this all the time at work and my floor has zero oil stains as the oil dry actually sucks up the oil.
Nice job, Mike! This was a common fix for the leveling on my old 1990 750iL. The Pentosin would leak from the myriad of hoses in the leveling system. Sadly, there were many other issues and I had to let that 12 cylinder go. Now, however, I have a pristine 1990 535i - so much easier to work on! :)
these kind of fixes are really satisfying, you get one less thing that can broke and ride quality doesnt suffer at all. also love the interior on your w126!
I have NO complaints about Bilsteins! We have them installed on my Son's 190E and my Daughter's Volvo V70 wagon. I will most likely get them for my Volvo XC90 later on. Best shocks for vintage Euro Cars in my opinion. 😁
Might see if you can get the stuff Randy uses to soak up spilled fluids from concrete? Says it works great! Should have taken Lola with you on the drive to get her opinion on the repair.... Happy Easter!
That car is 'kin' to the S63! Good fix per your usual. DRIVEWAY stains: ARMY Trick: Remove oil/grease from concrete. Get clean SAND and sprinkle over area. Next use a block of wood (2X4, 4X4) and rub/grind sand into concrete stain (or you can use a BRICK). Sand absorbs the stain and you sweep it away and your neighbors love you 'still'! FYI, you can use SPEEDIDRY in place of sand. I like clean Sand! Thanks for another, brother! Sonny
You and me both. Cl500, Mitsubishi 3000 GT vr4, Nissan 350Z, Dodge Dakota 5.9. So much work so little time. O and my Dodge Caravan that has been a work horse bar none.
1:54 you can take pump down and remove the (small piece of drive) and put it back. That will disable the system, and give you easy way to restore someday.
Hi Mike, I did this delete on my 560 as well. The SLS springs are alot softer than non SLS springs. If your rear end sags like mine did next time you're at pickapart grab a pair from a 420 and install them.
Great job Mike. I love your videos so much. I literally wait until bed to watch them, so I can watch them without distraction. Like my night time aperitif so to speak
Happy easter, Mike! Let me tell you one thing: there is nothing that replaces better a fully funcional SLS suspension system. There is certainly conventional shock that fair better in a racetrack environment but the SLS makes the car flow throughout the road with a “floaty” luxurious ride that no conventional or air strut can match! That is what my experience with w126’s, W124’s, W123 and W201’s tells me. The W201 190E Cosworth models were equipped with SLS (only on the back) like in my 2 w123 sedans that have SLS and I can tell you that the just by having SLS on the rear the car has a much more stable ride as opposed to a my W123 240D with pricey Bilsteins shocks.
MWM, nice to see you wrenchin on the old iron again. I still think you should move that BMW (Big Money Waster) to make room for another MB! Stay safe and I hope you got your vaccinations. 👍
Happy Easter! If you think the roads are bad in Oklahoma you need to come visit New Orleans Louisiana and the surrounding areas, I have seen better roads in third world countries than the ones I have to drive here every day.
You should see northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin roads lord they will give your shocks a work out. Got my rear shocks on my 2012 Ford focus replaced not to long after I got it cause I bought it used.
My newly acquired 1994 S500 coupe has a leak in the front and at the rear of the suspension system. I may do this conversion on it too. Thanks for the info.
All mad scientist types have that hair. I changed out the airbags on my 97 Towncar for springs , rides great. Good show ' reminds me not to buy a Mercedes but to each his own right.
THE TWELVE STEPS OF Mercedes-Benz Anonymous 1. We admitted we were powerless over Mercedes-Benz-that our driveway had become unmanageable. 2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. (Power = Life Partner) 3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of our life partner. 4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of our cars and Mercedes-Benz specialized tools. 5. Admitted to the Power greater than ourselves, and to sympathetic buddy the exact amount of money we’ve blown. 6. Were entirely ready to have our life partner remove all these defects of character. 7. Humbly asked him or her to scale down the Mercedes inventory. 8. Made a list of all bank accounts we had harmed, and became willing to make replenish them all. 9. Made direct amends to these bank accounts whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. 10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. 11. Sought through begging on our knees to improve our relationship with our higher Power (usually the wife), begging only for wisdom and forgiveness. 12. Having had an awakening as the result of working these steps, we tried to carry this message to Mercedes-Benz addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs. NOTE: Once cured of the addiction, Mercedes-Benz addicts have been known to switch addictions. One must be vigilant at all times.
I figured you would have to replace the front shocks also, was that just for the back end to level out??? If you put some kitty litter on those spots it will absorb some of it, then after litter is removed you hit it with some dawn dish soap and take a broom and work it in and if you have a power washer spray it with hot water, you may have to hit it again with the soap. Might wanna get absorbent pads if you think you might have a leaky little lady. Thanks for another great video Mike.
This was one of your best, Mike! I learned alot not having done the "conversion" on a Mercedes. Did you use the shocks for a 420SEL? I'm glad you did NOT see any or much difference in the ride. I converted my 05 Jaguar XJ8VP to coil overs. I likewise did NOT see any difference! I also assume this would be the same for a 560SEC?
How are you? I am following you. Thank you. I had a question: Have you changed the rear springs absorber? If I remove the shock absorbers, will the springs be changed or not?
Hay Monkey Wrench Mike. Wishing you and the family well. One question. I’m looking to bypass the same Sls system in my sec560. When I remove the pump can I just cover the area with the plate and be done with it? I have a plate from the sel420 and gasket.
Definitely not! I have a w123 with rear sls and the ZHM (not regular hidraulic) was also “milky”. My mechanic purged the all system until it was clean and then added the correct ZHM fluid. You can also use ATF, I’ve used it and noticed no change.
Let's face it Mike shock therapy was never going to work as you already know how much Mercedes charge for their parts 😲😂. Laters buttercup. Gary 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
loved driving my Dad's he had a black hard top in perfect condition from 2000 kept throwing engine codes couldn't figure it out till we replaced the front strut mounts the vibration was causing the codes
Hey Mike, you can open the hood fully vertically in most of old MB ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c8z2_e1OCbI.html This will avoid nasty head bumps in the front grille. Greetings from Europe.
