shot and posted by Don Kincl
Cohort Pic(k) of the Day: Mercedes 500 SEL (W126) – Down For The Count
– Posted on April 2, 2023
shot and posted by Don Kincl
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I’m gonna go with hydraulic suspention.
Cool photo subject, but another example of my aversion to non-steel sprung suspensions.
I understand the theoretical advantages… and the very real excellent performance in many cars… of “air springs,” but see far too many cars hunkering down at one end, one corner, or at all corners to ever want to own one.
Lincoln, Audi, Range Rover, Benz, and many more brands and models have displayed this.
My late brother was a very successful business man. At one point he had ROLLS-ROYCE automobiles. Although I prefer American luxury vehicles, I did like the ROLLS-ROYCE. Suddenly he switched to Mercedes for himself and wife. NEVER understood fascination with these overpriced stiff riding cars. Always considered safe and dependable, brother’s vehicles were always in repair shop. Even worse, his wife was driving on interstate when hood latch failed. Hood flew wide open blocking her vision. Only with the help of other motorists, was she able to get car safely off the road. So much for Mercedes quality 🙄
Oh ye of little faith, a new dawn is rising, perhaps this Mercedes shall also rise again. Perhaps on Easter.
Sadly these magnificent cars are getting to the age where they’re dirt cheap and few take the care they require .
There’s also the people who don’t care how poorly a car drives as long as it’s _low_ .
Those who claim a Mercedes rides too harshly obviously don’t understand / practice high speed driving .
The single most expensive car you will even own is a cheap Mercedes .
-Nate
While we have very different opinions on Mercedes, check my post for expensive and dangerous issues. At the time of these problems the cars were only a few years old.
When I worked for MBZ Parts, I remember a person needed a set of rubber blocks that would allow him to drive his Mercedes with failed air suspension to a shop. It was the only thing that would keep the car from sitting on its rear axle. They were a pain in the neck to source! Failed SLS suspensions were a very common problem.
Yes and the failures were almost entirely caused by failure to do simple maintenance .
One of my old M-B’s is a graymarket Diesel wagon, the SLS system had ATF in it when I bought it (!) and instead of collapsing it remained extended and rode like a brick on wheels .
I flushed out the system and replaced the weepy hoses, it’s still going strong and the suspension doesn’t settle one bit even after two months of sitting .
My self I am no fan of the W126’s, they’re simply too darn big for me .
-Nate
They are generally drivable with shot suspensions for short distances but a flat bed tow truck is usually cheaper if concerned relative to the time and expense of somehow inserting rubber blocks.
Arnott produces cost effective replacement parts for most modern air suspension systems including the one that I had to repair on my MB GL450. The Arnott stuff was excellent quality, durable, and a small fraction of the factory repair parts, ie. perfectly reasonable cost considering a $70k+ vehicle at the time.
Disagree – if the front suspension is without air and you turn the front wheels it rips the wheel arches to shreds….told a neighbor to get his flat bedded, but he drove to the dealer and wondered why his front fenders were a slightly different shape afterwards.
Back in around 2005, I had the desire to pick up an nice one of these without any mods. I’ve always liked the style and felt they were tanks on wheels. At the time I had several (around 4) older cars, all Cadillac’s or Lincoln or Chrysler. But this big MB just spoke to me and I wanted one. After several months of searching around the mid-west where I lived, I wasn’t having much luck. The few I did find and called about, I was always told by the sales people that I didn’t want one of those due to costs of repairs. I was specifically warned about the suspension failures. I never picked one up, but still had the “bug” for a nice Benz. Ended up finding one that a guy near me had stuffed under a large amount of junk in his garage, and it was only 5 miles away! He didn’t know which model, so went to look at it and ended up buying it. It was a very low miles 1969 230 sedan with no options but the Thermo King A/C and a 4 speed manual trans. I didn’t drive it much, but found it to be very reliable. After I tired of that one and sold it, I picked up a 1989 300E or E300?? That one was more loaded up, one owner and low miles. It was also reliable for the few years I had it. Now I’m back to the older Cadillac’s.
I will say that I’m glad that I listened to those who knew better on these MB cars with the fussy suspensions.
@ Dan ;
That ’69 was a nice car indeed and didn’t have the fancy-schmancy suspension .
Being a manual four speed it was prolly okay to drive but that tiny 4 banger engine was more suited to industrial use .
-Nate
Nate: It was indeed a very nice car. It only had about 28K on it what I got it and was a 2 (before me) owner, both in the same small city I grew up in. The history was more fun for me than anything. When I got it, the A/C didn’t work and I had it properly re-charged and it worked perfectly for the next few years until I sold it.
As for the engine, maybe I’m wrong but I though it had a 5 or 6 cyl. I’m sure it didn’t have a 4 cyl, so maybe I am forgetting the model (number) on the car? So maybe it was a 280 sedan instead of a 230?
Could be, a 280 was an i6 engine with OHC .
Reasonably speedy .
Rather thirsty .
-Nate