Hope this turns out to be helpful.
I needed to replace the hydraulic cylinders in my E320 cabriolet's top. Needless to say, the dealer wanted over $5000.00 for the parts alone. WOW! About twice that for the entire job. I thought I'd never have my top down again.
But...another enthusiast on Benzworld turned me on to this guy who is rebuilding them as I write @ $40.00 each. Nice.
My hydraulic shocks have deteriorated rubber boots. I recently picked up a set of shock boots from BDS (Premium Lifted Suspension Systems - BDS Suspension). The part number is 099520, seven bucks for the pair. I think they'll work.
I went to Tacoma Hydraulic (A seal house) and found the exact o-rings and the scraper as that green ring is called. I have found that any seal house / hydraulic company that does seals and o-rings can provide you with pretty much any diameter and size o-ring and scraper you want. The o-rings were about 20 cents each, and the scraper is 6.00 each.
I replaced the o-rings and the scraper by prying the old ones out with a small screw drive and gently pressing the new ones in with my thumb. I then put everything back together and have run the car and so far nothing seems to be leaking. I still need to take it for a drive to see if it works. But so far so good.
I think if it were to still leak, my next idea is to get a slightly thicker scraper, I would assume that over time, the piston shaft might wear and so I think an oversized scraper would compensate for this.
I will post pictures soon.
The wear in the metal is the problem.....you can continue to replace the seals to prevent leakage, but the piston wear compromises the performance of the assembly....
Maybe this will help.
The hydraulic cylinders in my 95 E320 cabriolet top starting leaking. Thousands to replace......thousands. MB offers no repair/rebuilding whatsoever. Nothing.
And so, on Benzworld after my post, I was turned on to Dennis Ficken. mercedescylinders@sbcglobal.net
For me? Great news. $40.00 @ to completely rebuild them, one day turnaround and now they're better then new. Hopefully he can do yours as well, and inexpensively. Email him, check it out, and mention my name.
Good luck,
David Reisbord
In aircraft struts the piston rubs the bore making a minor step . The Teflon guide ring keeps the metal piston from making contact to the bore . Once the bore is worn the strut will never slide evenly .
The aircraft gear runs at 1500 - 2000 psi , so you might be
A progress report. Per the above comment, the tubes indeed become stepped over time. But I've been working with a rebuilder of hydraulic actuators for construction equipement, and there's no reason why the tube can't be honed smooth. The shaft can even be polished if it's damaged. So I see no obstacles in restoring them. Pressure is considerably less than an aircraft strut, or even an automotive brake line. I hope to have one rebuilt in the next few days, will keep you posted.
Here's the outcome. No problem finding the o-ring and shaft seal, but the iron piston ring has to be reused. I had a rebuilder do the work, including honing the cylinders and polishing the shaft. One of my struts simply would not come apart, so I had to find a used one to replace it, which was then rebuilt. The boots I mentioned barely fit, you have to position them just so or they will bind. Total cost of machine work, labor, and parts was about $200 per side, not counting the cost of the replacement strut. Included in that price are new hoses, with swivel ends (since the fitting on the car was frozen solid). I'm not sure all this makes economic sense, unless you take the chance of skipping the machine work. But it does work, and it was a fun experiment.
Linear Mode
