Mercedes-Benz Forum banner

S211 collapsed rear air springs

1K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  moosejaw5.0 
#1 ·
Hi All

Yesterday morning I went to my 211 wagon and found the back end sitting on the ground. Both sides the same so I am assuming it is not an air spring problem.

I can hear the compressor fire up and run for a few seconds when I unlock, so I am assuming therefore that there is a problem with the ride height sensors.

My car lives up a short unmade track with a grass ridge up the middle. Most times, if I keep to the edge slightly, I don't ground the car. My R129 actually copes with the track better than the S211. My problem is that there I no way I can get the car out to a repair yard, now the arse is on the ground, without doing serious damage.

So the questions are, firstly am I right in the conclusion that it is probably the ride height sensors? Secondly, is there a way of getting the system to pump up so that I can drive down the track to get it fixed?

Thanks all, any advice is well appreciated.
 
#2 ·
The air bags should have held air despite a failed ride height sensor. It seems like your issue is a broken air line between the pump->distribution block->air bags. Having both fail together so quickly leads to a common fail point which is probably up front.

There are others more familiar with the wagons that will hopefully join this thread and help point you in the right direction. Good luck.
 
#4 ·
This has got more weird!

The car has occasionally failed to start recently. I didn't initially connect the rear suspension issue with the starting problem. When the car fails to start there are all the usual clicking and whirring noises, but no cranking. I have found that eventually the starter will engage and off I go. This always happens first thing in the morning and once started all is fine.

What I noticed the last time is that the longer I keep turning the key and trying to start the car ...... The lower the back end gets to the ground! Once she started, all I need to do is leave the car running for a few minutes, and then up she comes again!

When I posted this problem it was because I didn't leave the engine running long enough because there was no way I could drive it down my track with its rear on the ground. When I started the car a few days later to try to fix the suspension problem the back end eventually pumped itself up again.

So what is going on?? Why does the starter fail to crank? is there a relay or solenoid somewhere that is sticking? Could it be condensation as it is always early morning? Also why does turning the ignition on and off repeatedly let the air out of the rear suspension?

:banghead:
 
#5 ·
The ignition switch is a probable source of the no start. It can cause other issues too if there is enough carbon dust spread around to trigger accessories when the key is off. Difficult to diagnose but that is where I would start then move down the line to other starting components. I don't have a diagram handy but folks like Konigstiger are really good at info dumps for our members. Good luck.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top