Ml500 w164

**Smiles** · 2018/12/17, 03:20 PM

I have a W164 ML 500 that from time to time gives me hassles with the air suspension.
I would park the car for a day and then the Right rear end would go down, this happens randomly... I start the car and then it levels again.
I have left it for 3 days the past weekend and it stayed level

I have tried to find patterns, for now it seems that it does it when in Sport mode, but not in comfort mode, but I still need to see if I'm right.

Anyone with similar experience?

Regards

**Suid-Wes** · 2018/12/17, 08:27 PM

Hi Henry

I have it on my 320Cdi as well.
One of the air springs are leaking. When the rubber gets to the specific position on the fold it leaks. That is why it sometimes stay inflated for a few days. It is all about the height,weight and level of the surface at that moment. Guaranteed the air springs.

Regards,
Suid-Wes

**Drafstap** · 2018/12/18, 07:58 AM

This is very common, it is most probably a bellow that is starting to fail. I currently have the same thing on my GL you can buy an Arnott rear bellow new from Imcomex in Centurion for R4700 and have it fitted by your mech. I am currently on holiday so I had to make a temp plan, bought some bicycle tyre sealant and inserted half a bottle into the bellow - its only been one day so I am not sure if it actually stopped the leak.
I am not at all concerned that the sealant will clog the pipes as it will never reach up there where the inlet is. This is temp solution only! and it is mostly to protect the compressor from over working I still need to do about 2000km before back home... I will let you know if it didn’t work.

Francois

**Koebelwagen** · 2018/12/18, 09:43 AM

As stated it is the bellows and to be honest the rear ones are ridiculously easy to replace with basic tools. Don't allow the situation to continue for too long. The compressor is expensive and an absolute bitch to replace.

BTW, I just replaced the second bellows on the right front of my own ML 500. They seem to last about 5 to 6 years.

**Hans Nel** · 2021/01/12, 06:55 PM

Originally Posted by Koebelwagen

As stated it is the bellows and to be honest the rear ones are ridiculously easy to replace with basic tools. Don't allow the situation to continue for too long. The compressor is expensive and an absolute bitch to replace.

BTW, I just replaced the second bellows on the right front of my own ML 500. They seem to last about 5 to 6 years.

Good day.
my Ml500 2007 with 109k km also has a problem right front shock going down when parked.
How difficult is it to replace bellows. Cost of bellows still about R4700 ?
regards
Hans

**Koebelwagen** · 2021/01/12, 07:08 PM

Originally Posted by Hans Nel

Good day.
my Ml500 2007 with 109k km also has a problem right front shock going down when parked.
How difficult is it to replace bellows. Cost of bellows still about R4700 ?
regards
Hans

Hello Hans,

If you have a good mechanical knowledge and toolset the first one you replace will take about an hour and a half. The special tools are included in the replacement bellows set.

The last time I was quoted on replacement bellows it was around R7 000.00 for a front unit. This is for the Arnott Industries brand. You can get much cheaper chinese bellows and struts but I wouldn't buy these, the suspension on a vehicle is a critical safety element.

Please make sure the strut is not leaking oil as this will destroy the bellows within a year. If it is leaking you can get proper OEM Bilstein struts complete with bellows from Goldwagen for about R18k each(They price R24k at Mercedes Benz) with the added bonus that they are rebuildable.

**Smiles** · 2021/01/13, 03:03 PM

Originally Posted by Koebelwagen

Hello Hans,

If you have a good mechanical knowledge and toolset the first one you replace will take about an hour and a half. The special tools are included in the replacement bellows set.

The last time I was quoted on replacement bellows it was around R7 000.00 for a front unit. This is for the Arnott Industries brand. You can get much cheaper chinese bellows and struts but I wouldn't buy these, the suspension on a vehicle is a critical safety element.

Please make sure the strut is not leaking oil as this will destroy the bellows within a year. If it is leaking you can get proper OEM Bilstein struts complete with bellows from Goldwagen for about R18k each(They price R24k at Mercedes Benz) with the added bonus that they are rebuildable.

i got replacement bellows from Mercman and All merc spares.

the tricky part was to get the top part of the shock and bellows loose and secured.

took me about 1.5 hours.
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