450SEL rear suspension upgrade

[AAB]

I am in the process of replacing the rear shockers & gas spheres of my 450 & " poor Blind Freddie Barnes " cannot find the heads of the bolts that hold the spheres on,.. three to each sphere !! I need to hold the bolt heads in order to get the nuts off.

They are not located under the fuel tank are they ?? ie, I have to remove the fuel tank !!

I have worked on motorbikes & cars for about 58 years & have usually been able to find bolt heads.

Any clues out there ?

Regards,

Alex

[John S]

It's a long while since I looked, but did you take the rear seat out and then the plastic covers? I know that you get at the hydraulic connection from there but I cannot remember if the spheres are also undone from there.

[AAB]

John,

Wish you were right, but blind Freddie cannot find them there.

Regards,

Alex

[Styria]

Hi AAB, I do respect the elderly and wise, but age really must be catching up with you. Now what was your query - lemme see.

Well, it's like this. To get at the top retaining nuts for the rear shock absorbers, you will need to remove the back seat and also the plastic covers.

As far as the Air Cells (spheres) are concerned, there are three nuts that hold each air cell to the body. They are readily removeable and are easily accessed with a 13mm socket and long extension. Hope this helps. Regards Styria

[AAB]

Styria,

Problem is, I cannot get at the bolt heads, which due to rust & dirt need to be held so that I can get the nuts off. Nuts loosened O.K. but the bolt turns.

The co-ordinates of the rear bolt heads ( 1 each side ) are on axle centre line & in the north south direction, & 350-450 mm east & west of car centre line,... nicely under the tank.

Regards,

Alex

[Styria]

Hi AAB, I am totally confused between nuts and bolts, rust and dirt etc. etc. The way I see it, there are three caged bolts holding each Air Cell in place - by nuts which you should be able to undo from under the car. The top mounts of the shock absorbers can only be accessed by removing the rear seat and the plastic covers - one on each side.

That should be it - if not, where am I going wrong ? Regards Styria

[AAB]

Styria,

The bolt heads are definitely under the tank in my 450SEL, & after I drove 500 km to get the tank empty, pulled the tank out, migged the bolt heads to to the body for future removal,..all went extremely well & she now cruises along like a 450SEL should.

The bolt heads were definitely not restrained against turning.

I am surprised that MB designers did not provide for captive nuts or something else for ease of removal. To have to remove the tank to get at bolt heads is not a good design feature.

How do I post photos, as I took a couple to show what was involved ?

Regards,

Alex

[BenzBoy]

Photo posting is easiest with Photobucket - just insert the code for the picture you have on Photobucket. There is a tutorial on this site somewhere...but if I can't keep up with Selfor50's buying I probably can't find the tutorial...
Regards,
Benz-Boy