Jim, Thanks for the information - it is quite helpful!
I have never had to R&R a hydraulic strut, so I wasn't aware that they could be disassembled. Where did you source the parts for it? Thanks, Dan On May 3, 2013, at 11:51 AM, Jim Cathey <j...@windwireless.net> wrote: > The struts provide no spring action, because there is no > energy storage medium inside (unless full of air, and it > went in at atmospheric pressure and would be compressed > to minuscule dimensions by the base pressure). The leak > holes in the strut's interior piston provide the bulk of > the damping, but some is provided by oil viscosity through > the hose and into the accumulator. > > The coil springs support the bulk of the weight of the car, > the strut's piston rod area (what goes through the seal) > times the base pressure supports the rest of the weight, and > as the system pressure rises due to oil being pumped into the > accumulator by the strut, compressing _its_ stored nitrogen > gas to higher pressures, the strut (like all springs) pushes > back harder. The strut, however, in conjunction with the oil, > is only a transmission, the force is all coming from the > compressed nitrogen. > > If you have normal ride height and oil viscosity, and there > are no abby-normal occlusions in the pipes, if you have > extra-hard spring action it _has_ to be accumulator failure. > There's just not enough there for it to be anything else. > > Going through my SEL the hard way was an education. > > The strut was made to be serviceable, though it is never done. > Replacement only. The accumulator was not. If it were built > more like the strut, with serviceable seals and a hard piston > instead of a heavy rubber bladder, and a way to replenish the > stored gas, the system would never need new parts except for > seals. Small cheap parts, and a shot of nitrogen now and then > from the bottle, with the suspension at full travel. Good as > new. > > -- Jim > > > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
