lowrider newbie Q's ~merc 300se

[sir nose]

I picked up my merc 300se today(GREG's old car),being new to lowriders and hydraulics im scratching my head at some faults and what else to do to it.

As greg has already posted on here the rear end is very 'bouncy' as there are no rear shocks on it.i understand accumilators are the way to go.Has anyone got any pics of accumilators fitted to the rear of a merc?.

The front suspension creeps down when its in a lifted position.I wonder if its something to do with the previous owner having a problem with the front not lifting and he adjusted one of the valves??to remedy this fault,and it was ok again.It could also have something to do with the unions on the pumps leaking a little bit.

what precautions should i take when undoing/removing the unions to wrap ptfe tape around them?.

I know very little about hydraulics and lowrider car suspension can you recomend a good place to learn on the net or a manual i can buy,i like to know how things work and i want to know more about this latest project ive embarked upon.im a car mechanic by trade so anything else on the car should'nt be a problem.

[funbags]

Alright mate, I would recommend here.
When you strip stuff down you need to have dropped the car to the floor to remove all the pressure from the system. If the car is dropping it could also be air in the system, this could be brought on by the low fluid. Top your fluid up and then leave the car flully dropped overnight with the bung removed. The tanks should be full to about an inch from the top on full drop. Use 32w hydraulic fluid.
Accumulators tee in between the pump and the ram. I would recommend fitting lock-offs to allow you to abuse the car when you want, and then enjoy super smooth ride when you want.
I don't know if your system has 'slow-downs' fitted on the return side? If so they should be set to allow the car to dump at the same speed it lifts.
Any pics of the set up would be useful.

[sir nose]

thanks,i will take pics tomorrow,i will have to park it on blocks cos' if i lower it fully it grounds out on the shingle drive which is were i park it overnight,so i will get some blocks tomorrow and then leave it lowered over the night like you suggest.cheers

[ant]

blocks?.... just slam it into the ground.... you can pick it back up after the air has been bled.We used have a list od do's and don'ts on here.

1.be very careful whilst spannering(and the like around) in the boot, it can get very painful if you touch a positive.

[sir nose]

http://www.rocketvalves.com/images/prod ... 93ef422eb0

the above link is a pic of a flow valve right??

[fatdaddy]

thats a dump.
can be used as a shut off but fb was talking about manual shut offs.
if you have coils at the mo there is no point fitting accs as well. you need either coils and shocks
OR
accs


front end.
close the slow down all the way then see if i still drops.... if it does you have a leak, either in a dump [which you cant see] or an actuall leak [which you can see!]

if it doesnt drop with the slow down shut you have a leaking check valve or head seal

[sir nose]

a pic of the current set up below.



i have a leak from the valve in pic below but its the 1 that operates the offside rear,not a front 1,i hav'nt got a big enough spanner to tighten it at home so i need to get 1 from work.alot of the joins were'nt tight so i hope this 1 just needs a tweek.


today i removed the front pump assembly and wrapped ptfe tape around all the joints,in an attempt to solve the slight leak but now the front wont lift ive double checked everything i did.there's a click from the solenoid and theres 25v at the big wire on the motor but the pump does'nt spin,what have i done?i thought it just needed bleeding at first but i guess the pump should spin anyway,what is the correct procedure to bleed the system??and any ideas on how to get the front pump working again as the car is stuck half in the garage???

[UtterPiffle]

a pic of the current set up below.

today i removed the front pump assembly and wrapped ptfe tape around all the joints,in an attempt to solve the slight leak but now the front wont lift ive double checked everything i did.there's a click from the solenoid and theres 25v at the big wire on the motor but the pump does'nt spin,what have i done?i thought it just needed bleeding at first but i guess the pump should spin anyway,what is the correct procedure to bleed the system??and any ideas on how to get the front pump working again as the car is stuck half in the garage???

If you got 25v at the pump, it should spin... Does pump not move at all?

Sure it's an easy fix, but I'll bring a spare pump at weekend as well then ;o)

[essee]

The non-working pump is definitely grounded properly, yeah?

And the 25v is going to the connecting wire when you hit the switch for it?  (which would rule out switch issues)

[fatdaddy]

"havnt got a spanner big enough".................... if that means the leak is from the stem [under the shiny pressed cover] then DONT tighten it.
this is sealed with an o ring and the "nut" should only be pinched up + 1/4 turn, any more and you will stop the valve operating properly by distorting the tube.

is the pump earthed well ?

as a mechanic I will assume you know which type of joints to tape and which shouldnt be taped?


dont like the look of your hoses going thru the boot floor with no protection from the metal edges...................

[sir nose]

[quote:2oljspc8]dont like the look of your hoses going thru the boot floor with no protection from the metal edges...................[/quote]

yeah good that is'nt it.apparently rayvern did the install looking at the rest of the job i expect there apprentice did it,the nearside front ram is wedged up against the air cleaner,the pas pipe bracket has'nt been put back on,the pipes underneath are fouling on the nearside inner drive shaft gaiter,most of the unions are loose and the solenoids are insecure.

anyway ive got the pump spinning now,it was my own fault,when i took the power cable of the motor i unwound the peg a little and 25v was'nt getting to the motor,also got it bled out and its out of the garage.



i reckon the creeping rear suspension is the leaky dump valve thingy,and the front is the nearside ram cos' its been wedged up against the air cleaner i think its been operating at an angle,it still creeps with the valves shut and its only on the nearside.

[essee]

I believe if any corner is creeping down and there are no obvious leaks (to the rams), then the fluid it just dropping back to the reservoir, which would point to sticking dumps (not closing all the way) or knackered check valves (which stops the fluid leaving the reservoir from entering back the same way).

Of course, I've only been reading up over the last few months, so I could be shot to pieces any minute now!  

[fatdaddy]

front end.
close the slow down all the way then see if i still drops.... if it does you have a leak, either in a dump [which you cant see] or an actuall leak [which you can see!]

if it doesnt drop with the slow down shut you have a leaking check valve or head seal

[fatdaddy]

btw


nice ride  

[BIGPERM]

btw


nice ride  

ditto!