Mercedes R107 450SL Rear Suspension

R107 Rear Shock Absorber Replacement

If your convertible 107 is clunking around over bumps, it is more than likely bad shocks, and or broken sway bar links. Sway bar link replacement will be covered in an up coming post.

The good side of all this, if broken things have a good side, is that the replacement of these two components is probably one of the easier jobs on the Mercedes-Benz R107. From start to finish this job should not take more than 2 hours for both. There is one caveat, if your car has grown up in a wet or particularly snowy area, it will require the bolts to be well soaked in penetrating oil such as BP Blaster. My recommendation is to do this the day before, and spray it three times several hours apart should the corrosion be heavy. 

Let's get started:

STEP 1
Remove hard top if installed or lower convertible top. If soft top is already down and the hard top is off, open the soft top deck lid cover.

STEP 2
Provided you do not have rear seats, remove the luggage shelf from behind the seats. If fitted with a rear seat, remove those.

STEP 3
Remove hard/soft top locking crank on driver side. First gently pry out trim insert on handle and remove handle.

STEP
Remove the 3 small Phillips screws which retain the side paneling trim on each side

Location 1

Location 2

Location 3

STEP 4
Remove the two 10mm bolts, and two Phillips screws from the chrome trim on each side and remove the trim piece.

STEP 5
Remove paneling. Gently remove by pushing downward to release from upper retention lip.

STEP 6
Remove upper shock retaining bolt, washer and rubber bumper on each side. This will require pliers or vice grips to hold the center rod in place while loosening the nut.

STEP 7
Jack up car. I use wheel cribs with the hydraulic floor jack in place. ALWAYS use extreme caution when jacking a car and aways chock applicable wheels. Always check for rust or damage before jacking up the car.

STEP 8
Remove shock retaining bolts. When bolts are removed, shock will release and fall through to the ground. You can always leave the upper nut in place and remove after the lower bolts have been removed. I find it easier to just catch the shock on the way out.

STEP 9
Install new shocks in revers order and you are ready to go! Always make sure all nuts and bolts are securely tightened an always double check.

COMING UP
Replacing the rear sway bar links. Another very easy job.