Mercedes Benz W123 steering damper for 411/412

[Lars S]

Just put my new Mercedes Benz W123 steering damper in.
I bought a cheap ($30) aftermarket "Stabilus" one, of course it feels much
stiffer then my old damper but not extremely stiff.
There are several other brands for the W123 to choose from and some might be stiffer .

Compressed and extended lenghts are pretty much the same, te W123 damper compressed is a tiny bit
longer than the 412 damper but it dont intenfear with the steering limits.

Big end (the end bolted to the frame) dia is the same,

Small end (at pitman arm) is tapered M10 on the old one but just a 10mm hole on the new one so a longer 10mm bolt and a nut has to be used.
The small end on the old one is angled a bit where the bolt goes in but I believe that is well compensated by the rubber bushing being flexible on the new one.

It frees from the bottom of tank by some 5mm thanks to the bolt not being to long and using a thin nut. (Picture shows when fully turing right, thats when it get closest to the tank).

The stock damper is wery slim at the pitman end, the W123 one is much thicker with its housing close to the bushing so I had to put a 2mm washer under the bushing to make the underside of the damper housing free from the rod.

In total I found the W123 steering damper a wery straight bolt on alternative.

/Lars S
_________________
Porsche 914 -72, Bahia Red daily driver
VW411 2-d -70, White, sold
VW412 4-d, -73, Gold Metallic, daily driver
Suzuki T500, -69, Candy Gold, sold
Suzuki K50, -77, Black, daily driver
BMW R69S -69, White, sold
Husqvarna 118cc, -47, Black, Sold

[raygreenwood]

Excellent!

Nice to know there is another simple option out there! Nice work!

For those in North America...these were the 1976-1985 Mercedes 240, 300, 380 D and C and CE models among others...pretty much any of the sedans we used to see in these years.

If you look on Rockauto under 1983 Mercedes 380 SEC....I think this is the same part that Lars is pointing out. Rockauto lists a Sachs steering damper for $17.99.


Ray

[vwrenault]

Thanks for the information just ordered a Bilstein touring class for work part # 18002461 for 27.00 .got my money back from the e bay 1

[vwrenault]

Just got it Bilstein not leaking new

[Lars S]

[vwrenault]

THANKS Lars s for the info I'm runing 17x9 BMW rims I need all the help i can get stiffer the beater .