So for a couple of months or more I've been noticing that the
rear end of my 83 300TD has been going up and down a bit more
then normal when going over bumps. Not too bad but kind of like
when the shocks are not too new any more and may need replacing.
About three weeks ago I noticed that the oil in the SLS tank was
a little lower then half way so I put in enough to fill to Max
and checked for leaks, of which there were none, so I said good
to go.
Last week I checked the oil in the SLS tank again and found it
down to Min or a bit below. No leaks. I dithered a while and on
the 5th I ordered new accumulators from Parts Geek. They got here
yesterday. Not bad shipping time.
Today I got under there and put a hose on the bleeder and let the
oil out. WOW! So much gas in it that at first it looked like oil
with water it was that white. About 3/4 of a quart later it stopped.
Changed the accumulators and checked the old ones. IF one was to
go by the old way of checking by just pushing a little wood dowel
into the hole and see where the plug in there is one would assume
that everything was good as the plug was right there about an
inch or so in. Just like the new ones. Not satisfied I took a
steel flatface punch that fit into the hole and pushed down on
the plug. Don't do that at home. I almost got a face full of oil
that squirted out of there. In other words there was still enough
pressure in the gas bag to push oil out with an opening force of
less then 75lbs or so that I was applying to the plug. So while
they were still working, sort of, with the help of all the gas
that had leaked out into the lines and struts, they were well on
their way out.
On the new ones BTW I could not move the plug at all by pushing
on it. Makes sense since there is somewhere around 400lbs or more
of pressure in there.
I guess this confirms that if you have to suddenly put a lot of
oil into the SLS tank without seeing any signs of a leak then you
might want to check what the oil looks like coming out of the
bleeder on the leveling valve. If it has a lot of foam then send
for new accumulators because the ones you have in there are bad.
Manfred
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