Installing sumo springs on a Sprinter van.

Nov 19

You may have heard the term Sumo Spring from other Mercedes Sprinter van owners out there when talking about suspension. But what is a Sumo Spring? Sumo Springs are simply a suspension helper or aid that replaces your existing bump stops with larger squishier ones. New bump stops that look like little chunky pillows, thus the name containing the word ‘Sumo’ in it, referring to the massive Japanese Sumo wrestlers.

What what is a bump stop? Your suspension is extended to travel up and down over the various road surfaces, soaking up the bumps and trying to keep the main mass of the vehicle stable. When traveling at higher speeds, you will come across these bumps in the road very quickly, forcing the suspension to shoot up towards the body before the mass of the van can move up as well. When the suspension reaches the limit of this travel, it will come into contact with the frame, body or other suspension pieces. Well, the bump stop is there to cushion that blow.

All Sprinter vans will have a bump stop at each corner of the van. Both at the front of the van near the lower A-arms of the suspension, and in the rear, sitting on top of the leaf springs.

Installing the front Sumo Springs on a 4x4 Sprinter

This has got to be one of the easiest installs you can do. Technically you can do this install without removing the wheels but you will still need to jack the van up to extend the suspension fully to get access to insert the SumoSpring cushion.

I recommend you do it with the wheel off for much easier access to get to the old mount.

First and foremost, make sure you’re safe and confident in your ability to jack up the van and secure it safely. The front of the van is VERY heavy and needs to be safely secured once the wheels are removed. Get some good jacks to support your van safely when you jack the van up to relax the suspension. We recommend taller jack stands to ensure you can get to the extended heights Sprinters have. These Cartman ones go up to 24”. The CAT Jack is an affordable alternative to the infamous off road Eagle Pro jack. The Cat Jack has a capacity - 3 Ton (6000lbs), and Lift Range - 6 in. - 21.5 in. that can be extended with the adapter to increase the overall max lift height by 7.75 in. (total of 29”).

Just a simple jack like this 3 Ton doesn’t have enough range to lift a stock NVC3 2WD 2500 without the help of wood bocks.

Use the right jack points on your Sprinter

Sprinter vans have dedicated jack points.

Once the wheel is off, all you need a 13mm socket. You’ll need a deep socket to get the stock bump stop off as the bolt is exposed quite a bit. An extension is also helpful to give you a little clearance away from the sway bar ( that tubed bar that arches over in the photos.