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Hello everyone!
My car now has almost 140 000 miles, and feels a bit less sharp in the corners.
Also, the strut mount is really worn on the left side, which is resulting in unwanted sounds whenever I am parking the car or going slowly on bumps.
Since I will need to remove the struts and compress the springs to change the strut mounts anyway, I am starting to think it would be time to change the struts at the same time.
I would like to maintain the car's original stance, so will not be putting in lowering springs or coilovers.
To my understanding, the OEM struts are made by Sachs.
I have already done my homework, looked up the part numbers in EPC and searched the forum, however, some points remain unclear to me
1- Will it be necessary to change the springs as well? The car is not sagging at all.
2- I've been hearing a lot about Koni shock absorbers. I never track the car, so won't need the adjustability of Koni Sports (Yellow ones) and they're a bit too expensive.
Sachs struts all around will be costing me around 350 to 400€.
Koni STR.T (orange ones) cost the same, but there is an offer right now, which makes them cheaper (260€ for all 4 corners).
I've searched the intenet a lot, and haven't found any trustworthy reviews.
How do you think the Koni Orange would compare to OEM shocks?
Would they be an improvement? Or the opposite of that?
Would I be better off buying the Sachs shocks anyway?
3- There are Monroe and Bilstein strut mounts. Bilsteins are surprisingly a LOT cheaper (30 vs 75€, same part number). Is there a catch I should know about? Are Bilstein very bad at making these?
With 134K miles on my C32 I'm in the same position you are.
Sounds like the strut bearings at the top of the front struts may be bad. Do you get a crunchy sound when slowly moving and turning the steering wheel?
No need to change the springs if they have not sagged. I think the stock spring rate and dampers are the best combo for ride quality, handling and damping. I pulled off a set of HR springs and shocks because they were just too rough ride, and they are the only aftermarket set I've tried. You may be able to find a good set of used stock struts, if they have less than 80K, for really cheap.
Take a look at all of the ball joints and especially the rubber bushings at the inside end of the control arms. They only last maybe 80,000 miles all any AMG. Replace if worn.
I've also gone through the pain of replacing all of the rear control arms, I think it is 5 per side! The subframe needs to be dropped a bit to access some bolts, and alignment is required afterwards. Check yours for wear, or tears in the rubber bushings.
Last - the sway bar bushings and links may be toast, and need to be replaced.
Regarding the strut bearings, I do get that crunchy sound, and in order to confirm it I removed the top bolt from the strut and jacked up the car slightly (to move the strut down) which allowed me to see clearly that the strut bearing is really, really cracked all over.
Thanks for the advice regarding the springs, I will be keeping mine based on your information.
As for used struts, I honestly would prefer buying them new, which eliminates the risk of buying sub optimal used ones.
I just changed the inside rubber bushings on the rear anti roll bar, there are 2 of them, very very easy DIY, barely a few minutes of work.
Front ones still look fine, and no squeaks.
I also changed the steering rack bushings, following an excellent DIY guide published on the site, seen here
Redid an alignment after that, since there was tremendous play in the steering.
As for the rest, my front ball joints all seem very solid, no play in them whatsoever.
I might have to replace the lower control arms in a few thousand miles, no play for now but the bushings seem to be getting tired.
The rear is still rocksolid, if we set aside the rather aging struts.
Thant being said, you have answered a major part of my questions so thanks a lot.
I think I will be going for the bilstein strut mounts.
As for the struts, has anyone tried the Koni STR.T?
Appreciate all the help, keep up the good work guys
PS: in case this is a help to anyone, here are the EPC drawings for the C32 AMG suspension. If you guys need any part numbers, feel free to send me a PM, I have a paid EPC subscription and I'd be glad to help.
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