Posted in the wrong sub - sorry.
Recently started hearing a strange noise from the C63s, sounds like the front left side is rubbing or something is making contact when I go over bumps. Only the driver's front, nothing while driving at speed, but going over a speed bump or something and it makes a noise like the wheels are rubbing. Had a friend in the car notice the same thing.

I pulled the wheel and didn't see any signs of wear or rubbing anywhere on the tire or in the wheel well, and I shook everything I could get my hands on and didn't hear any clunking or see any signs of loose bolts or something detached. Only thing I noticed is a possible oil slick / sheen on a few components around the shock/strut.

I know the car has adaptive / adjustable suspension. FCPEuro seems to only list an air suspension for the front left, but I'm not sure that's right. I'm at a loss on what to check and how to check before I just start buying parts and throwing money at the problem or taking it to a shop for diagnosis.
-Bob

 

Good on you for getting your hands dirty mate. Is it a squeaky sound or a thud?

If this was me I'd take the wheel off again, jack the car up, remove both metal undertray and plastic one which covers the transmission and start prodding around. You're running fatter wheels up front right? I know it's not that, but just asking. Also, keep the car in drive with the brakes on and ask a mate to shake the car from outside back and forth. See if you can find that noise

 

Not a squeak or even a thud. It honestly sounds like the tire rubbing when the suspension compresses when going over a speed bump or pothole at lower speeds. But I looked and saw no signs of rubbing on the tires or in the wheel well so it's not likely the tire making contact with anything, it's just what it sounds like. I'll try to figure out a way to shove a camera somewhere in the wheel well and see if I can record the suspension traveling and capture any odd movement or at the very least the noise.

Running wider in the rear but stock tires in the front so unlikely that, and it's definitely coming from the front driver's side.

If the weather warms up enough I'll pull the wheel and see if I can figure anything out again, or at the very least snap some photos.

Assuming it's the shock/strut assembly though, I'm still having a hell of a time finding the specific part. FCPEuro sells an air shock which this car does not have, so they're not as helpful as I'd hope. Anyone have a good parts diagram for the front suspension or a part number to look up?

 

Here’s the front strut kit from fcpeuro.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/mer...nuine-mercedes

 

Also here is the strut bearing/mount that goes on top of the spring.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/Mercedes~Ben...b=9&d=15498&v=

 

@Shlick96 's got you covered. Please keep us updated I hope it's fixed with the new strut

 

Thanks for the links, @Shlick96 - once this next winter storm passes I'll try and get the wheel off again and see if I can verify whether the mount is shot or if it's just the shock. Photos to follow. Then it's just a matter of figuring out how to get the assembly out and replaced. Not sure I want to mess with spring compressors and all the joy that comes with those.

 

Between life and work and the general acceptance of strange noises as "normal" - it's taken me a while to get to fixing this. I've got the parts (thanks again to the awesome folks on this forum) and I've got the tire off and am ready to figure this bad boy out. Of course, there are zero YouTube videos I can find about this specific model - the one "C63 front strut replacement" video is clearly not a C63. Anyone have any recommendations on how to go about the replacement? I think the biggest question is how to get all the steering geometry parts out of the way so I can get enough droop to get the strut out. I've got the lower knuckle mount (green circle) out, the blue circle for the tie rod is TIGHT and damn challenging to get any tool on due to the height of the stud on the bolt, and the top knuckle bolt in red circle is unlike anything I've seen before.

Anyone done this job before and have recommendations for necessary steps to get the old part out?



Driver's Side

 

So the operation was a success. I'll post some notes here in case anyone ever comes to these forums looking for tips on how to replace their front struts on a W205 / 2019 C63s.

First - don't mess with any of the 3 connection points I show in the above photo, that was a redherring. There's a great guide here - https://assets.ecstuning.com/edoc/W2...on_Install.pdf - the front section starts on Page 15. Loosen the top 3 nuts on the strut (inside the hood) then remove the lower sway bar link nut and loosen the top sway bar link nut (don't remove) and swing the sway bar out of the way. Remove the bolt connecting the strut to the lower control arm, and then put a bottle jack under the connection point where the lower control arm connects to the sub frame and remove that bolt. You'll have to remove a good portion of the under-engine aero plates to comfortably get to the lower control arm bolt. With that bolt removed, the lower control arm should swing out of the way and then you can finish unscrewing the top bolts on the strut. One tip - note the orientation of the top plate and spring retainer compared to the bottom plate / retainer and how the bottom fork of the strut relates. All of that has to match VERY closely when reassembling the new strut/spring so it'll go back into the car. Don't forget to move the lower plastic wire-management clip over to the new strut, too. It all goes back in the reverse of how it came out. You definitely need a second person to help with finger-tightening the top nuts so you can get everything oriented.

Also, for what it's worth, doing the brakes while in replacing the struts makes sense. There's not a lot of info on doing that job either - use the old pads and a c-clamp to reset the pistons (you'll need 1 on each side, use painters tape or something to protect the paint on the front side) then remove the c-clamps and tap out the two cross pins while pressing up on the old pads. Clean up the pins and retainer plate then slide both new pads (after transferring the back-plate and applying a thin coat of appropriate lubricant) in and work the top cross-pin in through the pad, retainer strap, then other pad. Then start the lower pin while pushing up on the pads and down on the retainer strap so it pinches everything together. I had to clean up the pins and put a thin coat of lubricant on them as well to help with install.

Good luck and know that you'll get filthy!