Looking for some anyone willing to share their experiences... good or bad, if they have installed a Coilover set on their w209. I'll be giving it a shot today on my 07CLK550. There are a lot of threads related, but I can't find anything that shares lessons learned. Attached is a document from WIS for the front suspension.


For some reason, my WIS couldn't pull up info for the rear. If you have any documents that show the installation for the rear including torque specs, please share. Thanks in advance.

 

it's a pretty straightforward install...

 

I gave it a try and wish I would have known about the sleeve that is used to lock the top mount. Took forever to figure out that the mount was secured by the sleeve. I ended up using a flat head srewdriver and hammer to tap in the groove and work it up the threads slowly. Now I just have to figure out the top mount position/rotation when installed.

 

I am taking a guess at how the top mount components should be installed. Below are some notes after many trials and errors. I'll validate when I take apart the other side.

First, I compressed the OEM springs until I was able to see part of the sleeve used to lock everything together. I'm sure there's a special tool for this, but I ended up using a flat head screw driver against one of two slits, and hit it lightly with a hammer to turn the sleeve up the threads. Everything came apart easily once the sleeve was off. My mistake was taking apart the different parts of the mount. In hindsight, I should have taken it out altogether. I uncompressed the OEM springs and started to move towards the coilovers...

After a few attempts with different positions, I compressed the springs to the top mount and inserted the strut up (see pics). Most of the threads were showing... then I set the rest of the top mount in place and turned the sleeve down the threads.

--- details about the top mount----

There are two parts to the top mount with a washer sandwiched between the two. The other part of the mount, is a metal washer that has two curves to it (oval shape). I placed the curves pointing down towards the springs and then I pushed it into the upper portion of the mount. The bottom portion of the mount has an oval opening which I used to line up with the oval washer when setting down the upper part of the mount. See related pictures attached.

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Once I had the coilover assembled, I moved it up the strut tower. The upper portion could only go in one way which is clearly visible when looking at the shape on the underside of the strut tower. Next up was the top washers and nut from the engine bay.

We'll, that all for now... The Pacquiao/Mayweather fight is about to start. I'll validate everything when taking apart the other side and will take plenty of pictures to draft up a disassembly/installation write up.

 

Next side was much easier. Instead of using the special tool for the collar/nut to release the strut, I compressed the springs, then used a hex key to turn the strut clockwise. Below is a great video shows all details of the process using the special tool.

https://youtu.be/C2WUTYbZPAQ

Rear install was much easier. I was able to do it without a spring compressor. If I had planned better, it would have been better to purchase the special spring compressor.

1: remove the trunk inner liners,
2: removed shock nuts, washer, and grommet.
3: raised the vehicle, remove wheels, control arm cover, and the but/bolt connecting the bottom of shock to the control arm.
4: raised the control arm by about 1/4 of an inch with a jack while the car was raised. This allowed me to remove the control arm bolt/nut closest to the wheel and maintain control of the spring tension.
5: slowly lower the jack holding up the control arm. At his point all tension is gone from the springs.
6: pulled down on the control arm and removed strut and spring.

Rear coilover install:
1: installed lower adjustible coilover base to the control arm.
2: pull down on control arm to set spring in place-reuse upper spring rubber/hat. Spring didn't seat properly on the coilover base. I got it as close as possible and applied a light bit of grease on part of the rubber that wasn't touching the spring. This allowed the spring to snap in place after everything was finished.
3: connected bolt on bottom of strut to control arm.
4: jacked up the control arm being cautios to ensure the spring was seating in place closely, the upper portion of strut was heading into the trunk hole and control arm slide into hub position.
5: installed bolt/nut connecting the control arm to the hub.
6: removed jack, installed wheel, lowered car, and tightened down bolt/washer with grommet.
7: reinstalled trunk lining.
8: drove car around aroumd parking lot make sure the springs SRT in place properly.


Next up is height adjustment, double check all torques, and wheel allignment. Hopefully I can get to that next week.

 

Attached are the Bilstein documents/specs and reference pictures of the rear mount. One pic shows where I applied a bit of grease under the spring that didn't set properly, and a picture after I drove it out in the parking lot showing how it corrected itself under additional pressure.

 

fyi the black rubber isolator goes on the top of the spring and you remove the factory rubber spacer

 

Greekspec2... Thanks for the clarification. Now that I'm re-reading the instructions, it also states it there. Big oversight on my part. Seems pretty thin to be used above the spring. I'll go ahead and switch it out before I get it aligned. I wonder if it will matter if I re-use the thicker stock pad (other than extra height that can be adjusted down).

 

I'm fitting the same coilovers on my C230, do you use bump stops in the front coilover or leave them out? Factory bump stops will not fit on Bilstein coilovers