hugo_za

Have to chuckle at this. Yesterday my car gave a "car raising" message while driving. Stopped at a gas station, all seemed ok. Drove into my estate, and over the first speed bump there was a mighty hiss from the right-front airmatic strut.

Jacked the car up and found the rubber boot torn almost all the way around. No oil leaks though.

We have a local supplier who deals with Arnott parts so at least that part is covered.

Question though, when one airmatic strut fails is it normal for the whole car to lower down? Second question is do the remaining shocks stop functioning (lifting and so on) when one fails?

Just as well this happens now while car is still under dealer warranty.

hugo_za

UPDATE:
Mercedes diagnosed it as...wait for it...a blown out shock. Price (converted to USD at current exchange rate) $2160. This includes value added tax and labour.

Arnott part supplied and fitted comes to $1108. (we have a 20% import duty on shock absorbers, and 14% value added tax on top of that)

Mercedes-Benz don't even have stock of theirs so it would take upwards of 20 days to get the part from Germany.

gogos

You can check also here. http://www.air-suspension-shop.com/M...umatic-springs

M1RAG3

sorry to hear about that man....hope the replacement goes well so you can get back on the road!

hugo_za

Picked up the Arnott part yesterday and dropped it at Mercedes. Since my car was already there to diagnostics I figured they could just as well go ahead and fit the part. $170 labour all in for the diagnostics, tests, and fitment of the strut.

Should have my car back today, but tomorrow latest.

Question for those of you who have gone DIY on the strut replacement. Does anything need to be done using STAR after the strut is installed, or does the car's onboard electronics do all the calibration etc?

MooF

So, the dealer had no problem installing an Arnott replacement part?
Let us know the total and how all goes?

hugo_za

Picked up the car this afternoon. That old adage came to mind about how you never know how bad something is until something better comes along.

In hindsight I can now tell that the leaking strut was affecting the ride comfort. It was ok for the first week I had it, but then degraded. I recall thinking that I must be getting really spoilt since the airmatic suspension was not all that comfy.

Either way, my local dealership had no problem installing the Arnott part. Got there this afternoon and she was standing tall and proud, her suspension all the way in raised mode and the shiny Arnot strut just barely visible. The drive home was sublime. Wafting about and feeling just the way you would expect airmatic to.

The dealership charged me $143 to install the part and check out the rest of the system. The part was just about $1000.

Very happy to have it sorted Will post pics of the busted strut later.

hugo_za

Adding the photos to a new thread...