Just bought an 87 260E


^ You can see you don't even need to jack car up to replace mounts if you can manage to push the shock down far enough. That's with car on ground still on wheels. Shock doesn't move with bolt undone.
And it's killed the bump stops because the shocks are toast. Not a huge deal.
Sachs-Boge $62/each or Bilstein comforts $120/each? What do you guys think?
If you plan to drop your car with sport springs, Bilstein HD's are recommended. Otherwise stock or comforts should do.
If you plan to drop your car with sport springs, Bilstein HD's are recommended. Otherwise stock or comforts should do.
How much of a difference are the HD's over Comforts? I prefer a smoother ride personally. I'm not sure about dropping in the future though. Of course giving me the option would be nice.
Any tips for replacement? It doesn't look too bad and I won't have to compress the spring if I put hydraulic jack under control arm.
What are the bets the rear shocks are toast too? I don't think it will be as priority as the fronts though. I'll just have to keep in mind if I am carrying anything.
I figured $1200 spent so far on the car...INCLUDING car purchase seemed a little cheap
So I'm at $1500 now haha
Last edited by ps2cho; Sep 21, 2009 at 02:35 PM.
Wowzers fastest shipping ever!!

There is no comparison between these and my old ones.....I can see now they are totally and completely useless. Hopefully the ride improves. I assume the rear shocks are toast too, but we will save that for another month as they aren't as important right now.
I will make a DIY when I swap em out and add it to my FAQ list. It looks very easy to replace.
Last edited by ps2cho; Sep 23, 2009 at 02:08 AM.


So I got two options here...
Option 1: Go to junkyard and find a good looking head. Pull it off and send it to same guy who did the head on my wagon (A+ job see below) and get it completely rebuilt and do a straight swap with mine. I gotta find one that is not Cash4Clunkers of course...

Reason is because mine just looks like someone was killed inside of it..

OR
Option2: Spend 2hrs and do the valve stem seals w/o pulling head.
This is a prime example of you get what you pay for. I have no problem though because I still haven't really put a whole lot of money into the car including its purchase.
Last edited by ps2cho; Sep 29, 2009 at 10:42 PM.
The Best of Mercedes & AMG
As for the A/C I got a plan....I'm gonna buy a Propane leak detector handheld machine and fill her up with Propane and use the detector to find myself where she is leaking from. It will definitely beat any dye's because they for the most part suck.
It got too dark by time I finished, so I'll post final pic tomorrow.
Tip to all -- use quick detailer or windex as a lubricant for the razor blade. After I made the scratch, I started doing it this way and everything came off 10x easier.
I was being careful, but the glue was so old and hard, it wasn't easy...

Rear end is fully detailed now. Lookin hot
and the wagon sitting proud ahead on a new set of rubber today

Whats the best stuff to remove tint glue remains? I tried goo-gone and some adhesive remover and it didn't touch it...
Had them both out in 10minutes flat. What a steal! Also got the later w124 body cladding + front+rear bumpers. Should do for a nice upgrade. I really like the way the later models look with it.
Also got 2 working rear window motors finally...Once I put them on I can get the car tinted asap. Still confused over what % I really want.
This is what it was what dented fender I received the car with

Junkyard fender woohoo:


And my shocks:

Did some searching and found this
FastLane
I purchased my Bilstein HDs from Alleuro.com, before I knew about FastLane. I just checked their website and I didn't find my part numbers, but I bet they can help you if you call them. When I called, the guy on the phone was very knowledgeable about all of the Bilstein shocks. I ended up with the Bilstein HD shocks and I am happy with them.Don't get some other wacky shocks. Almost everyone agrees that Bilsteins are the best shocks. Koni shocks may be comparable in quality and they are adjustable, but I think Bilsteins are the king for the W124.
For my 1995 E320, I had this written in my records, but I checked another website and I may have the numbers switched for Comfort and Sport.
Another website from Bilstein's website
Comfort
Front V36-0365
Rear B36-1470
Heavy Duty
Front V36-0361 $116.33 x2
Rear B36-1385 $72.00 x2 + $14.00 shipping
Sport
Front V36-4050
Rear B36-1388
Here is a link to AllEuro.
AllEuro.com
I bet PerformanceProducts also has them, although they only show the Sports.
PerformanceProducts4Benz.com
Zoom

Last edited by ps2cho; Oct 19, 2009 at 05:09 PM.
I'm having a problem with the RL one though. It will go up, but not down. With the battery applied, it will move down fine. I checked the wires in the door and didn't see anything frayed. Any other ideas? I really don't want to pull the carpet up again and chase it ALLLLLL the way to the center console

One more friggen window until I can get her properly tinted and the horrible purple gone!!
The Sport shocks are shorter, for a lowered vehicle. The odd thing is that I have never seen Sport shocks that were not yellow; except I think in Europe they were black. I guess there may not be quite enough travel in the shocks to accommodate the movement in your stock springs, although it is certainly worth a try for $8.50.
I started with the Bilstein HD on my lowered vehicle, then just switched to Sports when one of the HD shocks started leaking after about 6-years. I know I may have been able to send the leaky shock back to Bilstein, but I decided I would rather have all new shocks. Honestly, I don’t think I can really tell too much if any difference between HD and Sport on my lowered car. They are both dramatically more controlled than OEM, but the HD and Sports seem about the same to me. There may be just a tad less rebound bouncing with the Sports, as it seems just a little more locked down with the shorter travel of the Sports. I used the OEM shocks for a short time when the HD shock was first removed. I hated that. It was a mess on the road.

I heard a noise then looked back and saw something bounce + hit the Prius right dead in the middle of his windshield behind me -- Sorry!
I knew instantly what it was.
Well I guess good excuse to get the later Bosch markers with the half amber. Just bought a set on ebay.
I couldn't believe it too...I even ziptied it!!?? How is it even possible it came off. What do I need to do god damn cement them onto the fender?


I need like 3 zipties + string now as quadruple protection and then tape all the joints. I'm not losing another set. This would be my 4th set in 4 years between both my cars.
Last edited by ps2cho; Oct 29, 2009 at 03:45 PM.
so...Car getting tinted today!
Hopefully I get it back by the end of the day....Can't wait! I will definitely take pics tomorrow in the daylight.


Next on the list:
Valve stem seals as I am losing about 1 quart every 200miles....Pretty harsh...
then cut springs to lower the car to where it should be
...then Flex disk + new brakes all the way around (might attempt fitting the 400E brakes on, not 100% sure if its worth the hassle yet). At that point the car should be almost 100%!


