mwalkerd

i have a 98 e320 with 150,000 miles (newbie mb owner). i just had indie shop replaced front ball joints and bushings. it tightened up things some but it still takes pot holes pretty ruff with a klung / feel. anyway were do i start: shocks - if so- aprox how much should it be to get normal end shocks at my local indie shop -
or could it be springs, or is mb a strut design -
by no means am i a mechanic, nor have i ever owned a md before a month ago

love the car, but don't want to learn how to be a mechanic.

CA_Tallguy

Most folks on here seem to go with bilstein shocks. You might also check out your engine mounts because they tend to go bad -- especially with the miles on your car. I changed out both per the advice from other on here, after a post much like yours, and the car is amazingly different. Search around and you'll find lots of info on how to check your engine mounts, and I think there is a "bounce test" for your shocks. But if they have not been changed in awhile it's almost certain that you need new ones, I think.

Also, it's quite easy to change the shocks yourself. The first one was a bit tough for me but by the last I felt like a pro.

tirona

i think the clunk-clunk thing you are hearing over potholes is not related with your springs or shocks. usually the swaybar/stabilizer links are the ones that cause that, and they are known to go bad in our cars. i had a mb mechanic tell me this a while back. i would change the front swaybar links and the swaybar bushings. they are very cheap and easy to replace.

E320se

Check on the spring seating and swaybar end links connection as it happened to me once. It clunks whenever it goes over speed bump as there is more expansion/compression.

ghaffar23

How is the removal of the springs and shocks on the 4Matic different from the regular RWD W210's? I've downloaded the DIY shock removal tutorial from one of raymond's posts, however, there's still the question in how to remove the springs. I'll soon invest in a spring compressor, as I'd rather save a ton of money on labor. From what I see around mbworld, the procedure really isn't that difficult. It's just a matter of finding the tutorial amongst the thousands of posts.

ohlord

different procedure.
ohlord

raymond g-

g-
use very similar procedure used by 203 shock mods. your 4matic and their
front have coil-over design. thus, same hook-type spring compressor Ohlord
tipped you about applies.

ghaffar23

However, for the rear, would I have to invest in a pancake-style compressor? If I'm not mistaken, the rear springs are similar to the RWD variety, setup-wise. Or are the rear springs in a position where I can't gain access as easily as the front for the hook-style compressor?

raymond g-

oh....yeah, I guess you would (pancake for rear). I overlooked highlighting that,
sorry. i did get lazy and swapped out the rear w/o using a spring compressor
but that is not recommended. it's like shifting a manual transmission car w/o
using the clutch. do-able but not recommended.

I've swapped out the rear springs about 4x and the rear pads about 3x. so I
was pretty familiar with the procedure and made some short cuts. requires
at least two floor jacks for added safety.

to the question: can you use...hook compressor? I don't know for certain.
But bear in mind that the lower spring mounting point is quite large and there
is less tolerance for hook-design units than the pancake design.

yeah, it's a bummer that you may end up needing two diff spring compressor
designs for your task. since I've not done this specific job using the hook
design compressor, I can't speak to its effectiveness