dacollector

mines went out and the rear driver side is siting on the ground.. jacked it up and it look preety straight foward except that the hose that goes to the external tank goes up and over a sub frame... has anyone done it? what is the difficulty? dangers? dealer wanted $2300 just for labor for 2 days, part is $1002.24 and they say that i should change both sides since they are already dissasembling the rear. there for my bill before taxes $4304.48 ?
i know i can get the parts cheaper online, but it's the labor.

vettdvr

Welcome to my world, I have already replaced both under warranty at 85,000.

nikon

Remove the air supply hose clamp from the air bag. Take a screw driver and carefully insert in between the air bag plastic fitting and the hose and tilt the screw driver to drain the air bag. BE CAUTIOUS not to puncture the hose!!!!! It will drain at a certain angle of tilt of the screw driver. Make sure you get all of the air out. You will see the bag shrink. Next disconnect the wiring. Then disconnect the bag from top and bottom and you are done. It should take you no more than 3-4 hours to do both sides. Do not open the doors or start the car because the air compressor might engage. MAKE SURE THE CAR IS PROPERLY SUPPORTED WHILE JACKED UP!!! Let me know if you have any questions. It never seizes to amaze me how some of the dealers are robbing their customers.

dacollector

thanks nikon,
so basically, i can do as you said, then take off the bolt for the shock, then the bolt fot the airspring to drop the arm? also on the new part, i simply take off teh clamp as it comes with the hose and air tank, then reassemble and put a stainless clamp, like the radiator type? if so, then it's easier than it looks. let me know. thanks.

Diesel Benz

Some owners claim that the air tank hose starts leaking if it is removed to make the assembly work easier. Others claim the workshops rob their customers when they do it the hard way, keeping the hose attached.

nikon

Yes, that is right. Just make sure that you get a good quality ss clamp and do not over tighten it. Once you put everything back together, make sure that you tighten everything to mb specs. If you don't have the mb repair dvd, then get it. It always comes handy. YOU SHOULD FIRST DRAIN THE AIR BAG BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE.Make sure you take your time and don't forget that the bag operates under very high air pressure.

MB211

Per WIS work instructions, you do NOT remove the hose. Labor charge is high because you have to lower subframe to route line and resevior over it....

dacollector

repaired rear driver side, all went smooth, seems to have fixed the problem, then several weeks now i notice that the rear passenger side (right) is starting to sit lower. each day it seems to be lower and lower, no matter if i start the car, it rises to the normal height, so i assume that it was in it's failing stage like the rear driver side was. i did the spray on the airline fittings, no bubles.
so I figured to just change out the right side rear airspring. which I did yesterday and it took only 2.5 hours. I drove it around, in both the raised position, and the lowered (regular) position, let the car sit in both positions several hours, all seems normal. I left it in the raise position last night, and this morning, the right side( just repaired ) is low, but not as low as it used to be, but now I also noticed the front right is lower then the left. it looked like I had the whole right side tires flat. I open the door and it pumped back up. I armed myself with a soapy mixture in a spray bottle and sprayed all rear connections, including the one behind the bottom rear seat, the right side air tank in the trunk, and both airline connector to the front air spring in the engine compartment, no bubbles... no leaks? is my problem the sensors? if it is , how can the rear be at two different levels when I know there is only one sensor? just too frustrated, out of warranty and money and idea's.... any help or insight is very much appreciated.

220S

Can you find an Indy with SDS and set levels? Once they're set it should stay level unless you have a definite relay/pump or leak issue.

I've found that going thru the system with SDS for leak detection and sensor function (ride height calibration) is really the only definitive way to get everything set up correctly. YMMV.

mdgonzo101

I need to get mine checked out as the driver side rear sits a tad lower then the passenger side rear. I've read that this seems to be common for the W211 E55, but I hate the idea.