vettdvr

I never found anyone reman on the rear airmatic only new ones. And if I remember the MB manual replacement of both is not required unless failed.

Check the service manual and confirm it.

I only had one fail and replaced both ONLY because I bought 2. Had I known only 1 was bad I would have replaced only the one.

Now I have a servicable one in the box for next time if ever that occurs.

konigstiger

In accordance to DTB S-B-32.25/19e MB requires Airmatic struts be replaced in pairs if mileage is 50,000 >.

Hubi

yeah, but I doubt it that people are changing them in every 50K miles.....come on!
with shock absorbers it can be a different story...

vettdvr

Correct that IS what I remember reading and I did replace mine as a set.

sand E320

I'm a newbie MB owner of a 2003 E320. I wondering how I determine whether I have conventional rear shocks or the airmatic ones? Any help would be appreciated.

konigstiger

Sport package adds Airmatic to MY03 e320 - if you have level control switch your vehicle is equipped with Airmatic.

sand E320

Thanks for the quick reply! Very helpfulhttps://mbworld.org/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif

W211e500

Guys,

I am in the middle of Manitoba Canada and no Merc dealer for 3 hours. My right rear suspension fails on my 2003 e500. I pulled into a local mechanic and discuss getting it fixed. I felt confident that he could do the work and he ordered the parts from the dealer. New bag and shock $2100. He has put the bag and shock in the car but its not working. The message in the dash still says "Malfunction". Please help me avoid dragging this car on a flat bed for $800 to dealer.

When the mechanic contacted the dealer, he was told that he needed to bring the car in in order to have it calibrated. I call bull#$%. The car is not rising on the right side at all.

Is there a way to reset? I keep searching the forum but I cannot finr the answer.

This is nuts?

hussainj79

Any DIY for the front left ?

vettdvr

I already did the LR airmatic and followed the procedures that have been posted. Note mine was a 2003 and the top ball joint did not have the 3 bolts so I had to remove the ball joint from the spindle arm to open the top swing arm allowing for enough room for the strut to fit. Total time first time was about 6 hrs. 2 day 1 was to jack and remove tire.

Day 2 remove inner fender panel top ball joint and strut

Day 3 install and replace all parts.

konigstiger

In addition to vettdvr comments, this may help https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...there-any.html

hussainj79

ok thanks i dont think there is much difference between the AMG and W211 for this kind of work, is there?

Thanks for your help vettdvr

vettdvr

The only difference I see is mine is slightly older model and did not have the 3 bolt on ball joint. The upper arm is one piece on mine. It is easier to remove the 3 bolts.

You can PM me if you need any of my photos.

bernard farquar

You really do want to replace in pairs. As the shock wears out, the damping function lessens, so if you replace only one, you will get a different spring rate from one side to another. This can be dangerous.

mbph

Is it possible to replace the rear airmatic rubber covers?

cheesewagon

has anybody ever changed rrear shock on a wagon? Thx

Plutoe

Why do you ask??

cheesewagon

not sure how to access the top bolt inside

vettdvr

Remove inner panel inside the car on the side of the cargo compartment and you should be able to get to the nut.

SorryAboutThat

This is a great DIY that was a tremendous help. Thanks to all who contributed.

Only advice I have is regarding unplugging the electrical connector plugs for the shocks after removing the metal/wire clip. I found that the connector plug for the shock is attatched to the adjacent plug. It was easiest to unplug both together, then pull them apart. Same situation for the install...snap the new connector plug together with it's mate and plug them both in at the same time. Don't forget to reinstall the metal/wire clip before you button things back up lol. Hope this helps...

cheesewagon

Thx all I payed 374$ for double piston oe bilstein . The treaky part was to access the top nut in a wagon. Had to remove cargo tie down and both access side panels. The advise on the wire helped! Thx again. E500 wagon

kkrahv

Sorry for my english.
Is it possible to damage shocks during replacement? I've replaced myself both shocks on my E320 airmatic and soon the famous clunk from rear was back. I've discovered, that shocks are leaking oil already.
Shocks are OEM parts. MB service said, that there is mounting mistake. They said, that there is Star diagnose needed to replace airmatic shocks. So no warranty, if it's done without Star diagnose.

SorryAboutThat

KK, how long/many miles did it take for the "clunk" to return after replacing the rear shocks? STAR computer is not necessary for a DIY rear shock replacement. Sounds like your dealer is looking for a reason not to warranty the shocks. Might be difficult to get them to warranty the shocks in a case like this. See if you can get the dealer to warranty them through Bilstein somehow. Good luck

kkrahv

I think it was around 30 miles.