The Thomas J

At what mileage are people replacing their shocks and struts and when did you know it was time to replace them? What brand of shocks and struts is the most popular and did you replace the rear coil springs at the same time?

JDM_SXE-10

Do you have AirMatic?

The Thomas J

No AirMatic. I should also add I don't hear or feel any clunking of the strut mounts when I go over any bumps.

cetialpha5

What mileage are you at now? Also you might not have as much choice as to brands as you think depending on the type of e350 you have. I think options like 4matic and sport is a hard combination to find for the front and you might be stuck with OEM. I would think you would know it was time to replace them when the car bounces too much when going over bumps.

The Thomas J

96,000 Mostly highway mileage, and yea 4matic and sport. It's not so much it's bouncing...I dunno I feel like it could be better I can't describe it. I hit a pothole last winter at this time that blew a rim out and the car has never felt the same.
I had it looked ta by 3 different mechanics at two garages that I trust and all 3 said everything looks good. One guy said "it looked really clean under there". I think it needs a ball joint or an axle I hear a little whining and feel a slight vibration through the steering wheel at high speeds that wasn't there before I hit that pot hole.....I know I just went WAY off topic, but it's been on my mind for a while. I figured with almost a 100,000 miles it was due for shocks and struts if they were still the original's.

Rockauto.com has a great selection of suspension parts.

ChrisPark

Try to find 'Sachs 312 564' for front.

Lots of shop and webcat said, 312564 can be fitted to 4matic. Genuine shocks PN is 211 323 9300 (For code 486, 951, or 954. Maybe for Sport package, AMG package, Avantgarde), which is same as Sachs 312564s OEM PN.

But in case of rear, I still have no choice but to choose Mercedes shock. According to PN, 4matics rear shock is different with rwd, so there are no aftermarket option

wjcandee

NONSENSE. Go to partsgeek.com. They'll sell you a Bilstein-box OEM shock at a stubstantial discount. If you have any questions, call them. They really know their stuff and will answer questions over the phone with pleasure.

As to the guy with the vibration since he hit a pothole, most likely the rebuilt replacement wheel you bought isn't true. That's what's causing the vibration in the steering column. Much better to get a new knockoff (or good non-knockoff design) wheel than a rebuilt one which may be "true enough" as far as the reseller is concerned, but which still causes a little vibration at 60mph. Been there, so I sympathize.

The Thomas J

I didn't get a single rebuilt wheel I did an entire wheel swap for stock chrome wheels. Got them from a place called California chrome. They look great, but were not worth the money. I wouldn't do it again. I wound up getting news tires as well.

I left something out that may be relevant. Going in a straight line I hear a bit of a whine, not all the time. When i'm on the highway doing 75-80 mph and I am taking right hand curves that's when I feel it in the steering wheel and hear it a little more. It's a very slight vibration and apparently i'm the only one that hears or feels this, but I believe it to be there.

The Thomas J

Took the advice and went to parts geek and picked up a set of blistens for rear, the front struts were tough to find aftermarket for the 4matic. Wound up going dealer and got hammered.

Found out something about the car that made me laugh. After 97,000 miles I needed new shocks, struts and new mounts. I told the mechanic again about the issues I was having with the front end. The mechanic had to take the axles and the spindles out to do the struts. He said once again "everything looks really good under here" but, your right side passenger wheel has 4 bends in it....

My reaction was because that was the wheel that blew apart and led me to buying new rims all around. I must have bent it on another pot hole the first day or two after the new rims were put on the car. The roads here have been terrible the past couple of winters.

They were not able to send it out to be fixed that day so they put it on the back and yea..the wheel was my issue all along. Now I feel the vibration and bouncing from the rear.

Long story short had the wheel fixed and between the fixed wheel, properly balanced wheels and tires, new struts, shocks and mounts the car rides like glass again and I don't have the dead body in the trunk THUMP any longer. Wound up costing me a bunch of money but it was worth it.

LemonSqueezy

Thank goodness you got that resolved. I had the same issue with an ever so bent wheel, unnoticeable by just looking, got my head scratching for about 2 months and a dead body started thumping in my trunk too. Turns out a new wheel + tire + alignment was all it took and it runs smooth as butter now.

The Thomas J

I am glad it's resolved to because I haven't been enjoying the car as much as I had in the past. I have been itching to trade it in for something else. Having this work done and getting it back to what it should be scratches that itch for a while.