Suggestions on Strut Replacement!
 

After nearly 113,000 miles, my front struts are shot... They have developed a very annoying squeak that is heard from pressing down on the hood and also while driving over bumps.

I want to know what type you guys are buying as replacements, and what is an acceptable price to pay with labor.

After doing some research online, the Bilsteins are ranging about $150 a piece depending on which actually would fit my car.

My Indy at one point said they were $275 a piece, so I'm better off finding the correct ones and ordering them myself.

Any feedback is appreciated!

Your struts should be Airmatic. These are air bags rather than coil springs. Which makes them cost more. A LOT more.

I just replaced my passenger front strut on my 04 E320. Took me about 1 1/2 hours start to finish. No surprises, no special tools, no special knowledge needed other than shade tree mechanical skills. Because I did them myself, I can't comment on labor but likely 2-3 hours at shop rates.

I bought a rebuilt strut from RMT*** in Florida. Lifetime warranty. MY strut was $375 plus 150 core. For those who have one, AMG struts are more expensive. 4Matic struts are slightly more expensive than Airmatic struts (RWD vs. AWD).

Arnott also has struts but they are more expensive than RMT.









*** RMT is Rebuild Master Tech

I do not have airmatic

I think he just has the AMG appearance package and not an actual AMG which would be an E55 instead of the E350. Therefore he just has the struts. They could be airmatic in the rear if it was a wagon. With Mercedes sometimes the choices are limited based on whether you have a 4matic or have the sport vs luxury package. You should probably get an epc-net account and make sure you have the right part numbers for you car.

I have an '08 E350 (sport package, non-AMG) and just got the entire set of front & rears Bilstein HD's at autoanything dot com for ~$550. Installation was $350 at a local indy. They were shipped direct from Bilstein and arrived in 2 days.

BTW, have you checked your sway bar bushings? I'm not sure on the W211 but I know on my W203 they are very prone to squeaking.

Make sure it isn't a ball joint squeak, mine started at 65,000 and I had the joints replaced.

I had both upper control arm assembly with the ball joints replaced last year but I will confirm the squeak is indeed coming from the struts. Either way, replacing the struts is needed at this mileage.

What part number would be for rear Bilstein B4/Touring?

Thanks,

Never replaced my struts lol. Indy sprayed something and squeaking over bumps went away. Still holding up at 124k.

A squeak in front is most of the time a lower ball joint on these w211 cars.

Lower ball joints. Worn struts rattle over small bumps and they may look "wet".