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Just bought a low budget 2004 e500 4matic was completely laying on the ground. After two days troubleshooting found that the two front air spring are gone.
Now looking to coils conversion nothing from arrnott and didn’t read good review (here in the form) on strutmaster.
im up north in Canada so sending mine to rebuild is not cheap considering shipping.
whats my options? 1300$ from eBay?
any way (is it DIY) That i can keep the lower shock and install bags?
help please.
thanks
all tests went good except two front struts leaking.
when I jack the car up *two front tires up* the rear tires will hold air for days. once dropping down any of front will leak all the air out.
anyways I decide to go with STRUTMASTERS and ordered coil conversion so I can have a peace of mind HOPEFULLY!
Will you do it by yourself, or find a shop?
Based on my experience, if you DIY, I suggest to buy a pair of inner CV boots (maybe out side together), it’s much easier by cutting inner cv boots and and pull the half shaft out. Also, it’s a good time to change upper control arms.
following your post.
Originally Posted by l1byan
all tests went good except two front struts leaking.
when I jack the car up *two front tires up* the rear tires will hold air for days. once dropping down any of front will leak all the air out.
anyways I decide to go with STRUTMASTERS and ordered coil conversion so I can have a peace of mind HOPEFULLY!
Inner boots on W211, having metal collar need to be mushroomed on the end. Very hard without axle removal and even then special tool is advised.
Buying luxury Mercedes and converting it to harsh ride never made much sense to me, but sounds like you made your mind.
Aftermarket boot does not need special tools.
the problem is, when removing and installing strut, we must take off outer cv joint or half shaft. I did outer cv joint removal firstly, but I found I must harmer it in, I was afraid I would damage something because another end is fragile differential, finally I found inner is easier.
another tips, when doing the job, keep half shaft off and drop the car down, measure camber, in case of any problem on height or camber issue, it’s much easier to solve it.
anyway, I am not a professional mechanic, just did all the job twice on one side and three times on another side.
by the way, the ride is not harsh; however it’s more stable right now. I do lose height and rebound adjustment but I really don’t care because it’s still much better than a Honda or Lexus.
Originally Posted by kajtek1
Inner boots on W211, having metal collar need to be mushroomed on the end. Very hard without axle removal and even then special tool is advised.
Buying luxury Mercedes and converting it to harsh ride never made much sense to me, but sounds like you made your mind.
I had hard time with outer CV joint removal on W211 and I assumed it was my bad luck since doing it on previous models - all it took was firm tap to disengage.
But confirming with your experience, that must be common on W211.
Later on I found info that using big muffler clamp on inner joint and slide hammer - makes pulling whole axle from differential pretty easy, but I did not have to do the job 2nd time
Coming to air suspension, I missed that as well as dynamic/massage seats when I sold wagon, but I sacrificed those features for diesel.
Unfortunately in US we can't drive what we like.
2 new Arnott rear bags @ $275 each
2 rebuilt front 4-Matic air struts @ $380 each
1 air compressor rebuild kit $45
Total (**not including labor) @ $1355, so if you are a savvy shopper and mechanically inclined, you can restore & keep the great riding Air-Matic suspension for a similar price of one MB supplied air strut.
**All can be done in the driveway or garage with the help of some jacks and a good selection of hand tools.
2 new Arnott rear bags @ $275 each
2 rebuilt front 4-Matic air struts @ $380 each
1 air compressor rebuild kit $45
Total (**not including labor) @ $1355, so if you are a savvy shopper and mechanically inclined, you can restore & keep the great riding Air-Matic suspension for a similar price of one MB supplied air strut.
**All can be done in the driveway or garage with the help of some jacks and a good selection of hand tools.
Good set of hand tools will do the job but strongly suggest air or electric impact for some of those big bolts especially of the car has been on salty roads.
2 new Arnott rear bags @ $275 each
2 rebuilt front 4-Matic air struts @ $380 each
1 air compressor rebuild kit $45
Total (**not including labor) @ $1355, so if you are a savvy shopper and mechanically inclined, you can restore & keep the great riding Air-Matic suspension for a similar price of one MB supplied air strut.
**All can be done in the driveway or garage with the help of some jacks and a good selection of hand tools.
I think you're thinking US prices. Arnott rear air springs come out to about $400 - $450 CDN each w/ tax and that doesnt include any border fees. Front struts are even more expensive. So really you're looking closer to 2 grand to replace all 4.
In terms of the pump, In my case I had to replace the pump as the brushes in the motor itself were finished. Cheapest i've found was through rockauto at around $250+tax whereas the mercedes dealership itself wanted $575+tax for a new one.
If someone knows a cheap place to get these parts in canada i'm all ears.
Don't Canadians have option to buy in US?
I am buying stuff all over the World with no problem. Sometimes it is just the shipper too lazy to make international label.
Years ago I had to cut big tree and needed the biggest Stihl chain saw I could get.
California dealers would offer one for me for $1400 plus 8% tax and I still would have to wait for it.
I contact Canadian Stihl dealer and he quoted me $1100 for the saw. I placed the order and turn out it was Canadian $1100 making $860 US.
Got to love internet.
yep, it all comes from the US which is why you end up with import charges a lot of the time. that rebuild kit w/ shipping ends up around $43 CDN. But like I said, sometimes you actually need a new compressor and not just a rebuild kit unfortunately.
Yes, US dollars and yes, prices have been confirmed as of two months ago. There are many outlets for the Arnotts and there are a few companies in the US that rebuild the front struts. There may be someone in Canada that rebuilds them also?
As long as the compressor still runs, it has a good chance of working better with the new "ring" in it. Replace the descant (air dryer pellets) in there as well and don't forget about the inlet air filter canister replacement. Sounds like the kit you are looking at only has the "ring".
I tried to look every way possible but sending mine to rebuilt was of the table since I'm up in Canada and shipping is quite expensive. also prices compared to warranty weren't appealing to me as I'm planning to keep w211 for a long time project.
went with Strutmasters but I think I started to regret as I placed the order more than two weeks ago and still no information on shipping I called 3 times and each time they promise to send the shipping information the next day but still noshing.
luckily have the new inner and outer tie rods installed yesterday that kept me busy. w211 project
w219 daily driver
Armada wife daily driver
thanks for the tip.
got the new parts from Strutmasters and yesterday I installed the left front side.
pulled the inner CV right out and easy.
didn't take more than 30minutes for the whole swap.
Quote: "the problem is, when removing and installing strut, we must take off outer cv joint or half shaft."
FYI, I did not need to remove the CV joint/ axle completely when I replaced the right front Airmatic strut on my 4-Matic. I compressed the strut with a ratchet strap after relieving the air pressure and only had to slightly "expand" the CV joint to get the strut's lower bracket to clear the axle. I was careful not to expand the boots too much so as to not tear them. Then I just carefully slid/ compressed the CV joint axle assembly back together after the new strut cleared the axle shaft.
Quote: "the problem is, when removing and installing strut, we must take off outer cv joint or half shaft."
FYI, I did not need to remove the CV joint/ axle completely when I replaced the right front Airmatic strut on my 4-Matic. I compressed the strut with a ratchet strap after relieving the air pressure and only had to slightly "expand" the CV joint to get the strut's lower bracket to clear the axle. I was careful not to expand the boots too much so as to not tear them. Then I just carefully slid/ compressed the CV joint axle assembly back together after the new strut cleared the axle shaft.
yes, using a 9V battery connect the lower two pins of air strut, we can release the air in strut; but when we install coil spring strut, that’s almost impossible to compress it.
hi All
thank you for helping, the conversion went fantastic and no issues at all. not loosing height and no camper issues.
now I start driving it trying to figure out the cooling fan.
it's on full blast mode and removing the fan relay KO doesn't change a thing the fan still runs.
tested all the fan wires and show's 12v on red ground on brown and ground on the other two but when ignition on the ignition wire i get 12v and the other ~1v.
changed the fan still nothing.
no error on ECU but the gauge shows (coolant visit workshop)
just looking for ideas before heading to change ECU .
01-08-2018, 09:34 PM
