Strut replacement based only on age/miles?
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From: unbegrenzt
2017 GLE350 4MATIC
So I should clarify my objections to the suspension performance. In general the highway ride is great. Low speed on the crappy streets in my neighborhood isn't great not harsh but impact is sharper than one would expect for a luxury version of the W212.
The biggest suspension issue I have is with the steering feel on the highway. It is lacking in isolation from vibration and road imperfections. Perhaps I have euphoric recall but I don't remember any of this crap in the steering on my small wheel, recirculating ball cars (220SE's and 190E) .
I have good Michelins that I have had balanced at Costco. The steering is rarely smooth and vibration free. Since my car sits for a week at a time I often have to work through flat spotting on the tires on a given trip.
First and foremost is the steering on your W212 luxuriously smooth on the highway?
Can strut or other suspension wear drive this lack of steering smoothness? I often imagine that it could if the low amplitude portion of the agility suspension shock is failing or the control arm bushings are soft. Does this make sense?
Despite the fact that I have had them balanced would road force balancing the tires correct this?
The biggest suspension issue I have is with the steering feel on the highway. It is lacking in isolation from vibration and road imperfections. Perhaps I have euphoric recall but I don't remember any of this crap in the steering on my small wheel, recirculating ball cars (220SE's and 190E) .
I have good Michelins that I have had balanced at Costco. The steering is rarely smooth and vibration free. Since my car sits for a week at a time I often have to work through flat spotting on the tires on a given trip.
First and foremost is the steering on your W212 luxuriously smooth on the highway?
Can strut or other suspension wear drive this lack of steering smoothness? I often imagine that it could if the low amplitude portion of the agility suspension shock is failing or the control arm bushings are soft. Does this make sense?
Despite the fact that I have had them balanced would road force balancing the tires correct this?
Steering feel comes from tires, shocks, wheel bearings, tie rods, steering rack bushings (if present) and engine mounts.
Any component that is stiff (tires) or worn out (everything else) contributes to feedback through the steering wheel.
Low speed and pothole damping complaints on a W212 will be improved with new shocks. And the suspension would still not have new-car feel because of the many other components discussed on this thread which would not have been replaced at the same time.
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2014 Cummins, 2014 E250 Bluetec
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No I got it and agree but also wanted to be fair. There are tons of other metrics that my W212 would outshine the my old '59 220SE. Not the least of which is safety.
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2010 E350 4Matic
A data point on strut life. Just pulled my passenger side front strut from my 2010 E3504MATIC with 150K miles. I wanted to see for myself how well it was functioning at this mileage. No observable leakage and it extended on it's own. I was concerned that it would give resistance and I wouldn't be able to tell if it was bad or not. Well I didn't need to worry about that. It gave zero and I mean zero resistance. It's amazing how well the car drove without any damping. Really looking forward to putting new B4 Bilsteins on it.
Last edited by MBNUT1; Sep 11, 2024 at 02:38 PM.
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2014 Cummins, 2014 E250 Bluetec
Dont get too excited, it will help some but ya are still gonna feel every little feather on the road. I could push mine down with 2 fingers at 105k miles or so when I replaced them. Its better but these cars suspension is well what it is.
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Thanks for setting my expectations. I am also replacing the control arm bushings so that should help things somewhat.
Last edited by MBNUT1; Sep 11, 2024 at 11:06 PM.
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