All,


I know this has been beat to death overall but I wanted to make a quick post on what failed and what it took to fix.


I needed both front struts done. My independent mechanic charged me about $2,450 all in, which included the labor and Arnott replacement struts and bags. These were not remanufactured Mercedes struts, but a ground up design and build of Arnott itself. They come with a 5/60K warranty, and my mechanic backs all work with a 3/36K.


The dealer wanted the same money for remanufactured Mercedes parts with a 1 year/unlimited mileage warranty.


Based on what I've heard, if you think you have an Airmatic problem, get it in to the shop ASAP and drive it as little as possible. Struts are one thing, struts and a compressor will set you back the cost of an entry level Rolex.

 

You must have ADS with that rate. Even so, you got jacked. No way it should have been that expensive. You can buy the struts for $500 - $650 each. They charged you over $1300 for labor if you don't have ADS. Arnott also has a lifetime warranty so not sure where the 5 year 60k warranty is from?

 

Thanks for the Monday morning quarterback. I priced this with 2 dealers and 2 independent shops that specialize in German repairs, and this was the best deal in the area- I'm not new to high test cars, or buying professional services. You realize a post like that has no actual purpose besides tryng to freak out the OP, right? Not to mention even if you were right, it's all water over the dam.

 

It meant to save the next guy from overpaying. Buy direct from Arnott and take to anyone that is reputable if you don't want to DIY. It's not rocket science to replace these. In fact, you can do on your driveway.

 

With ADS, the new struts assemblies from Arnott are $650 each. Throw in another $100 for shipping and tax and you are already at $1,400.00. I just replaced my front two myself. It took about 2.5hours. So YES, it seems like he overpaid a little, but you don't know what else might have been included. Perhaps an alignment and/or recalibrating the height sensors. Plus he now has a warranty from the shop and they DO have to make a profit after-all.

 

Doubtful he has ADS or needed ride height sensors recalibrated but if you read my post you can see I gave a variance for that option. Also, warranty is better straight from Arnott than what they are offering. Yes, shops do need to make a profit but the Mercedes tax can be a bit burdensome.

 

Op: what is the shop rate and hours quoted?

A competent mechanic will take about 1-1.5 hours per side if the shock lower bushing bolt cooperates

 

Just had mine done - (2011 GL450)
Front struts replaced by local mechanic for $420 (labor only) Bought remanufactured ones from Ebay by SunCore for ~$500 with core return, so $920 total. They've been working great.

 

I replaced mine last week. Left front started leaking at 56k. Core appeared to be in good shape, so I just bought the bags from Arnott. $660, plus 4 x$25/hr hours lift time at a DIY garage.
Best $100 DIY I ever spent. Dealer wanted $2400 because they use Billstein and don't re-use the core, and because of dealer labor charges. My bargain Mercedes shop still wanted $2000. Either one only offered a 1 year warranty. Arnott will warranty as long as I own the car.
I will say that it wasn't the easiest DIY. Having a frame lift instead of ramps made a big difference. You have to get the weight off the front wheels. Also, there were a couple specialty tools that I don't have in my arsenal. A "ball joint popper", because those upper control arms are on there TIGHT; and set of hollow sockets because you need to hold the center of the bolt with a torx wrench when you tighten down the nut to replace the control arm.
It took me about 3 hours to muddle through the first side, (which included a 1/2 hour to call Arnott about a discrepancy in their directions), and then only an hour to swap out the other side. And remember, I swapped out the bags onto the old cores. It would be quicker if you bought the full assembly.
Arnott has very explicit instructions on their website. Video, pdf and Google docs. The Google docs was the most detailed.

 

Hey Callisto1 renting a lift sounds like a great idea. I actually attempted to do this myself as it seemed relatively easy, however as you mentioned you need the right tools. I got stumbled on taking the control arm off the strut assembly. That thing was not budging so I gave up. I would imagine you can get a bit more leverage when it is up higher on a lift than lying on your back. To me, spending $420 for labor was worth having someone else doing it after all my effort.

 

Sorry for dropping off the face of the earth, BlownV8, for being such a jack a** in my reply to your reply, and for the length of this post. No ADS here (thank God)


To clarify, I had them do the front air springs, as well as the front strut units while they were at it, along with the front level sensors (or whatever they are called). I'd have to dig out the invoice to split out the parts from the labor.


Fast forward 4 months. Got the battery replaced as it was near death (good times) and within a week, I got the "Malfunction" with the Airmatic arrow-up symbol on the dash. Resets when I park and turn off the car and it "goes to sleep"


Happens now every time I drive the truck more than 5-15 minutes and only it seems when I get above about 50 MPH. Rear no longer load levels or adjusts for road surface - rides worse than the '77 F150 I used to beat around in high school. First day it happend the car raised up and went down on command. Since then, raise button no longer does anything. Pump still runs on occasion which tells me it's not dead. It was replaced a year ago along with the relay before I bought it. Currently raising holy Hell with the MB dealer I bought the thing from about the condition it was in when I bought it. Asking them to either buy it back or sort out all the Airmatic issues at wholesale. So far, no word.


In the meantime, I found out that a business contact of mine's husband was a MB mechanic for 25 years. While he's moved on to a domestic dealer now, he does some side work on MB for friends and family (and owns an 08 GL320 CDI and a 09 R350). He seems to believe it's the rear axel level sensors. When we confirm this weekend, I'll let you know the outcome.


I used to be a DIY guy, but that was when I had my dad to keep me on the straight and narrow - one of those guys who grew up in the late 60's and early 70's turning wrenches on anything and everything with wheels. Without him I'm afraid to f-things up. He's probably looking down and laughing an "I told you so" at me for buying a rolling computer.


Hoping I can provide more info than I'm absorbing as I go along. The best or something....?

 

Good thing you got the warranty on the work..........

 

Hopefully it is just those rear level sensors and they won't be expensive to replace

Please post back and let us know what the problem was , I am sure all of us will have to replace those at some point LOL

 

I had a coil spring 2008 ML and the only thing I hated on that truck was the ride, I knew the airmatic would need repairs when I bought it but completely love mine

The ride is way better and I love being able to lift the truck when off road

So yes they require some maintenance and repairs but I really think the ride is worth it

 

Airmatic is not bad at all to maintain. ABC, that's a whole other issue.

 

Got back the prognosis. This is a case where it pays to know the right guy who likes to tinker.


Compressor OK. Valve block OK. Level Sensors OK. Rear Bags OK. Relay OK. Connections tight.


40 Amp fuse for Airmatic system in the underhood, passenger's side fuse/relay box: toasted. I don't mean blown, I mean crispy fried, something went wrong toasted. As I understand it, it was providing intermittent power to the circuit, which caused the issues.


Put in a new 40A fuse, power cycled the car and it leveled itself right out. Still right as rain. I was having flash backs to the 1988 Olds Toronado Trofeo I had that was an electrical purgatory, and which was eventually put to pasture.


My guy ordered a new fuse/relay block from MB for a heart stopping...$153.00. No markup from him and labor will be cheap, so I'll be about $200 all in. That said, those of you brave enough to tackle electronics on this beast can probably DIY. It looks to be one of the simpler things to replace.

 

that is great, keep us up to date if it stays fixed etc

thanks for posting the solution

 

It's good they are replacing the fuse panel but what caused the melt down? If the root cause is not determined, it may occur again.