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So I have the 2008 gl320cdi at the mechanic for a few things. One being the loose wonky feel on the road. It hopefully will be on the lift early next week to get a run down. I crawled under the vehicle last week and noticed the control arm bushings were in rough shape. The rear sway bushings probably could benifit as well with replacement. The mechanic mentioned the rear shocks probably need replacing. I though the air bags were in place of shocks. Are there both shocks and air bags in the rear? At 165k what other bushings or components would be good to look at?
Rear air bags were done at 85k and front air struts at 136k.
Tia for suggestions and recommendations
Last edited by smiledr996s; 04-21-2018 at 10:35 PM.
You have both airbags and shocks in the rear. Bad shocks can kill your handling... I changed my rear shocks at about 190k miles - with the 3rd set or rear airbags.
FYI, there are never "just" shocks on any vehicle. Shocks main purpose is to reduce how quickly (and how many times) the car bounces after a bump (rebound)... NOT to support the vehicle. There is always something else used as the main component/structure... springs, leafs, torsion bars, air springs (bags), etc.
True. This is my first car with air suspension. So never thought too hard about it nor do I get under that much since losing my mechanic friend
So next question is Arnott or bilstien. I wish I had known what I know know and just bought the whole package on the front end. I had one mechanic do the front and compressor and block. And another do the rear initially
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I'd say avoid Arnott. (Sorry Doug@Arnott)
Replaced original leaky bags with Arnott and installed new Bilsteins shocks on March 3rd 2018.
I have put literally 1000miles on this setup and bags exploded on me when towing 4000lbs. in end of March.
2 adults, 2 kids, no cargo in the car at all, weight distribution hitch, all way below max values. Both bags currently returned to PartsGeek with RMA.
First one exploded (big boom, at first I thought it was a tire) at highway speed, second one exploded once I pulled over. Obviously the second one went out due to the first one being damaged and extra load on tail.
After initial inspection the top metal ring holding the bag against top mount slid all the way down, same thing happened on the second one. Top mounts had dates of Nov 2017 handwritten with a silver marker (I assume Arnott marks inspection or manufacture date)
Spoke with few different MB techs and freelance cert mechanics and they also did not recommend Arnott if you were to use your car to full extent. (let's say 7 ppl and luggage or towing within limits).
Sucks to have your vacation disrupted and additional unexpected $1500 service done to your car when everything was supposed to be trouble free.
I have now put another 3000 miles towing with the same setup on MB bags without issues.
Just my 2 cents from personal experience.
So sorry that your air spring(s) had this issue. That part is one of our better sellers. At one point (2014ish) M-B dealers where buying these because M-B had run out. It is built for us by Continental using their multi-ply ContiTech air sleeves and is typically very reliable. It was designed by Arnott engineers to improve upon the stock rear air spring by adding thicker rubber and heavier duty crimping rings but obviously something happened with yours. The 4,000 lbs shouldn't have been an issue since the vehicle is rated for over 7,000 lbs. I've sent a request to our Quality Assurance department head and our Returns department to be on the look out for your air springs coming back from Parts Geek (they don't return warranty items right away so it may be awhile). If and when I hear back I'll post an update. Of interest - we don't hand write dates on the spring - they are coded on the label and box.
Thank you for your input and interest Doug.
I should have taken a picture of that detail. There was a date written with a marker on inside of top mounts. It was dated somewhere around 11/2017.
This should possibly help you identify the return.
We drive our GL a lot while towing our camper, never exceed 55-60mph while doing so. It's not a new setup for us, that's why we were stunned by what happened. I'd be interested to hear your QA's findings.
04-21-2018, 10:32 PM
