texas008

in 2014, my 2007 GL450 had to replace front airbags at ~52k miles, MB dealer charged $4200 for the front two. Then in 2019 at 103k miles, the front airbags need replacement again. This time I bought arnott front struts and paid mobile mechanic to replace them ($700 parts + $180 labor)
The two rear airbags were also replaced twice by myself, all using arnott airbags, first round in 2014, and then in 2019. ($150 each airbag).
They are just wear & tear items, and last around 50k miles. And each round of replacement cost $1200 for all four corners. That seems fine for a GL450.
btw. The air compressor and valve block were replaced at 110k miles by myself. parts $600 from FCP. cost me about 8 hours of labor.

Diamond Dave

You keep saying that, but it isn't accurate. Where was the work done - the dealer? Heavy parts markup, heavy labor cost. If you aren't mechanically inclined, you will shell out money on an aging Geman car. That's just a fact. HOWEVER, at this point in your truck's history, parts prices for a Mercedes are relatively par with even economy Japanese cars. The difference is whether or not you can save on labor cost by doing things yourself. If you don't, then sure as hell don't go to the dealer. Find an independent Mercedes shop that has the correct diagnostics computers.

For perspective, I did my front air struts and rear air struts + shocks in my driveway with hand tools - total cost for all 6 struts was ~$1500.

hineyman

I replaced the passenger side bag and strut yesterday… And unlike all the videos online, it was not easy as they described…

At times I thought I was stuck....I played a hell of a time just getting the shock out of there and getting the new one in… The control arm doesn't seem to want to go down far enough to allow easy removal of the Shock… Am I doing something wrong?? Do you guys have any hints of an easier way to get the strut out of there and the new one in?

I muscled my way through that side and am dreading the driver side

eric_in_sd

Did you lift the front end off the ground? Or just one corner? If the latter, the swaybar is holding the lifted side up.

Put some sort of a strap around the new strut, so its gas pressure does not extend the strut before installation. Once you have it in position, remove the strap.

Ignore the instructions to change the compression nut on the air line. You can check them for leakage with soapy water after installation, and replace as necessary. Spray a little silicone on the nut to help it twist in and out.

eric_in_sd

P.S. For your sanity, and to make it easier for others to help you, use the correct terminology. In the front, there is a strut, which is essentially a shock absorber (damper) with a spring wrapped around it. You can replace just the bag spring, but no one does. I believe you can also replace the shock absorber inside the strut, but everyone just relies on the strut manufacturers to do this.

In the rear, the bag spring is separate from the shock absorber.

hineyman

you are right....sorry...I'm talking about the rear Shock not strut.
and now that you mention it I did have the car raised and the front wheel was off the ground while I was working on the rear. Is that what was causing my difficulty getting the rear suspension lower to get the shock out....because that front end was off the ground??....I raised the car too high?
Im doing the driver side tomorrow. I only did the passenger side shock and Air Bag yesterday and this morning the whole back end was low to the ground again.... the driver side is really the side that was bad....sagging over night and leaking shock...I did the passenger side first so the whole rear will be new. Tomorrow I do the bad side...the driver side. I'm hoping a new bag left and right...there will be no more sagging.

TX07GL450

so, for terminology purposes,
for rear, you will use the words airbag and shock. They are physically completely separate from each other.
for front, you will use the word strut and airbag. The airbag is bolted on the top of strut and both are physically one unit. They are usually replaced as a unit.

As far as trouble getting REAR shock or air bag out or putting new one in, they both are compressible by hand. Shock needs consistent moderate pressure to be compressed. Rear Air bag is compressible easily once you take the airline nut off and let air escape the bag.
With this information, why would you have trouble removing either of them even if rear control arm is not dropping further? You just compress them enough to fit in, start the bolt and let the pressure go. For air bag, you might have to hold it in place, gripping it from sides, while clearing the top and bottom as car expands it once an assistant turns on the ignition.

Diamond Dave

In fairness, the rear air shocks are the simple ones. It's like 6 nuts/bolts. The hardest part of the rears is realizing you need to permanently destroy your rear interior panels. If you are replacing the rear air shocks, I can almost guarantee you need to replace the regular gas shocks as well.

Diamond Dave

Frankly, it sounds like you don't want to be in a Mercedes is all you can do is make excuses. Not sure if you've ever owned a car before, but regular shocks/struts are wear items. They last between 60K to 120K miles depending on use (and quality of components). Air shocks last between 50K and 100K depending upon use. This are basic plug and play repairs. Any independent shop that works on Toyota/Lexus Landcruiser is replacing air bags also.

hineyman

Another curiosity. The rear factory airbags have a type of hat/collar at the top.

That hat/collar is attached to the car at the top and the airbag slips into it. When you take the airbag out that -collar/hat stays on the car and is separate from the airbag.

All the videos with people showing you how to do this never show that… They show a bare metal with a screw sticking out that you thread a white tab on to and the new airbag slips into that. nobody explains what to do with that hat/collar that is attached to the car… Do you remove it fully?????… Or is your new airbag supposed to fit up inside there like a hat?? None of these do it yourself videos, show that hat/collar when you remove the airbag.


Very curious that nobody is talking about this.

eric_in_sd

Unclear what you are referring to. Pictures?

Max Blast

It’s got four tines that counter hold the bag once you slip it on there. Once you rip the bag off those tines usually go with it and you just unscrew the plastic Doohickey and replace it with the new one that invariably comes with a arnot or Bilstein bag.

nobody talks about it because these aren’t the Doohickeys you’re looking for.

they serve no other purpose than to initially locate the bag on installation.

gl450BENZ

Hey guys, so thanks for all the replies. I am at a bit of a dilemma, before this forum, I did not know about bilstein shocks being oem. So i spent 2200 for the front 2 airmatic struts and left rear air bag including parts and labor. If I order bilstein, it would be 1k for parts and benz will charge 160 per hour for labor. Should I ask the dealer if I can return the parts they put on and have them put on bilsteins instead and ger a refund for the difference?

texas008

if you've already paid the $2200, not sure if the MB dealer would be willing to accept return and issue refund.

eric_in_sd

What? Not only will they laugh at you, it would be a tremendous amount of effort for minimal benefit. Just take the lesson and move on.

Max Blast

no, that is a sunk cost. Just replace the oldest airbag with a same kind (Bilstein) and move on with life. Keep up-to-date on the needs of the suspension by checking for leaks, or sags greater than 10 cm overnight.

bakestein1

The rears (bags) are really easy to do.

vesiadog

From my experiences of changing about 8 fronts and a couple of Arnott bag only fronts.. than 2 sets of rear struts and 6 rear bags … Once you learn how to pop off the rear interior snaps and get to the bolts… I would much rather do the rears vs the fronts… I can do the rears much faster also.
I won’t change bag only on the front anymore unless it is to just sale the car.
Since I have owned 5 different 164’s I will give my ideas on maintaining them and what to be prepared for.
1. Air suspension… keep an eye out and record the time on the compressor between oil changes.. worth tracking especially if you take a lot of trips.
2. Brakes… rotors/pads
3. Wheel bearings
4. Transmission maintenance a must .. OEM filters and top quality fluid
5. Of course Engine oil and top quality filter with a wrap around build like a MANN 7185X
6. Front end wear parts.. inner/outer tie rods, upper/lower ball joints,
It has been mentioned before but thank goodness to forums and youtube. My dad started me out very young working on MB’s ( we had a 1959 190) I drove a 1968 280SEL in college in the 70’s..
We should change our forum to Glutton GL’s. I can tell from years of wrenching MB’s that our beloved 164 ARE NOT GREAT MB examples.
I rather enjoy working on my R129 SL500 pure German design and built over my 164’s BUT the ride oh the ride of the beast air suspension !!!!
Right when you have all the mechanical issues under wraps … the electrical bug will surface !!!!

Max Blast

I have a counterpoint: 164s are actually very well put together, even as a US built product. change the fuel pump on one and you will see the attention to detail and packaging of everything around it. now, water intrusion is an entirely different issue and if you don’t vigilantly watch out for those, it will kill a 164 in short order by submerging expensive electronics in water and causing all kinds of electrical gremlins. It is not a 129 in terms of build quality, but 129 have their own electrical issues with harnesses degrading over time.

But the 164 is designed to resist water, just not fording rivers. Add a poorly integrated diesel motor to a leaky 164 and you have yourself nightmare fuel.

vesiadog

Here is a decent article pointing out some areas of concern.
https://www.import-car.com/mercedes-...ems-and-cures/

eric_in_sd

It is strange; it is either luck of the draw or the luck of not having drawn, because our new friend highlighted a slew of issues I had not known were issues. I grenaded my 722.9 at 130K but in fairness I had been an abusive lover. Wheel bearings, suspension components? The bushings are torn and squeak, but handling isn't so bad I'm willing to dedicate the time to swapping out the control arms. Bearings seem fine at 200K. I'd be inclined to call shullbit, but he seems to know what he is talking about. So

The failures on the electrical system are the worst. Besides that, though, the truck seems to hold up quite well. Over 200K and it is still a faithful steed.

Thing is, if I get an economy car, which I should, to have as a backup if nothing else, the annual mileage on the GL will drop to near zero. So I'm torn whether to keep fixing up this thing or get a more sensible replacement.

vesiadog

I very rarely get on a forum when I am just learning about a vehicle. So at 69 yrs old I can easily talk about the many many MB’s I have owned and repaired. Also my son has a pretty large R-129 parts and refurb business that I lend an hand to occasionally so my knowledge doesn’t come directly from reading and conversation where in todays world many forum associates thrive on.
Eric if you are asking for advice what to do with a 200k mile MB 164 chassis… park it and run away fast! Leave a Free sign in the window.
Unless you have a real good reason for driving a 5000# beast or towing… get yourself a nice 320 wagon 4matic… find a rust free unit and enjoy 27-28 mpg… very low maintenance and all around nice ride.
We have had 5 in the family and definitely one of the best Benz made.

Max Blast

counterpoint; run it into the ground and then walk away. I found that if you don’t drive 164 for a while gremlins seem to crop up, these cars do not like to sit cold steel. Yes, 320 W-211 is a fantastic car built like a brick crapper but it just is not as comfortable and versatile as a 164.

eric_in_sd

If I am going to have only one vehicle, I need for it to be capable of hauling, in the main compartment, up on the roof, or in a trailer, ideally all three. I also want to be able to sleep in the back. And I badly want four wheel drive. And now I know the GL pretty well, so ... no way am I going to get rid of it until I have to.

Just ought to get my mitts on a economy car to supplement for my all-too-usual 60 mile round trips.

Point taken about it sitting idle.