LAWYER2

My mechanic says the strut is indeed bad (leaking air and fluid) and can replace it for $1400. He gave me the option to find the part on my own if I could to lower the price. I was considereding going the rebuilt strut route as I don't think I will have this car much longer.
Any suggestions on where to go for a more affordable part?

Skylaw

Arnott. New, around $800; remanufactured, around $400.

Arlen777

Is it just leaking or ur car is sitting low and u have warning message, if u not i dont think u should replace it now, because everytime i go to do diagnostic on my car mechanics say that i have leak but it still drives on normal level and dont get any warning messages.

Benz5656

rebuilt $400 check out ebay

LAWYER2

thanks for the reply guys. It definitely needs replacing. I saw it on the lift and its' tore apart and leaking fluid. I'm going to go with the rebuilt one. I know others wouldn't go that route, but like i said I won't have the car that long and it allowed me to fix other things like replacing the ball joints, tranny flush, catalytic converter and this annoying valve cover leak. Being a procrastanator definitely is not a good thing

Benz5656

You can get a rebuilt with a lifetime warranty

LAWYER2

yea that was the selling point for me

sokrispy69

where can you find them rebuilt with lifetime warrenty ... just wondering incase this ever happends to me or should i say when !!

Arlen777

Arnott dot com

Quadcammer

Thats a really great way to burn out your airmatic compressor

S500 Man

i got mine rebuilt from arnott for 360 works great!!!lifetime warranty also!!

ajkennedy

You can also pick one up here:

http://www.rover-renovations.com/

Dennis has a section for MB owners too. His service and support is 10x that of Arnott and he does have "sales" once in awhile. I have used him exclusively for my RR air suspension which I totally replaced with his expertise. He was about to buy at 220 (may have by now) when I asked him to look into struts for our cars.

I have replaced them myself several times and on friends cars. If you have a couple of hours, it is easy sweat equity especially given you are selling and wouldn't wan to sink in more cashola.

Thanks,

Art

sokrispy69

how about putting them in ...any special tools or procedures needed ... do you have to bleed the system ...

Arlen777

No, what i meant is that every mechanic that i visit says that my struts are leaking while they are not.

LAWYER2

wow he list them for 399 with a 100$ core. I wonder if that 399 is before or after the core refund. I will call him tomorrow




.....and my mechanic is charging 100 for the install. I'm sure it's pretty DIY-able but living in a condo have nowhere to work on my cars. This is my last year living the downtown city life and I'm moving into a house. I really miss working on my own vehicles

LAWYER2

it was the same price..............went with Arnott, the lifetime warranty vs. 1 year warranty made the difference

ajkennedy

FYI, Dennis is an Arnott dealer which is why it is the same price. They are both Arnott. One gives excellent customer service (for free) and the other is the mfg.

Glad it worked out.

samdon

I was surprised to see that not only are they rebuilt; the basic design of the airbag is totally different. Rather than having the relatively thin bladder more or less contained and protected by a metal shroud; a much beefier airbag is installed without a cover of any kind. At first look; I was a bit put off by the lack of apparent protection. Then, I compared the actual airbags to eachother. No contest. The Arnott/Continental bags seem like they could serve as bullet proof material. The original Bilstein bags could probably be torn with bare hands. This plus the lifetime warranty has me sold.

Because they are so different; I can't recommend just replacing one. At least do both fronts or both rears. Maybe there would be no problem but I wouldn't want to upset the balance of things. The way the rear absorbs bumps with the Arnott shocks is subtlely different.

It is a DIY if you have the tools and time. The fronts are very, very simple compared to the rear shocks. Budget two hours for the front and at least four for the back. Having to get into and out of the car a number of times changing the rears makes it a lot more tedious. A stray spot of grease or dust on your elbow or a wrench will find its place somewhere on the nice, nearly uncleanable surfaces in the back of your car. Cover everything you can back there with sheets or towels. I even took a shower before climbing in and deposited a nice rust spot on the parcel shelf when I pushed the sheet aside with the handle of a wrench. I'll do more than simply wipe down my tools next time.

For videos of the job, go to bilsteinus.com and look for "Downloads." Follow the sequence shown and you can't go wrong. Don't get too excited when you see that nice German mechanic complete the job in less than ten minutes. A decent amount of wrenching and heaving went on between those super clean video clips. It's easy....but not THAT easy.

Best of luck.


Sam