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Background: I have a w220 S430 4Matic.
Incident: Hit a road debris early AM. The side affected was the front left. Felt something detached as I heard it from my wheel well and travelled on to the left underside of the car. Saw grease splatter. Initial impression was road debris and cv boot got torn, hence the grease splatter.
Went to the dealer to have a diagnosis of the clunking noise coming from the left front and found left front ball joint has play. So they recommended replacing the left front lower control arm. Also, now that my CV inner boot is torn, so okay I'm replacing the cv shaft too. I also mentioned that I have some vibrating feedback from the steering wheel when going over road irregularities and bumps. On the report they said that my left front strut dampener is missing! Now they said I have to replace both left and right airstruts. They quoted me $7000+ taxes.
Where can I find this strut dampener and is this something i can replace without going all out on new/rebuilt struts?
Is it this one? Y51 on the diagram:
Help...
Last edited by Collantes_CC; Oct 11, 2017 at 11:56 AM.
You made it more difficult to answer the questions by not telling us anything about the vehicle. It appears that you have a 4-Matic (even though the posted diagram is not a 4-Matic), and since you are posting on this forum, you probably have a W220.
The dampener shown is part of the Airmatic strut, and not normally replaced separately - but it doesn't usually fall off of the strut, either.
The dealer's quote is ridiculous.
Assuming that you are being told the truth, you now have several choices:
- Go DIY, and install a rebuilt strut - one Saturday's work and less than $500.
- Find an honest and competent independent garage whose owner is familiar with W220 maintenance and repair, and throw yourself upon his mercy.
- Find a more honest dealer and try again.
- Let your present dealer do the repairs, and be sure to get the sign for your forehead.
You made it more difficult to answer the questions by not telling us anything about the vehicle. It appears that you have a 4-Matic (even though the posted diagram is not a 4-Matic), and since you are posting on this forum, you probably have a W220.
Yes, its a w220. I'm new to MB. Pardon my ignorance on the details on which is which. Whatever looks familiar but don't worry, I'll get familiar with the fine details sooner or later.
Originally Posted by wallyp
The dampener shown is part of the Airmatic strut, and not normally replaced separately
This may be the answer I'm looking for.
Originally Posted by wallyp
The dealer's quote is ridiculous.
They're nuts. That's like a good downpayment for a new car.
Originally Posted by wallyp
Assuming that you are being told the truth, you now have several choices:
- Go DIY, and install a rebuilt strut - one Saturday's work and less than $500.
- Find an honest and competent independent garage whose owner is familiar with W220 maintenance and repair, and throw yourself upon his mercy.
- Find a more honest dealer and try again.
- Let your present dealer do the repairs, and be sure to get the sign for your forehead.
I'm looking at option 1; the DIY. I found the parts at Arnott (already talked to a sales rep). Should I do the struts first them the control arm? or vice versa?
You can replace only the CV joint boot for less than $50, or the complete axle shaft for $100 - $150. I haven't done a W220 front axle, but on most vehicles, it is easier to replace the axle than to replace the boot.
You can find numerous write-ups and videos on replacing the axle or the boot, and on replacing the strut. Do your homework - there are several tips and tricks that can save you a lot of frustration.
If you replace the strut, you will be able to check the wear in the ball joint pretty easily. Given the dealer's estimates so far, I think that I would like to check this myself.
If you replace only the strut and the boot or axle, you probably don't have to have an alignment - but it might be a good thing to do after all repairs/replacements are complete
This what it looks like from the right front side. That little cylindrical item (on the left aide of the picture) attached to the strut. Its there.
Now on the left front, its missing.
This is what the dealer meant about my missing dampener. Explains why i have oil splatter on my wheel well. So no choice but to replace the whole strut.
If you are thinking about buying from Rock Auto, you might want to make certain (from Arnott) that their struts still carry the lifetime warranty. You might also check with Arnott to see if their discount offer for members of the BenzWorld Forum is still good.
Yeah, i spoke with a rep from Arnott and they only have brand new ones for the front struts. 576 ea. in USD plus shipping and brokerage fees. I found a local place here in Toronto already plus they supply other MB genuine parts for a good price plus a MBworld member discount. So I'll be having my left lower control arm, left drive axle, and left front air strut replaced soon. I'll probably do the right side later this year as well just to get a bit ahead of the maintenance. A 4 wheel alignment should follow this very shortly. Anyway, very interesting how a structural failure happened on an airstrut designed to take most of the beating.
BTW - the part that got broken off is actually the control for the shock, not the shock. The shock is the lower part of the strut, and the rolling air diaphragm"spring" is around the upper third of the strut. You can electronically choose either of two firmer dampening rates with the button on the dash.
In this case, the OP said, "Incident: Hit a road debris early AM. The side affected was the front left. Felt something detached as I heard it from my wheel well and travelled on to the left underside of the car. Saw grease splatter. "
Pretty unusual incident. It also was troubling to hear that Arnott apparently can't supply rebuilt front struts any more.
I heard about Rebuildmastertech.com. 510$ for a pair or rebuilt struts. The only thing keeping me from buying from them are the complaints I've read on Google. If time and labor getting the struts uninstalled and installed weren't so expensive I think I may reconsider. This is my primary car commuting to work and my wife needs our other car shuttling the kids around so if anything happens I can't really afford to loose the car several days while issues are being resolved.
Here in Ontario, I heard about exoparts.com and they're local. One new strut is 725$ CAD including an MBworld member discount.
Anyway, it seems like I won't do a DIY on this. I'm not just comfortable doing it myself. Plus I don't have the proper tools especially if I f*ck something up.
If you are thinking about buying from Rock Auto, you might want to make certain (from Arnott) that their struts still carry the lifetime warranty. You might also check with Arnott to see if their discount offer for members of the BenzWorld Forum is still good.
As long as you have your receipt from Rock Auto the Limited Lifetime Warranty should be honored (for as long as you own the car). The Arnott Discount is only for items purchased directly from Arnott.
Forum members can use code MBSAVE10 to save up to 10%* off the retail prices on Arnott® replacement air suspension products for your Mercedes-Benz®. You can place your order online at the Arnott Web Store or by calling Arnott Customer Support at 1-800-251-8993 X 804 Mon – Friday from 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM ET. Orders placed by 2:30 ET are typically shipped out the same day. *Max savings $75 per order, not valid with any other offer or on compressors, shipping, taxes or core deposits (if any).
The Arnott designed new struts are built from the ground up with all new components including a new shock custom valved to ride somewhere between the Comfort and Sport settings. They still offer the luxury of a true air ride and auto leveling but at a much better price than the dealer struts. No core deposits either.
Last edited by arnottdoug; Oct 17, 2017 at 01:29 PM.
One additional question - what should we expect from you if one of our remanufactured lifetime warranted struts fails?
I think you'll find we're really good about warranty replacements. As long as you have the receipt, or we can find the receipt, and you are the original purchaser of the part - it should be covered. Typically we want the bad part back first before sending out the replacement. The way to get the replacement quicker is to "purchase" the replacement so we can send it to you right away while you send back your defective part. Once we get the bad one back we'll refund the other.
Arnott® offers a Limited Lifetime Warranty for European Union and North American customers on all Air Springs, new and remanufactured Strut and Shock Assemblies, Coil Spring Conversion Kits and Air Suspension Compressors. Orders from elsewhere come with a Limited Two-Year Warranty. Arnott’s warranty on dryers and accessories is 1-Year. Arnott’s warranty is nontransferable. If a part is defective, Arnott will either replace or repair that part, as long as it is within the warranty period and proof of purchase is provided. Arnott offers a 30-Day Warranty for parts used in commercial vehicles. Improper use or installation is not a manufacturer’s defect. To read the full warranty: http://www.arnottindustries.com/warranty
I wish I would have known about the discount a couple weeks ago! I had the same thing happen to one of my rear struts. I was driving along and it sounded all of a sudden like someone was trying to kick their way out of the trunk. The interesting thing is that the strut still held air for days after this, but I did get the "Airmatic - Visit Workshop" message. I am in the process of replacing it now. The lower strut bolt was frozen and I had to use a lot of brute force and a lot of WD40 to get it out.
Hey guys, one last question. Is it okay to replace one strut only or should I do the pair? I'm just confused since one shop says okay and one advises to replace both at the same time. I'm not counting what the dealer said because in their case, they want to replace almost everything in the car.
Hey guys, one last question. Is it okay to replace one strut only or should I do the pair? I'm just confused since one shop says okay and one advises to replace both at the same time. I'm not counting what the dealer said because in their case, they want to replace almost everything in the car.
I replaced only one on mine, but I will do the other one soon. I figure it's probably not too long before the other one fails.
From my experience, torn boot doesn't require immediate axle replacement. I've ran torn boots on cars for good 30k-40k miles with no sign of CV noises or failures. Little grease never really hurt anyone. Until the CV starts to make noises, I wouldn't worry. But for $100-150 bucks (and assuming you do it yourself) it's a no brainer to me. Not sure I would pay Dealer price or even Indy....but than again, I'm not sure I would ever own this car if I didn't work on cars hehe
As for the shock, does it still work? Is your side down? Maybe I'm missing something but if it's just the harness that got detached I would try to find a way to mount it back up. Zip ties?
As for the shock, does it still work? Is your side down? Maybe I'm missing something but if it's just the harness that got detached I would try to find a way to mount it back up. Zip ties?
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
The whole dampener came off in the OP's case and in mine. The shock bled oil and the computer had no way to tell it to pump up. In this case, they may hold air for a while, but it will eventually bleed off. I agree it's a good idea to replace both when one fails, because a failed shock could possibly leave you stranded.
The strut is the dampener. What came off is the electronic control valve for the variable dampening in the strut. This is a pretty rare failure, and is very, very unlikely to reoccur on the other strut. The control unit on the original poster's vehicle was torn off by contact with a large chunk of road debris.
The strut is the dampener. What came off is the electronic control valve for the variable dampening in the strut. This is a pretty rare failure, and is very, very unlikely to reoccur on the other strut. The control unit on the original poster's vehicle was torn off by contact with a large chunk of road debris.
Thanks for the clarification of terminology. On mine, the control valve spontaneously broke off, presumably due to the weld points rusting.
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