When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I just put the jack stand cradle under the forward block of the side jack points. Doesn't seem to deform the plastic jack point pads much, and those are easily replaceable anyway. I also leave the jack under the center front jack point with plenty of pressure on it. So the weight of the front of the car is supported at 4 points (as evenly as I can get it), both jack stands, the center front jack point, and the right front wheel. I don't bother disconnecting the level sensor as indicated in the Bilstein instructions. I don't see the point. I do however, disconnect the battery. Also, I thought the 20Nm torque spec for the two lower capture screws was funny. That's not even enough torque to defeat the pre-applied thread locker.
Arnott strut was shipped out today, so I'll be back with test results not long after you get yours done tomorrow. Then I get to do timing chain tensioners and check valves, AGAIN Lol. Did that job on my M276 E350 a couple years ago.
Another dud! It took only about two hours to remove and replace my right front Suncore strut. I'm getting pretty good at it. Disappointingly, our car remained stuck in Airmatic Sport Mode. Almost enough to make one wonder if the problem is something other than the Suncore strut. Senecat suggested, why not put the original strut back in. And so I did. By noon our care was back to Airmatic Comfort with one new and one old strut.
Who's counting but that's one front strut removal and replacement on the driver's side and three R&R's on the right front so far.
Still in all, Suncore has given great service. Its a shame this didn't work out. The value proposition was great, but two bad solenoids in a row doesn't inspire confidence in long term durability with this brand.
I've got a pair of Bilstein's in my cart at Rock Auto.
If I'm serious about making my wife's car reliable, I guess I need to be looking at rear struts too.
Then again it could be a few years before the next strut failure.
Darn! Good work on the diagnostics/throwing in the old strut to confirm. Bilstein's are the way to go. A little more rear seat work to get the rears swapped, but not anymore difficult than front. The Arnott strut replacement videos are great for reference. My Arnott strut will arrive today and I'll get it installed tomorrow and put a few miles on it then report back. Probably sometime tomorrow evening. Crossing my fingers. My Arnotts were a Rock Auto purchase, and the return process is extremely efficient and easy. So kudos to them.
That sucks about the Suncores. I forgot to run a test on my faulty Arnott before I shipped it out. I was going to use my bench top power supply and hit the strut terminals with 12V and see if I could hear a solenoid clicking. Thought that might be useful info for you in case you wanted to play with perhaps a stuck solenoid with the Suncore, but like you said, probably not reliable in the long run even if you could free up the solenoid. Another option I was going to/thought about exploring before I went the Arnott/Bilstein route, was a used strut on eBay. A lot of them look to be in great shape and most are sub $300. I might grab one anyway to experiment with. At this point, I have strut replacement and knowledge down pat, maybe I could make a few bucks replacing someone else's 221 struts locally.
If you end up testing the ADS solenoid, also measure the resistance. It could click with a generic power supply but the resistance/current could be out of spec for what the car really wants and was designed for. That would be a classic aftermarket blunder.
It occurred to me too, there must be a way to test the solenoid but then again as kevm14 mentioned, it may be a resistance/current range thing. I saw a several "voltage too low" or "under voltage" fault codes stored when Eric ran the scan that identified the fault in the right front solenoid as "Stored and Current". A solenoid just isn't that complicated.
The frustrating thing is the struts look really well made, they claim they are manufactured to the same spec and standard as the originals, have a lifetime warranty, and I can confirm they perform identically to the OEM Strut as I can't tell the difference on my mongrel front end. Its driving beautifully with one cheap aftermarket strut and one original 11 year old ThyssenKrupp.
Senecat, what was the issue with your first Arnott's?
Regarding Bilstein, I have always been a fan. I had them installed on my 83 BMW 320i forty years ago and I installed a set on my 2003 GMC Sierra pickup.
Not sure how much Bilstein content is really in a new Airmatic Bilstein strut other than a label cause I can see a ThyssenKrupp logo on the strut at Rock Auto's site.
Not sure how the return and credit from Suncore will work out. I have two defective struts to return and one installed and working, but I really think I deserve a full credit. We'll see.
While underway on a normal smooth road surface, even through whoops, larger bumps and dips, the Arnott struts are silent. However, when rolling over, say, the raised white perpendicular stop strips at intersections, the right front would click, as if there were lash in the upper ball joint, or something. This would occur even at low speed over the lip of my driveway when rolling into my garage. I am not absolutely certain, but I suspect it to be internal to the strut. If the same thing occurs with the replacement, I will know it is some other component. But based on what I've researched and learned about Arnott history here on the forum as well as elsewhere, my suspicion is strong enough towards the strut that I made the decision to replace it under warranty. It was the only thing that changed.
My issue is more an annoyance than a functional problem, but it is a problem, nevertheless. I intend to keep this car forever, and other than minor maintenance and repair stuff with a 10 year old 221, I will keep working on it and do the best work I can to keep it 100% functional and beautiful. It is sitting in the garage now with only 50k mi. It has a lot of life left, and won't get driven a whole lot. It's my dress car.
My issue is more an annoyance than a functional problem, but it is a problem, nevertheless. I intend to keep this car forever, and other than minor maintenance and repair stuff with a 10 year old 221, I will keep working on it and do the best work I can to keep it 100% functional and beautiful. It is sitting in the garage now with only 50k mi. It has a lot of life left, and won't get driven a whole lot. It's my dress car.
I'm in the same boat. We found our 2013 in 2015 with only 15,000 miles. Its spent nearly every night of its life in our garage. I do the oil and filter maintenance and have a local shop do brake fluid changes.
We just rolled over 56K. Lots of life left hopefully. I knew Airmatic would eventually become a problem, but the the fact I can swap struts out myself makes owning an old expensive to repair Mercedes feel less foolish. Our S550 is as luxurious and satisfying to drive as it ever was and a better experience than nearly anything else on the road. My wife is spoiled and would be unhappy in anything less.
BTW, I received the return labels from Suncore, and the Bilstein order at Rock Auto has been placed.
Regarding Bilstein, I have always been a fan. I had them installed on my 83 BMW 320i forty years ago and I installed a set on my 2003 GMC Sierra pickup.
Not sure how much Bilstein content is really in a new Airmatic Bilstein strut other than a label cause I can see a ThyssenKrupp logo on the strut at Rock Auto's site.
I assume the Bilstein content is the entire damper including the ADS system. They probably don't make the air bag.
I give you guys credit for doing your own work. I just had the left front air shock replaced yesterday, $1,800 dollar job, $500 of which is labor (2hrs plus diagnostic charge)
I had the right side done in 2019, just about the same price.
In preparation for installing the Bilsteins, can anyone help me find the Mercedes part number or tell me where to buy two new brake wire clamp/brackets (used for routing brake wiring) that snap around the lower strut tube as shown in the photo below?
I've been a bit rough on mine and I haven't been able to locate an exploded diagram that shows this clamp.
Also, John, if you would, could take a look at my post above, #50, and tell me if you saw these things too when you did your struts the first time? I still have yet to figure out what they are or where they came from when I did this job my very first time.
Also, John, if you would, could take a look at my post above, #50, and tell me if you saw these things too when you did your struts the first time? I still have yet to figure out what they are or where they came from when I did this job my very first time.
I recall studying the photo of your round two round disc extra parts. My first thought was they came from the upper control arm ball joint but after taking mine apart I don't think so.
I haven't encountered them.
And thanks for trying to dig up the P/N for that Bracket.
Rock Auto says my Bilsteins should arrive Tuesday.
Sorry for the delayed response, weekend stuff. I got off work Friday night and got home around 830pm. I got happy and went ahead and installed the replacement strut as soon as I got home. Took it for a test drive and all was well. No more clicking. Put a few miles on it since and everything still seems to be great. I do remember having put a few miles on the first one before the clicking presented, however, so we'll see in a bit if I run into the same issue. I think we'll be all clear once we reach 500mi or so.
I haven't been able to get to your part number yet, John, but I will keep looking. I need to transfer WIS to my new laptop and get it all set up (big files) and then I'll be good to go with WIS on my new machine that I take with me everywhere. Do you have tracking yet for your Bilstein's?
Sorry for the delayed response, weekend stuff. I got off work Friday night and got home around 830pm. I got happy and went ahead and installed the replacement strut as soon as I got home. Took it for a test drive and all was well. No more clicking. Put a few miles on it since and everything still seems to be great. I do remember having put a few miles on the first one before the clicking presented, however, so we'll see in a bit if I run into the same issue. I think we'll be all clear once we reach 500mi or so.
I haven't been able to get to your part number yet, John, but I will keep looking. I need to transfer WIS to my new laptop and get it all set up (big files) and then I'll be good to go with WIS on my new machine that I take with me everywhere. Do you have tracking yet for your Bilstein's?
Happy to hear your replacement Arnott looks to be trouble free. Nice work!
We've been chauffeuring my visiting sister and brother-in-law from the Airport, out to dinner, sightseeing, and all is well for now.
Matter of fact I hope the new Bilstein's feel as good as my something old and something new mismatched front strut setup.
I'm unfamiliar with the "WIS" but figure it must be a parts database.
I would like to buy a couple new clamps to go with my new Bilstein's, but I'm sure I can make the old one's work.
The Bilstein's are scheduled to arrive tomorrow via FedEx, but their delivery dates are often aspirational here in Georgia.
Nice thing is with the car working perfectly now, there's no need to drop everything to get them installed.
The struts arrived in fine shape. Feels good to know we'll be riding on Bilstein's. They came with the set screws partially inserted and loaded with thread locker; too much I think.
The Suncore's came with clean set screws, nuts, and a brass airline fitting with ferrule. Bilstein takes a more OE approach and expects one to reuse the nuts, and airline fitting but change out the o-ring.
Considering the car continues to drive smooth, straight and normal on one new and three original old struts, my plan is to wait until next week to do the swap out. Plus I'm waiting on the brackets where Senecat so kindly supplied the part number.
The struts arrived in fine shape. Feels good to know we'll be riding on Bilstein's. They came with the set screws partially inserted and loaded with thread locker; too much I think.
The Suncore's came with clean set screws, nuts, and a brass airline fitting with ferrule. Bilstein takes a more OE approach and expects one to reuse the nuts, and airline fitting but change out the o-ring.
Considering the car continues to drive smooth, straight and normal on one new and three original old struts, my plan is to wait until next week to do the swap out. Plus I'm waiting on the brackets where Senecat so kindly supplied the part number.
Good stuff., John. I don't replace anything at the air connection point. Just disconnect, replace strut, reconnect and do the soapy water leak test at the connection. If it passes the test, gtg. If not, replace nut, ferrule and O-ring. What are you going to do with the Suncores and old factory struts after you install the new Bilsteins?
06-05-2024, 01:30 PM
