S550TK

My front drivers side air strut has blown out. I would like to have the most comfortable ride while still retaining ADS. Through some research, I learned that the new Arnott struts do not have ADS and you have to buy remanufactured to retain ADS. The Bilstein come with ADS. Does someone have any experience with these brands that can comment on the ride quality? Sorry if it has been shared on other threads, but can someone also share the instructions for the strut replacement?

Thank You

BOTUS

the number of posts saying they fitted arnott and then they played up is significant - its so high I begin to question if its real

I suspect we have some right old wrecks and some bodging animals fiddling with stuff in ways they shouldn't, and this is at least as big a problem

the vast majority throwing struts at cars seems way too high - the level sensors link rods seize, this makes the pump work far to hard and it gets lazy - but a lazy pump should be serviceable for 5 plus more years of normal use if the level sensors are fed sensible data

unless its the other side of 100k miles I don't know why people fit struts - it probably needs level sensors that move and a test with xentry first, to tell you the pump is the bigger problem

10 bar in 10 seconds - not almost 5 bar in 1 minute !

so either other issues or we really do have a lot of random quality aftermarket struts - in which case double check with a merc place known to do good prices - a full on main dealer crook will want 800 each strut - yet that very dealer will sell them for 180 to indy garages that do big business with them and could offer you the same deal but seldom do !!!

PillDrive

I replaced both front ones with rebuild Arnott's and 2 years later they started to make a clunking noise. Got them replaced for free and now those are making the clunking noise. I am done with Arnott so i will try the Bilsteins next. If they work better then i will do my rears as well as they are starting to make noises too.

BOTUS

I not putting anything by bilstein on my car - changed the track control arms for theirs and they has more slop in 3 kn mile than the originals in 50k

PillDrive

Bilstein isnt famous for making good suspension parts EXCEPT shocks and struts.....They make GREAT shocks and struts....ever since the first monotube was put into a mercedes in 57....and they have been in many vehicles from porsche, lamborgini and mercedes. I had them in my mark 2 gti in germany and they were great. So i have no issues trying them out. As far as control arms i always go either mercedes or lemfoerder and have not had any issues so far.

doni01

iTrader: (1)

^^ Agreed! I would not touch the Arnotts but will get the Bilsteins in a heart bit

S550TK

Can I just only replace the one blown strut with Bilstein and keep the intact passenger side strut since it is not blown? Or is it necessary to replace both front at the same time? The passenger side is OEM.

Senecat

Loving my front Arnott remans. About 2k mi on them so far and just as cloud-like as before. Fully functional with ride height selector and smooth as glass.

doni01

iTrader: (1)

Give it some time 👍

regiment1

Mine didn't make it 20k. I got warranty paid out, but went with OEM

JohnLane

I got OEM from Mercedes back in 2015. Right on it is Bilstein for a brand with the MB part number on it.

I also had an issue with Arnott. ‘Rebuilt’ ABC strut for the front of my 221 S65. Pull the cap off the connection for hydraulic fluid... it is full of metal shavings. Ordered up another thinking surely this has to be a one time fluke... Same thing. They went back.

Chachd72

I made the mistake of putting Arnotts on my 2011 S550 and have regretted it ever since. The 1st problem is that one rear strut was defective, a 25% defect rate, which meant extra installation costs and going through the reordering and returning process. The problem that I now have is that they do not produce the same ride quality as the OEM struts.I can't comment on the ride quality of Bilsteins. To do over again I'd go with OEM's, despite the cost. I've seen comments on this forum of dealers that will give a discount on OEM parts so I would search this forum for discounted oem parts.

kevm14

Random front strut parts check. For 4Matic w/ Airmatic, I am showing 221-320-18-38-80 for the front right and 221-320-17-38-80 for front left.

Rockauto is currently only listing the front right which is slightly concerning - are these really EOL?

Anyway, the MSRP via my dealer's web portal says $1,580 for front right and $1,270 for front left. Web price on the right through my local dealer is $1,077.30 and left is $866.40. Rockauto's price on the right is $798.79, and YES, you do get Bilstein's limited lifetime warranty. I think Rockauto even handles it for you.

My point is, Arnott on Rockauto is $646.79. I would gladly pay that extra $150/per to get the proper Bilstein. I didn't look up FCP Euro or other supplier but I'll bet they don't beat anything but dealer MSRP.

doni01

iTrader: (1)

^^ this! If you enjoy doing the job more then once then Arnott is your contender. Their customer service is really good but their QC SUCKS! Rate failure is too high. Especially on arrival. So my advice will be Bilsteins or even Man Refurb from the Dealer.

lkchris

Just understand that a "blown" air spring is NOT a failure.

Airmatic air springs are limited life items requiring normal periodic replacement, same as tires, wiper blades, serpentine belts, hydraulic shock absorbers, etc.

It's my experience that Mercedes hydraulic shock absorbers have a very similar life as Airmatic air springs. At front of your vehicle are stuts ... strut being a word used to describe a unit that combines both spring and shock absorber into a single unit.

Your front struts being the same age, the hydraulic shock absorber portion of both are likely near the end of their lives. So is the air spring on the side that hasn't leaked yet. You should replace both at the same time.

You'll probably be doing rears soon, too.

tbilisi79

years ago I had a Lincoln with Arnott struts. They clunked. I had a replacement sent and same thing.
I’d never buy arnott. Oem or bilstein.

Senecat

Revisiting this to confirm that you may be right.

The other day I noticed a slight, subtle knock on the left front corner which has a reman Arnott strut. Hoping that when I get a chance to put the front end in the air and do some checking that I will find a link or some other suspension component that is the culprit and needs replaced (will be doing lower control arms at some point anyway as there is a slight shimmy under hard braking at high speed) but from what I've read since hearing this sound, I've come to realize that perhaps I'm just another victim of the dreaded Arnott "clunk".

Will keep you posted.

Chachd72

So from your August posting to now you've experienced the poor quality of Arnotts!! Now the question is do you replace the defective unit under warranty and keep repeating or spend the extra money and get something that will last.

JohnLane

Shimmy braking from speed is warped brake rotors. This is something I don’t miss about my 221 car. 222 car has carbon ceramic rotors and pads. 36,000 miles on the pads and they are still 13mm thick. Never warp.

kevm14

I've been pretty hard on the brakes on my S550. It is on the front pads and rotors from when I bought it in late 2021 with ~18k fewer miles and zero warpage at this time.

Senecat

Rotors are fine. Old control arm bushings cause this this as well.

Senecat

Bilstein fronts on order.

doni01

iTrader: (1)

I am jealous!! When mine go, I will be going the same route 👍

JohnLane

Bushings and balljoints would have to be truly horrible to make a shake in the steering wheel.
Most of us are looking to replace things when we hear a squeak over bumps.

s5benzo

Senecat any updates ? Did you install bilsteins yet. If so any improvement on the knocking noise?