ericlikescars

Hey guys. The front passenger side on my W211 E55 collapsed in the middle of a canyon. Wasn't joyriding BTW, that was just my route to get back to my buddies house. It's a ****ty feeling, cause this is my second day with the car. Well, the front right wheel is tucked under and the car is slammed. Can you guys help me out with what is wrong?

My shop will charge me for a diagnosis and then probably rape me on the cost of the part. It would be much easier for me to source out the part myself and then give the shop the necessarily tools they need to get the job done. I heard about the lifetime warranty airmatic from Arnott, I just want to be sure I'm ordering exactly what I need, and for that, here is a picture showing what is going on with the car.

moosejaw

I think you will need Star anyways to remove the failed airmatic strut.
Get the Arnott peice, its exactly what you need and built better than OEM.
Plus it has lifetime warranty. With the exception of needing the STAR, these should come out just like coilovers

Bramage

It is for sure the airmatic shock that has collapsed, but the problem may be with the feed line. The others are still up, so its not the pump, or a 100% airmatic failure. Did you get any warnings in your display (Middle of speedometer)?

You will need a shop to look at it, as mentioned, if a new strut goes in, you will need to have it calibrated. (Leveled)

I would check the white hose that goes to the top of the strut. After that, maybe see if it is pumping air when you start the car.

One thing I have learned with this car.. Always do a reboot before panicing (Disconnect battery for 30 minutes.. have seen + put to ground, but not sure if that is required). A lot of strange things stop happening after a good reboot.

Welcome to the forum, sorry you have to deal with an isue so early in.

AMG_RL

Hellaflush! Arnott shocks are great I've used them on three of my buddies cars with no issues.

TheVazha

Welcome and don't beat your self up over it. It's bound to happen sometime and at least you can knock it out and hopefully not deal with it again for a while.

If it is the airmatic, go with the Arnott replacement. It's relatively inexpensive and they offer a lifetime warranty...

ericlikescars

Guys, thanks for all the needed information. This is my first Mercedes, I'm coming from owning 6 BMW M's, so most of the components and terminology on these Merc's are like rocket science to me. It was a horrible night, not only did I wait 2 hours for a tow truck, but they didn't bring a flatbed promising that they wouldn't damage anything, only come to find out that they completely shattered my brand new $725 EuroTeck front lip once the car reached my house. That was just the icing on the cake.

As for the warning lights. I did not get the red window that reads "Car too low", but I did recieve a black window with a message displaying "Visit Workshop", which had a icon of a car above it with an arrow pointing upwards in the middle of it. ( I suppose a signal that the car needs to be raised).

I'm glad I came upon the information of the Arnott unit, which is the reason why I love forums and the experienced enthusiasts that take the time to help guys like me. But, excuse my stupid question, what is STAR? Hopefully I don't get bashed for that one.

503C43 ////AMG

Sorry to hear about the troubles with your AMG. The STAR they are referring to I believe is the STAR Diagnostic System or SDS for short. It would be needed to level the car after the new shock was installed.

The SDS is capable of all sorts of other goodies as well.

ericlikescars

I see, do most indy shops that specialize in working on Mercedes Benz utilize this unit or should I be looking around for a shop that particularely has this unit?

Anymore input on the problem guys? I want to soak up as much information as I can before I approach one of the these shops with the repair.

Bramage

Any good indy shop that specializes in Mecedes should have this, as do many forum members. Call around. And yes, it is Star Diagnostics (SDS).
Good luck. You wont get bashed here. You big noob!! (j/k)

tgoss

**** looks sick SLAMMED!!

Yuille36

The bottom line, is that you need Star to diagnose exactly what part has failed. It could be the air strut, distributtion block, air pump or a chaffed air line. 9 times out of 10, its the strut. But, regardless youre going to need a tow, because the car can't be driven in this position without damaging the car more. I wish you luck in getting it fixed.

E55Dimon

2nd day of ownership? Dang. I hope this doesnt become persistent. Go w what the members above said.
Fail on the username tho haha.

loungn14

sucks man, and it really sucks that this happened so quickly into your ownership.

This is like the bmws HPFP problem for the E55. It happens and there is some good info on the arnott replacements here on the forum. Its really not that bad to DIY, just need the mercedes computer (Star)

Where are you located, a bunch of us have star and might be in your area.

hyperion667

I agree, a very bad way to start a new relationship.....lol......

good luck.......the fun won't be far off..........

ericlikescars

Thanks for the input guys. I'm located in Glendale, CA. Do any of you know a reputable shop that can diagnose the car for me? Or maybe some forum members that can give me a helping hand? Is the strut the unit you get from Arnott? Sorry for all the noob questions guys. This whole airmatic system is very confusing for me. And I'm a bit overwhelmed because I've hardly gotten to drive the car and familiarize myself with everything. Lol

Yacht Master

I did not need STAR, turn ingnition on, you should hear airmatic compressor running, then feel around the bellows of the strut for air leak. If you feel the leak then this.
https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...there-any.html

220S

Go to Jack's Tri-Star Motors. They are good guys and will help you out and answer any questions. Tell them you can't spend a lot and want to learn about your car.

5832 San Fernando Road.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/jacks-tri-star-motors-glendale

ericlikescars

This is great. Thank you so much, I live on San Fernando and this is very local to me. I will get the car towed to them tomorrow. Do you have any previous experience with this shop? Are they pretty knowledgeable at what they are doing? I'm gonna go ahead and overview their yelp account right now.

ericlikescars

Can anyone else give me some input fellas?

Yacht Master

What more could you need other than what is covered in the post #16's link?

pearlpower

Self leveling, I did not require STAR either.

jack4012

Agreed with Yachtmaster. Follow the link in #16. I followed these and completed the exchange of faulty strutt to Arnott without STAR and car self levelled. No specialist garage equipment needed at all and all done DIY. Even if you want to take the car to a garage most circumstances are explained in this thread.

Jakpro1

That's great you guys. I tried and tried and she wouldn't budge.

Cool to see it can be done without Star

ericlikescars

Just ordered the Arnott unit and had it delivered overnight, hopefully she's waiting at my door step tomorrow. Thanks for all the help guys. I'll get getting the car and the shock to Jack's Tri Star Motoring tomorrow.

ericlikescars

Arnott has been a joke so far. NO one picks up on the local line or the toll free line. I paid $115 for overnight shipping, for them only to proceed to not send me any shipping information, or tracking of any sort. And for those who will say I'm jumping the gun, I did NOT receive my package overnight. I've tried calling and sending multiple emails to them with no response. Everyone seems to swear by these guys, what is going on?