Hi Guys,

I think my front right shock has failed but wanted to check on any diagnosis steps I may have missed.

I was on vacation for 2 weeks in Europe, got back, the car drove fine for about 5 minutes then I got the "stop, car too low" warning. I hit the "raise" vehicle button and the rear looks like its going off road, front drivers side looks about normal and passenger side looks slammed where the tire is inside the wheel well. I do not hear the compressor running anymore since 3 wheels are at the correct ridge height, so I wanted to check does that indicate shock failure, or is it possible a relay or valve has failed and not supplying air to that shock.

From doing post research it looks like it could be a leaking airline to the shock or most likely a failed shock, is there an easy way without STAR to tell if its the shock itself, or an air-line, or valve of some sort, I don't get any error codes other than car too low. I was planning on jacking it up tonight and putting some soap on the shock to see if I can see it leaking and also seeing if my ODBII reader gives me any other codes..

Cheers
Grant

 

Most likely the airbag went. After time the protective cover rubs the airbag enough to create a air leak. Mine had a microscopic pin hole that caused the airbag to let go. My best advice, order a replacement and swap it in the driveway. I'm in Atlanta as well and I can help you swap it out if you'd like to avoid the insane labor costs.

 

Do you get the following message when you start your car?

 

Thanks guys.

I started the car tonight, got the : stop, car too low message

The car rises, but listening in the passenger side once the car gets close to normal height I hear a noise that's like pressure release, like when trucks air breaks release :-). Then it falls pretty quick to lower than normal

Here are pics





Front passenger (the problem one)





Front drivers





Rear passenger





Rear drivers

 

That is identical to mine. Front passenger collapsed. The only airline is on top in the engine bay. Did you hear anything right before it went? Mine was a very loud hiss for 1 second and I was on the ground.

My guess is the airbag has went. They do not seem easy to rebuild, from what i could see. Arnott has replacements for a great cost. You can also improve the ride and handling with coilovers for $1K. Either way, something has to be fixed.

 

This literally just happened to me on Friday. I ended up going with Airnotts which are enroute. Although the right front (the one we both need) is on back order. The left front should be here today.

Honestly, I'd really prefer a full coilover setup, but the wife wants her air suspension.

 

Guys, i have an Arnott passenger side that i bought as a spare. Let me know if you want to purchase from me and i can send it out. You can PM me if interested.

 

PM sent.

 

If I leave mine over night then start it, it raises about 75% of the way, then you hear a loud "hiss" and the passenger front falls.

 

For those that have done this, how long does it take to swap the bad shock for a new one ? I may do,it this weekend.

 

I forgot to note it was back ordered only by a few days. Mine will be here on Friday(ish).

 

I was reading arnotts guide on installing the shocks, it did't appear to show how to release the air pressure in the shock prior to removal, I'm probably replacing both sides at the same time and the drivers side is holding air, so I'd like to relieve the pressure before I remove, can this be done without Star ?

 

given the unusual heights of the car, I wouldn't be so quick to do an airbag (although that is likely a problem as well).

seems to me like you may want to have a look at the valve block. That you can test with star pretty easily.

 

Unfortunately I don't have Star, I do have a mechanic I trust ( he does the work when I don't have time) and he has the snapon tools that appear to do most of what star does. I'm tempted to just have him do it, if its going to be a pain, I just like to do my own work when I can ( on other cars I've done turbo swaps, heads, cams, clutches etc...)

Grant

 

The swap from one bag to another is very easy and does not take long at all. It really helps to have a lift, but it is a simple job. My swap took 20 min on the lift. If the driver's side is not bad, then don't replace it.

 

If I were to do it again, maybe 20-30 minutes max start to finish on a lift. I bled the air out of the shock by slowly loosening the air line let the air slowly come out. There was a little left in mine.

 

Thanks man, I may end up doing it then... I'll jack it up today and take a look

 

All done, about to give it a test drive, both front sides are sitting around 27" from ground to top of wheel arch which look about "normal".

Hardest part was removing the damn inner fender lining... and the silly placement of the air pressure line nut, I assume there is a special mercedes tool instead of my 45 degree 10mm wrench

Thanks everyone for the help and advice. If anyone else needs to do it just hit me up, it was pretty easy.

G.

 

Wow! Tackled it yourself? Was the test drive a success?

 

Glad it worked out for you and was a DIY. This board is good with helping members out on working on their cars.

 

Yes, worked fine, it wasn't too bad, I took my time and googled a bunch along the way

Cheers
Grant

 

Thanks again for the speedy transaction getting me the passenger side!