Just thought I'd add this as food to thought for people considering the options when replacing your air struts. Arnott New = No OE dampening, aka the sport 1-2 will not stiffen the shock so you'll be in 'comfort' stiffness at all times. Re-manufactured are failed shocks that have had all the usual wear and tear components replaced and refreshed. If anyone else has had problems with re-manufactured maybe post up so people can weigh up whether or not they want to risk it, I'm happy to replace with remanufactured but if it craps out again I'll probably be quite dark to say the least.

I put in a remanufactured strut on my front right about a year ago, and replaced the left with the same about 6 months ago.

Noticed that the front left was making a lot of clanking and rattling over small bumps, felt like I was bottoming it out or hitting a really big bump but they were like manhole covers etc..

Anyway I jacked up the car from the central jack point at the front, weirdly only the front right was lifting off the ground, jack it a little more and hear a breaking noise from the front left, jack some more and it finally comes up but its hanging like 5 inches lower than the other side!!!

Went over, and lo and behold it looks like the internal structure of the strut has snapped!! see attached pics..

Luckily its within the 2 year international warranty, but bad news is it will cost me 150 USD to ship the faulty part back to the US from New Zealand, thankfully rockauto are paying the return shipping to be good *******s.

I'm reasonably hard on the car, but I do take care of it! Just goes to show you never know how many km's and how hard those km's are on a re-manufactured part. But I want to retain the OE dampening so...

Now to remove the shock and send it back, I sure hope it comes off easy, I think the shock is dislodged and pushing the wheel down so maybe will be a hassle to remove..hehe

 

Wow, good to know. Still better than spending $800-1100 on one OEM, No?

 

It’s best to go Bilstein who make OE struts for mercedes and retain all the features.

 

Yeah arnott reman are good but a bit of a gamble I guess. I have heard of a few people have them leak but nothing like this :P Blistein struts probably the best way forward if not as cheap. I guess you just gotta weigh up the pros and cons..

 

Well that sucks... I thought the Arnott ones are direct replacement... if the dampening doesn't work then its pointless..

 

Arnott new can lift and drop the far like normal air suspension but the shock stiffness isnt adjustable. Probably not the end of the world but fir me I want the adjustable dampening so go arnott remanfacturdd

 

Sucks to see that, hope you get it fixed soon but I am guessing the car will be off the road for a few weeks waiting for replacement parts?

OEM from FCP seems to be the best bet if you are keeping the car for ages but it isn't cheap.

 

Weird on my S500 I have 2 arnott fronts that I've had for prob 8-9 years now and I feel a difference when I switch to Stiff 1-2.

 

You might have just jinks yourself. Now you will have a issue!

 

Such an interesting thing to say, I'm just commenting on the stiffness option. But I will knock on wood haha

 

I'm just being a smart ***. I truly hope that you don't experience any issues.

 

That sounds like a jinx statement 🤭

 

Is this on their website or in any of their literature? They sell the ADS equipped shocks so this would not make sense to pay more for an option that is not available.

 

You'll see on some parts sites it says that the remanufactured units "maintain ADS functionality". New units will not have that written in the description. On Arnott's website, under "damping type", it says "OE damping" for manufactured units and "custom-valved shock" for new units. Also, I'm pretty sure I've seen Arnott reps post on this forum stating that only the remaned units retain the ADS functionality. Not sure if it's a noticeable difference, but I'd personally go for the remaned units since I want ADS, plus it's cheaper, and they're warrantied anyway

 

Yes both types are available but for brand new, oem is the only option to retain the damping adjustability.

 

Cant get the bugger off. The shock is pushing itself apart and the bottom bolt cant be removed. Might work with a hammer but the tie rod and thrust arm are in the way. Emailed rockauto asking if I can damage the shock further by jacking it up or maybe just smash it with a hammer to destroy the shock component making my life difficult. If they wont let me looks like I'm dismantling all the arms and taking the spindle off lol

 

https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...s-reman-2.html arnott Doug tells it all..

 

Great topic. I hope I can provide some additional information.

Arnott offers both remanufactured Original Equipment (O.E.) front struts AND Arnott Designed NEW front struts for the E-Class W211 AMG. The one on your vehicle that couldn't be rebuilt was an Arnott designed new strut which does not include any of the Semi-Active Damping Functionality (ADS = Adaptive Damping System) so there would no reason or advantage to rebuild them (plus, since it is new it most likely was still functional anyway). Arnott remanufactured OE struts support the active damping functionality of the Mercedes strut but have an unknown number of miles on the internal shock while Arnott New struts have a brand new, zero mile, custom valved shock without active damping but they do adapt to the drivers style. It all comes down to budget and the age and miles on the vehicle.

A 2003 W211 (E500) is about 16 years old (in 2019). Today that car which sold for $75-$100k+ new, driven 10k miles a year, has an average trade-in value of $1,700 or $3,800 clean retail (AMG: $3850 Average Trade in/ $6,250 Retail; 2008 W211 Ave Trade-In is $4,650 and $8,125 Retail). A MB Remanufactured front strut 211-320-96-13-89 retails for $1,440 while the Arnott reman (AS-2294) sells for $665. Arnott’s new air suspension strut with a passive damper (AS-3000) retails for $726.

Each remanufactured OE strut is steam cleaned, tumble blasted down to raw metal, repainted with corrosion resistant paint, the internal damper is recharged with new seals, cap, and high performance shock oil replacing the old worn oil and then they undergo computer testing of the damper (Dyno tested) and ADS Coil to assure proper functionality (you would be surprised how many don't pass these tests and are trashed). Then the air spring assembly is rebuilt and attached which includes new, tier one manufactured, polyurethane bump stop, heavy duty crimp rings, check valve and air line fitting along with a multi-ply ContiTech air bladder. Remans cost a bit less but require a refundable core deposit, are in shorter supply, and are not sold outside of the US or Europe.

Arnott designed NEW struts feature a brand new passive shock damper which was custom made and tuned for the E-Class and has zero miles. The new damper provides an excellent ride for your 7-16+ year old vehicle and there is no shortage or cores as with remans. Most drivers love the ride (because they have a new damper that is usually always an improvement over a hard driven, worn out, strut) and this strut can be installed next to an OE strut. The new strut does not include the semi-active damping which often wear out in older 10+ year old OE units but the Arnott strut still maintains your vehicle’s luxury Airmatic® auto and load leveling capabilities. Arnott designed new struts provide a fully functional air suspension strut which provides auto leveling and the luxury of air springs to smooth out bumps and provide the premium ride owners expect. The top is machined in our CNC machine shop from aircraft quality American aluminum which is stronger than the pressed steel OE top. Arnott’s new struts feature thicker, name brand, multi-ply air bladders, nearly indestructible seals and a brand new, tighter fitting, bottom mount and top cap. We add the same heavy duty, multi-ply, ContiTech air bladder, crimping rings, and air line connectors as in the reman strut but replace the ADS coil with a device to turn off any dashboard air suspension warning lights. They cost a bit more but we may buy back your used OE core.

Arnott-designed new struts are an excellent alternative for aging air suspension systems because they provide the luxury, comfort, and auto leveling of air springs but replace the older original active damping shock with a new, custom-valved shock designed to provide a great ride at a more affordable price.

Here is a short video on Arnott’s S-Class strut remanufacturing process:

 

thanks for clearing that up.... so given that explanation I think I like the Arnott designed struts , not sure how good the ADS is anyway for street driving - any chance you (Arnott) would come up with steel replacement suspension that you can adjust ride height (front and back) and possibly manually dampen rebound settings ?