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I ordered everything from rock auto: 2 OEM Bilstein front struts (The reason here is that I wanted to retain the OEM ADS functionality that Arnotts does not keep) 2 OEM Bilstein rear shocks 2 Arnott rear air springs (The reason here is that the design is supposedly better than OEM, doesn't impact the ADS functionality, and labor costs are lower to install)
Came out to a little over $2500 shipped
Doing all that you should also replace the compressor, fuse and relay. It's the heart of the system and not terribly expensive.
Finally bit the bullet and bought some OEM Bilsteins from FCP Euro.
Been driving my G55 a lot lately and walked up to my E63 in the driveway and the driver's front wheel was tucked like something out of stance wars.
Damn near brought a tear to my eye.
Getting these in hopefully before the end of next week so I can install next weekend.
Still haven't installed my sway bar (as I don't want to fork cash over to a shop.... yet) but really hoping that this refresh helps with the jarring thuds I hear on bad roads.
Want to give my E63 some shine and get more seat time.
Will report back after I swap the shock assemblies.
I assume they are new. They also have a lifetime warranty, through Bilstein. They are only $308 each. FCP Euro has them for $508, EACH. That's crazy.
Similarly, FCP Euro carries the front Bilsteins for $930/ea. Rockauto has them for $607. I'm shocked. I have known for years that Rockauto is great but this is insane. And you get lifetime with Bilstein anyway so I'm not sure what the extra $300 is for! Add it up and you are looking at an extra $1,046 to get the same shocks at FCP Euro. Pass the word!
My guess is FCP Euro is selling them for the Bilstein MSRP. Rockauto shows "Add to cart for price" because they are selling them for under list. Just not sure why FCP Euro can't do the same...especially since the part already carries a lifetime warranty. They shouldn't bear any extra costs there. Oh well, this is why competition is good!
Does anyone know if the new Mercedes partnumber a2113266800 for rear shocks retain ads? In other words, do I get to keep ads like normal when buying new rear shocks from Mercedes?
To answer my own question I see now that BILSTEIN 20-070915 retain ads and Mercedes OEM is most likely the same unit.
Does anyone know if the new Mercedes partnumber a2113266800 for rear shocks retain ads? In other words, do I get to keep ads like normal when buying new rear shocks from Mercedes?
To answer my own question I see now that BILSTEIN 20-070915 retain ads and Mercedes OEM is most likely the same unit.
Yes I have a “B3” Bilstein unit recovered from an E500 in a junkyard. ADS absolutely works no difference from the original unit.
Don’t ever bother with AMG specific rear bags, even when buying Arnott.
Finally done w the swap. Started at 10a and finished around 5p.
All was fine aside from breaking the upper control arm ball joint when tightening... Lucking Mercedes Benz of Los Angeles had the part.
Came to find out that the driver's side air shock was an Arnott, hence it being blown and the passenger's side was a Continental. FML. pairs people. Pairs!
Got everything swapped did the lowering procedure to allow the airbags to fill up and took the car for a drive.
I have never felt such comfort in my time owning this car. Drives like a dream, no more creaks and metal on metal sounds even on the ****tiest surfaces.
I do have to replace the driver's side lower ball joint as it looks like the boot ripped... does anyone know of a universal boot?
I still have a sway bar to install, but after inspecting the bushings there, it was never the sway bar, it was the air shock. It's been blown all along. Really wishing I did this months ago or even when I first got the car.
While I've owned it, I've replaced every suspension component up front, and have been holding off on the air struts since they are so damn expensive.
You should go Bilstein, FCP Euro or where ever. The car feels like a new purchase. But glad everything I have from FCP is easy to get my lifetime warranty.
Now I don't want to drive my G55 aside from off roading.
Quick tip, when replacing the Bilsteins I decided to just replace the o-rings on the current connectors instead of rebuilding the whole thing.
You need to fish out the additional brass hose seating that comes with the new shock. They are hidden inside the strut tower and not mentioned in the instructions.
Tomorrow I think Im going to go get the car washed and take it for a cruise to get some miles on the new setup.
"I do have to replace the driver's side lower ball joint as it looks like the boot ripped."
You mean the balljoint which is pressed into the spindel?
The balljoints are cheap so you just buy a new balljoint and use a handheld press. Thus the spindel can stay on the car. Otherwise, remove spindel and press out.
Did you replace just front or also rear bags? If you done rear bags, make sure they sit straight and do not curve. You also need star to set the correct pressure. Otherwise they might blow while driving. The person who did my bags blew total of 4 OEM bags before having to pay the dealer for a correct install.
Ha good call on the star to set the pressure, I'll call the MB dealership to see if I can get an appointment. So far they feel amazing.
I have a replacement ball joint that I didn't do to the passenger side. May look at taking the boot off that one and just putting the silicone boot on the one that's bad, to avoid doing a full swap.
I already replaced the one that ripped, it snagged on the spindle when I was getting the shock back in.
Not a bad price on that press though!
Also just did the fronts, the rears ride perfectly.
No need to set pressure up front, only rear requires it to my knowledge. Star can be used to set ride height and calibrate the system which the dealer can help you with. They can also lower your car with star if that's to your liking
Wow, there's no DIY way to replace the rear bags without STAR? I don't really understand why the pressure would be different with new bags unless they were a different design.
There is most likely diy ways as well but if there is too low pressure in the bags when the car landing on the ground the new bags might get destroyed. There are good instructions on this in EPC.
I have an old thread on this where a careless mechanic installed new rear bags without star. The bags had low pressure and got deformed. Blew a few miles later. Happened twice. Luckily I didn't pay for that.
So it's more of an warning to read up before replacing the rear bags.
Gotcha. That makes sense actually. On some past GM cars I've had with rear load leveling (air shocks), they actually do tell you that riding around with no air pressure will ruin the bags and that the compressor contains a regulator to always keep a small amount of air pressure in the bags. Not quite apples to apples but it reminded me of that...
Wow, there's no DIY way to replace the rear bags without STAR? I don't really understand why the pressure would be different with new bags unless they were a different design.
Open door with opposite side raised. If you’re lucky it’ll inflate the bags a little bit, at least enough to reach the locating clip.
The car is a bit higher on both front corners, but the fact that I can walk outside and the driver's wheel isn't practicing for stance wars is a win to me!
I actually like where the cars sits at the moment.
The Bilstein instructions state that you can't put the car on the ground without supporting it.
I have small low profile ramps for the E63, so I used my floor jack to get the tires to rest on the ramps (not full car weight).
Started the car up for 3 minutes.
Used the "Raise" button and heard the air pump activate.
Let that run for another 5min. Then I heard the air bags pressure valve go off, letting me know the bags were full.
Then I let the jack all the way down so the car could support its weight. The air compressor went off for about 15 seconds then the pressure valve went off again.
This let me know the bags were inflated.
Took the misses on a quick drive and to both our surprise all the squeaks and metal on metal thuds were gone.
We have a really bad pot hole near our house in LA that I always swerved around. I took it head on and the car didn't even make a peep.
I still don't drive much in our current climate, and the G55 get's most of the love since it's parked behind the Entrance 63, but hoping to get some miles on her this week.
Interesting about the rears needing the STAR to get proper inflation. But I guess that has to do with the fact that there's no function to engage the pump to auto level.
this was a great thread. My front driver's side airbag blew out a couple of weeks ago and after reviewing this thread I ordered two new Bilsteins from RockAuto for $604 each and installed them this past weekend. If you go the Bilstein route you'll also have to order six new nuts for the top of the Strut (Part #913023-008002). Also, I'm going to sell the original units back to Arnott for their rebuild program. One of the trickier parts is removing the lower electrical connector. To do this you have to push up on the bracket that it connects to and then lever it out of its hole with a small flathead screwdriver, then separate the plugs from one another, then there's a small tab on the connector that you have to push over with a pick to remove it from the bracket. I made a youtube video for this:
Finally done w the swap. Started at 10a and finished around 5p.
All was fine aside from breaking the upper control arm ball joint when tightening... Lucking Mercedes Benz of Los Angeles had the part.
Came to find out that the driver's side air shock was an Arnott, hence it being blown and the passenger's side was a Continental. FML. pairs people. Pairs!
Got everything swapped did the lowering procedure to allow the airbags to fill up and took the car for a drive.
I have never felt such comfort in my time owning this car. Drives like a dream, no more creaks and metal on metal sounds even on the ****tiest surfaces.
I do have to replace the driver's side lower ball joint as it looks like the boot ripped... does anyone know of a universal boot?
I still have a sway bar to install, but after inspecting the bushings there, it was never the sway bar, it was the air shock. It's been blown all along. Really wishing I did this months ago or even when I first got the car.
While I've owned it, I've replaced every suspension component up front, and have been holding off on the air struts since they are so damn expensive.
You should go Bilstein, FCP Euro or where ever. The car feels like a new purchase. But glad everything I have from FCP is easy to get my lifetime warranty.
Now I don't want to drive my G55 aside from off roading.
Quick tip, when replacing the Bilsteins I decided to just replace the o-rings on the current connectors instead of rebuilding the whole thing.
You need to fish out the additional brass hose seating that comes with the new shock. They are hidden inside the strut tower and not mentioned in the instructions.
Tomorrow I think Im going to go get the car washed and take it for a cruise to get some miles on the new setup.
I'll probably jinx myself, but still on the original bags from 2004. I should probably order a set of bags from RockAuto for the shelf as their price is less than half of what it is in Germany. Also, I highly recommend AC Delco ball joints for the 211 from RockAuto (Upper PN 45D0155 Lower PN45D2437). More expensive than OEM's, but far better quality. You can expect 150+k miles or more. My OEM's needed replacement at around 65k miles.
I'll probably jinx myself, but still on the original bags from 2004. I should probably order a set of bags from RockAuto for the shelf as their price is less than half of what it is in Germany. Also, I highly recommend AC Delco ball joints for the 211 from RockAuto (Upper PN 45D0155 Lower PN45D2437). More expensive than OEM's, but far better quality. You can expect 150+k miles or more. My OEM's needed replacement at around 65k miles.
Solid I will look at their BallJoints all around since I need to replace the driver lower since it ripped after being in the car for less than 2k miles :|
Also, yea not a bad idea to have a set handy in the event that things go south, you won't have to wait for delivery and your downtime will just be labor.
03-24-2020, 05:55 PM
