Fountain35

Yesterday morning my I was confronted with a collapsed passenger front side strut. Ok, found an OEM replacement (FCP) Side note the Benz dealer had none and said they are not available anywhere through the dealerships. Both front struts were replaced in 2017.(OEM)
This morning I now see the same side, passenger rear has also collapsed and front nor rear neither will rise. The issue is the car is not moveable as the wheels are up against the fender liner and fender. I think I will wait for the front strut, replace it where the car sits and see if there is any change in the rear. Maybe the spare on the rear will give it room to move it. I'm trying to locate OEM rear bellows, only see Arnott.
Big fun!

Yuille36

Even with a leaky front and rear suspension, the car should raise itself a little bit. Maybe not enough to drive, about at least sufficient enough to be loaded on a flatbed truck. Look for either Arnott or Bilstein units.

Rafichicago

Valve block can be faulty and not allow air to pressurize the struts.

cdk4219

Two words of wisdom, coilover conversion.

Fountain35

I guess it could be the valve block but the two struts on the drivers side (front and rear) work fine. I like the air suspension and don't want to do the coil-over conversion but I can see why it's done.
I found a place in Florida that rebuilds the rear Bilstiens so I'll call them tomorrow. I may just go with rear Arnott's but I hear they seem to be more firm. Any feed back on the Arnotts from those who have swapped would be helpful.
Chris

Rafichicago

In my opinion there are three reasons why this is done. One is the cost to replace the parts and additional diagnostic that come with it. Two is that people want to make ride stiffer cause it’s too soft for their likings. Three is that once strut is done it disables the car and it has to be fixed while people will drive foe 150k miles with worn out shocks cause it’s possible even thought outright dangerous. I see this every day on th road when car is being driven with wheel bouncing off of the pavement. With air suspension it has to be taken care of and majority of people will rather take on 40k loan than fix their car for 3k.

ArmoE55

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Rafichicago

Nothing that’s cheap will ride anywhere close to how Mercedes ride should be. Anything that’s half decent and not Chinese junk will cost $3K or more. And I will bet it’ll wear out quicker than oem air setup. My car is 09 and out of 4 corners 3 are still original working and not leaking air. That doesn’t mean that it’s the rule. Just like stated before. When it’s out car can’t be driven. And that sucks. I like however adjustability with a switch in the cabin. Topic had been beaten to death anyway so nothing new will be uncovered. I don’t think one is better than the other. Two different solutions for the same purpose.

ArmoE55

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Yuille36

Honestly, if you were to go with Arnott's, I don't think that you'll notice any difference in the ride quality versus OEM Bilstein's.
It's just an airbag. And for those that don't know, the rear shocks are what controls the suspension damping, not the airbag.

radride

I just replaced my rears on my 05 E55 Wagon. Went with the Arnott units. The air suspension is the reason why you want these cars. So smooth on the road.

R.K.

Fountain35

I talked to Arnott and they stated the rear bags are not adjustable so they ride slightly firmer.
I also may get lucky with the rear deflated bag. Mercedes said the system inflates one corner at a time. It starts with the front and works it's way back. We'll see.

MJBelcher500

What exactly did they say? I called them before switching mine out and was told something different. They do adjust for ride height, so they are "adjustable". They are dual chamber, so adjusting height affects spring rate.

Rafichicago

The thing is that that additional reservoir that arnott is not using is used for comfort mode. Arnott adjusts height but not spring rate in a way OEM setup does.

MJBelcher500

I was told by a person at Arnott that they made up the extra air volume within the body of the air spring. I would be nice to know what the "real deal" is with them.

Rafichicago

Let’s just settle this once and for all. Arnott is great replacement. It’s just not same thing for less money. It’s great option to have.

cdk4219

All 3 for me, , and the fact that most of these cars are sub $10,000 20 year old cars. At some point that $40,000 loan may be a good decision. If the suspension was designed correctly to not fall on the frame when it fails I may have reconsidered the decision.

As is was, it’s a terrible design that it renders the car inoperable when it fails.
and for me that simply doesn’t bode well.

Rafichicago

I honestly see it the other way. Once I’ve purchased a car for very little money. I have done complete suspension refresh front and rear. When I unbolted rear shock at the bottom it fell out in 4 pieces. Car had 150k miles at that point. It should’ve been removed from the road long before that. Most tend to not touch suspension at all. They claim that oil changes tires and breaks make car “well maintained “ try to use a car without doing something from that “extensive” list. I have a wagon which is substantially more than comparable sedan so doing things right make sense. I see why using arnott replacement makes a lot of sense. But honestly I doubt that any of those struts like bc racing or anything like that will last over 40K miles. However even when not working as intended you can still drive and that’s what matters for some. I am not trying to offend anyone here. But because of what I do and how many cars I go through I kind of see the pattern. However I would not do conversion in my wagon. With Savings on labor itself just the cost of part and substantial discount I have access to I am ok with.

Fountain35

I put my spare tire on the front and my neighbors CLS 550 spare on my collapsed rear to avoid rubbing the fender liner and fenders. Flat bedded back and I changed out the front strut with an OEM Bilstein. As started the car on jacks and let the bag/s fill up, both inflated. I was told the bags are filled by the compressor one corner at a time. The system starts with the front and works back. The system couldn't get past the front so it wouldn't inflate the rear.