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  #1  
Old 11-09-2012, 06:02 PM
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Junkyard shocks?

Is it worth the risk to buy the front shocks off the '88 190E in the P&P yard and put them on my '87 190DT??

The car is wheel-less and sitting flat on the ground. How high would I need to jack it up to get the front shocks off?


New Bilsteins are $85 each, so if I can get the junkyard shocks for $10 each, it might be worth the effort. Any suggestions?

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1st MBz: 1982 300SD
2nd MBz: 1987 300SDL
3rd MBz: 1995 S420
4th MBz: 1987 190DT
5th MBz: 1984 300SD w/1983 300DT engine
6th MBz: 1999 C230k I'm 3rd owner, got it w/57,235 miles.
and manages Mom's 2007 R320 CDI
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  #2  
Old 11-09-2012, 06:14 PM
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Yeah, don't do it.

Shocks are worth the money and should be replaced new, especially struts.
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  #3  
Old 11-10-2012, 07:19 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by colincoon View Post
Yeah, don't do it.

Shocks are worth the money and should be replaced new, especially struts.
When I bought new Gabriel shocks for my old '87 300SDL, my indy told me the old, 300,000 mile original Bilsteins had more pressure than the new Gabriels.

Therefore, I was thinking junkyard, original Bilsteins might be worth the effort, since they would cost about 10% of new.
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1st MBz: 1982 300SD
2nd MBz: 1987 300SDL
3rd MBz: 1995 S420
4th MBz: 1987 190DT
5th MBz: 1984 300SD w/1983 300DT engine
6th MBz: 1999 C230k I'm 3rd owner, got it w/57,235 miles.
and manages Mom's 2007 R320 CDI
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  #4  
Old 11-10-2012, 07:28 AM
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Personally I wouldn't. Brake and suspension items should only be bought new IMHO.
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  #5  
Old 11-10-2012, 07:49 AM
t walgamuth's Avatar
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Location: Lafayette Indiana
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The bilsteins last a good long time. If they look clean they may have been replaced and have good life in them. If you take them off and they feel weak can you not pay for them?

I can well remember when the price of new shocks led me to buy gabriels for my 62 benz. A good used bilstein would be better.
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  #6  
Old 11-10-2012, 09:14 AM
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1987 w124 300D
 
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Location: Edmonton, Canada
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Easy to get out, remember shocks compress. Jack car as much as it will let suspension down, undo ends of said shock using 2 tools to prevent rotating the shaft in the shock. With ends free of nuts grab the shock and muscle it out by compressing, moving body end free of its mount then down. To lower the risk... With shock out check it in the yard before buying. Lean on it to compress and let off. Watch how easy/hard it was to do, how fast it compresses and uncompressed on its own. If this is easy to do or slow on the rebound the shock is worn. Then lean on it half way and do some fast pokes to emulate light washboard road, if these are not sloppy or too easy, don't rattle... You have yourself a shock that may or may not be as good as the one you already have in the car. Sometimes you can read a date code stamping, which is a clue to its mileage. When you take them home take the first shock out of your car and do the same tests on it and decide which is better, if yours are more difficult or firm leave them in. No risk. $20 and at worst you get a bit of a workout.
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  #7  
Old 11-10-2012, 09:18 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by scottmcphee View Post
You have yourself a shock that may or may not be as good as the one you already have in the car. Sometimes you can read a date code stamping, which is a clue to its mileage.
Thanks for the change-out tips. The two fronts on my car are 100% blown out. The P&P shocks don't have oil on them, just dirt & dust.
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1st MBz: 1982 300SD
2nd MBz: 1987 300SDL
3rd MBz: 1995 S420
4th MBz: 1987 190DT
5th MBz: 1984 300SD w/1983 300DT engine
6th MBz: 1999 C230k I'm 3rd owner, got it w/57,235 miles.
and manages Mom's 2007 R320 CDI
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  #8  
Old 11-10-2012, 09:24 AM
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1987 w124 300D
 
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Grab them for sure then, you are ahead in doing so. Maybe not perfect, but ahead, right?

Take the rubber from the junker too, those upper mounts could be better than yous as well. If you mount them with the shock end and nut altogether to get out of the yard they'll see they are part of the shock and probably let them go with no extra. Do not use suspicious mounts that show any cracking or you can get a strut coming through you hood one day soon.
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  #9  
Old 11-10-2012, 10:13 AM
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Depends on an individuals financial circumstances. If they are not too bad I would not use used shocks unless they appeared to have been changed out not an awfully long time ago. For example if they appeared fresh I would grab them no matter how good my finances are. As long as they were blisteins.

No money to spare and you have the time it is a gamble otherwise. I have been at both ends of the spectrum at one time or another. Sometimes you will win and sometimes you will lose.
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  #10  
Old 11-10-2012, 10:43 AM
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Long time ago, I tried to save money putting Monroe shocks on my '61 Ponton and they were a dissappointment. Rode like a truck! Same deal with the KYBs I installed on my '72 W114 250 - hard ride, plus they didn't last.
Had better luck when my first Fintail develped very clunky rear shocks and new Bilsteins for that car would've been outrageously expensive. A pair of junk-yard Bilsteins worked out just fine.
More recently, (sometimes thanks to friends or the internet) I've been able to find affordable new Bilsteins for my W123 diesels.
A salvage yard is still an option, as vehicles there often had recent parts replacements before they got junked.
Just depends on how much extra work you're willing to gamble on used parts.

Happy Motoring, Mark
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  #11  
Old 11-10-2012, 04:39 PM
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Maybe. Since you can stroke test the shocks once you get them out, and toss them back in the junker if they don't check out, the risk is pretty small, aside from the time you take pulling them. However, you won't know how much life is left in them.

In your situation I would opt for new shocks, but if money is tight, good used ones are a lot better than known bad ones.
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  #12  
Old 11-10-2012, 05:33 PM
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Bilstiens are fine to get used if they aren't obviously leaking. I have done it a couple times, and so have other people I know, and they have always been fine. I wouldnt pay tons of money for them, but the difference between $30 and $500 is a lot of money for me, so I have no problem doing it as long as they arent blown out or damaged.
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  #13  
Old 11-10-2012, 07:52 PM
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Its possible they may be replacements from some point. I scored a set of rear bilsteins off a 300E in the junkyard a couple years ago that did not even have dirt on them yet....they were probably on the car a month before it was scrapped....paid $25 for the pair...crazy!
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  #14  
Old 11-10-2012, 07:55 PM
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Look at them closely and you may be able to tell if they are relatively new or not. I was at a pull a parts in Savannah one time and came up on a w124 car with what looked like practically new Bilsteins all the way around. They are currently on my 295k mile 95 E300. I think I payed about $50 total for all four.
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  #15  
Old 11-11-2012, 02:47 PM
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I have pulled a few pair from PNP. I first look at them for sighs of leakage and if they look to have been on the vehicle by the amount of dirt, I pass.

I replaced the rears a few months back on the 240 (which definately had worn out rears) with a set that difinately made a big improvement.

Just because the car is in the JY dosn`t mean the parts are bad. I have pulled some new axles, fairly new upper control arms, and a Bosch rebuilt 115amp alt.

All depends on our financial situation on each one of us here what works best.

I say go and start searching the yards, it is the challenge, the hunt. the search and the prize. ya never know what the next car holds...OH!!! there is a new one over there,,, ya might be the first one there before it gets ripped apart and things destroyed.


Charlie

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