I need to have new Shocks put on the '81 240D, the local guy quoted 2.2 hours for labor. I thought these took more time than that? I can get out of his shop for about $375 out the door with 4 new Monroe's installed.

Has anyone put the Monroe shocks on their W123? Any comments would be welcome.

I'd rather have Bilsteins (the sport shocks) if they can be had.

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1981 240D Four on the floor, Orient Red over Parchment, bought with 154,000 but it's a daily driver and up to 180,000 miles, mostly original paint and all original interior.

If you're able to do the repair/upgrade yourself, check out the below DIY tech article from our site. If you have any questions, feel free to post a Comment just below the article and someone will get back to you with more details.

W123 Front Shocks Replacement


-Dmitry

Bilsteins are readily available, including here at Peachparts.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I would only install the blisteins. There are perhaps still sources at maybe 50.00 each. Other brands are hit and miss all too often on certain cars.

I see some KYB's in the catalog, I've had those on my old Chevy since the 1980's with out a failure.

Any thumbs down on the KYB's anyone?

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1981 240D Four on the floor, Orient Red over Parchment, bought with 154,000 but it's a daily driver and up to 180,000 miles, mostly original paint and all original interior.

I have KYB's on my 1985 300D and think they are fine.

2.2 sounds correct. IIRC it took me about 20-30 minutes per shock on the lift w/air tools & smoke wrench. The backs took a little longer than the fronts. If you have a good safe floor jack, jack stands & a set of metric wrenches you can do it in your drive on a sunny afternoon.

Remember that the back seat needs to be removed in order to replace the rear shocks. Removing the back seat is necessary to remove the top of the shock mount.

I replaced the rear shocks on my 81 240D just recently. Very simple to accomplish. Most of the time required was spent raising and securing the car safely. May have had to remove the rear seat to get at the uppers nuts. I put Monroes on and I am pleased with the ride. Adequate for my needs and budget. Your quote of $375 sounds very reasonable.

This.

Everything I get shock work done on any older Mercedes I take the seats out before taking it to the shop. It'll save the mechanics a bunch of time if they don't have to mess around with the seat removal. They can just drive right into the shock job.

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'80 300SD - '83 240D - '00 E55 AMG - '02 G500

shocks are very easy to replace on the w123. the fronts might take 20 minutes a side.. and that's if you're taking your sweet time to do it.. the back maybe 30 minutes a side.

KYB shocks have been good for the w123's i've had.. the first shock change i did was on a 79 240d.. with 475k.. 2 of the shocks had absolutely no resistance! the difference made on the steering was amazing.. the car with bad shocks was scary to drive on the highway and would want to jump lanes if you hit any bump or imperfection in the road! new shocks fixed that

Echoing what others have already said, replacing shocks is an easy DIY job. Total time for my SDL was ~3 hours, and that included wrestling rusted nuts off the rear factory shocks and a break for supper. Bilstein HD's all 4 corners and the car rides and drives like a dream.

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Current stable:
1995 E320 149K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 120K (SLoL)

Black Sheep:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

All good info, this is my 16 y/o daughters car that will pass down to her sister in two years. I suppose the bottom line is cheap and safe.

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1981 240D Four on the floor, Orient Red over Parchment, bought with 154,000 but it's a daily driver and up to 180,000 miles, mostly original paint and all original interior.

I just don't have time to do it myself, plus the shop has a 50% off shock labor special so it's about $150 plus parts.

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1981 240D Four on the floor, Orient Red over Parchment, bought with 154,000 but it's a daily driver and up to 180,000 miles, mostly original paint and all original interior.

KYBs work very well for about 30K then fail with regularity. The Bilsteins usually last 100K.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.