I put new shocks on my '85 300D on Friday and it made a world of difference. I originally had KYBs on the back and I don't know what on the front. I removed the old shocks and to my surprise they were still good. I put on the new Bilsteins I ordered and took it for a spin. Even though the old shocks were still good, the difference with the Bilsteins was amazing.

The front shock are pretty easy. There are two bolts on the bottom of each one that come off without a problem. You will have to turn the steering wheel to get the one in the back. The top nut is easy to remove also. Just hold the base with a pair of vice grip and unscrew the nut.

The rear shocks are easy too except it takes a little more effort to get to them. You have to completely remove the back seat. On each side of the seat at the bottom you will find a lever. Simply push in on each one and the seat will pop out. Next, there are two screws (one on each side near the bottom) holding the seat back on. Simply remove these screws and lift the seat back up and out. Then, pull back the insulation material and you will see a plastic cap on each side about 4 inches in diameter. Simply pop these off with a screw driver and you will have access to the top nut for the shocks. They come out just like the front ones.

One more thing, on both the front and rear shocks, you will not be able to get the top nut on with the car in the air because of the size of the rubber bushings. You will have to insert the shocks on the front (or rear, whichever you do first), tighten the bottom bolts, then lower the car to the ground. Once both wheels are on the ground, the bushings will be compressed enough so that you can put on the top nut.

Scott

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Scott
1982 Mercedes 240D, 4 speed, 275,000
1988 Porsche 944 Turbo S (70,000)
1987 Porsche 911 Coupe 109,000 (sold)
1998 Mercedes E300 TurboDiesel 147,000 (sold)
1985 Mercedes 300D 227,000 (totaled by inattentive driver with no insurance!)
1997 Mercedes E300 Diesel 236,000 (sold)
1995 Ducati 900SS (sold)
1987 VW Jetta GLI 157,000 (sold)
1986 Camaro 125,000 (sold - P.O.S.)
1977 Corvette L82 125,000 (sold)
1965 Pontiac GTO 15,000 restored (sold)