Decent shock absorbers
 

So im driving my 99 amg e55 and have recently had it tuned up, transmission flushed, and new tires along with alignment....during the inspection i asked my local indie to look at the shocks and found three leaking....

I would normally go with bilstein shocks but hes recommending oem monroe shocks....opinions please?

Lyle in texas:confused:

Lyle, stick with Bilstein shocks/struts. If you want to reproduce the original ride quality best to purchase replacement shocks/struts from a MB dealer because those shocks/struts will be manufactured to MB specifications; however, they will be significantly more expensive from the dealer. Recommend buying from a MB dealer online ... say MB of Cincinnati.

I agree with Ferdman. This is no place to go "cheap". Mercedes of Atlanta gives pricing so you might want to check them. But look at Pelican Parts at the top of the page. They usually give you a choice of 2-3 vendors and rate each vendor. And check with autohauaz(sp?) over in Arizona.
Anziani
'97 CL600 53K

Besides Bilstein shocks, you can also use Sachs or sometimes listed as Sachs/Boge. Both will give you superior ride compared to Monroe. It would be interesting to know the reason why your local indie made that recommendation?

Just curious, what tires did you put on your e55?

OEM Monroe shocks??? Is Monroe the oem for MBZ? I thought it was Bilstein.

THIS!

I put some cheap Monroes on my '71 250 when the front shocks were blown, and they worked ok, but that was a car I didn't care much about. My 300D is rolling with the Bilsteins.

The OE bilstein struts will show some seepage from the working piston - I had that on new bilsteins and contacted them for this. Their answer was that this function is normal as the oil leak is to lubricate the seal.

The leak is extremely tiny, I mean you will see a damp top after a year or so - its not dribbling oil like a blown strut.

I hit the junkyard and swiped a set of bilsteins from a monte carlo for my chevy impala - same leakage signs but the struts are working great.

Monroe IS the OEM for Mercedes on some newer cars. Newer than the cars most of the people on this forum mess with.

I had a 1999 E55 and took the front shocks off, they are Bilstein. Monroe is NOT the OEM for a 1999 E55 AMG. Get Bilsteins if you want it to handle like an AMG. Really nothing wrong with Sachs/Boge or even with Monroes. But your car was built with Bilsteins.

Anyone know why MBZ went with Monroe? I don't know about the quality of Monroe products, but it seems like it is readily available at some local auto stores vs Bilsteins, which seem to only be exclusive to a select places. My first thought is that its something to cut costs for MBZ. I mean, I've seen a W218 with a "donut" as well as a w211. I know the older MBZ came with full size spares. I also know that there really wasn't much of a focus on "costs" back in those days either whereas now everyone wants to tend to cut costs and maximize profit.

Monroe is a subsidiary of Tenneco, a huge international automotive supplier.

Bilstein belongs to ThyssenKrupp (since '05)

Sachs-Boge belongs to ZF (also since around that time).

It's a tough world for automakers who need to meet the price demands of increasingly disloyal consumers ("I think I'll buy a Kia today. It's the same as an MB, right?")

Cost reductions ruled the roost in Mercedes-Benz starting with the W201 & W210, and also in the body/interior development of the ML.

Welcome to the new regime, and how car companies cut costs in the '90s (even quality car companies).

The shocks for the AMG cars have unique characteristics compared to the "normal" cars. Frankly, for that car I would go dealer only (in person or online). It is true that the original shocks may leak a bit over time (and I believe they are Bilsteins on the W210 E55) and, according the Bilstein, it is not cause for replacement.

Arguably after the costs of developing the W201 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_W201#Background) the accountants started to take over

Yep, meant W202. Getting old I guess.

The Bilsteins are a great product & priced accordingly. On the other hand Monroe (Tenneco) & Gabriel (now merged w/Bendix) have been around along time & make quality products. The fact is that Gabriel invented the car shock absorber. A cheap NEW shock is better than a blown shock. Get what you can afford (I'd put the Bil's in an AMG, but high end Monroes & Gabes will work).

As for the Kia vis a vis MB buying strategy, be careful. My friend who has been a life long (over 60 years) MB lover, driver and collector, rented, then bought a new Hyundia 12 months ago (it was winter & the prime benz was in the shop)...it just rolled over 60,000 miles last week (he averages 5k a month, not bad for 85 years young). He's thinking about selling his stable of 300SD daily drivers. (yeah, I know - its heresy, but I figure its all for the best. He hassles the dealer now, not me. When he pulls the sell trigger, I'll post 'em here.)

AMG is the performance arm of Mercedes. AMG cars are not your everyday run of the mill car from the assembly line.

AMG cars are not the standard setup when it comes to suspension, brakes and engine mods comperad to the normal car.
You don't put normal bits and pieces on an AMG you need to install the correct AMG parts -- This means $$$. Rotors and pads are three times the cost of the same items as installed on normal models.
AMG designed the suspension on their cars. There are special sports springs, spring pads and sports struts.
I am willing to bet that Monroe or KYB or any other of those other market suspension part makers do not make the low production special sports strut required for the AMG versions.

In my country it would be illegal not to put suspension parts differing from Manufacturers specifications.

It may require a visit to a specialized Bilstein dealership with your exact strut part numbers to locate the correct ones. Any salesman who tells you that the ordinary strut is the same as an AMG one needs to be walked away from.

If you buy yourself a AMG car you need to be aware of the $$$$ penalty in spare parts and servicing.
I never recommend buying an AMG to anyone without warning of the financial impediment.
One person I knew bought a W210 AMG E36 and then waited six weeks for the correct brake rotors to come from Europe. The AMG rotors for this car were $600.00 for the pair against $150.00 for a everyday E320

Avantgarde sports suspension is not the same as AMG suspension.

I was gonna say the same thing. I am driving a w201 (1990 2.6) and to me it doesn't seem like production cost was a factor when it came to the engineering and design of this car. Interesting that this model (1990) even boasts features that newer cars (2016) don't even have.

The W202 and W210 started life being designed in the "Engineered like no other Car" era.
Then came the Tarted up Toyota during the design phase.
DB management went into panic mode. Bu the mid nineties the models were introduced to the economy drive mode.
The basic design of the W202 and W210 holds up. If the later releases of these models had had the ongoing proper development dollars spent of them for later upgrades their reputation would have been up there with the earlier cars.

Having said that. I have both a W202 and a W210. In heavy rain the sound of drops on the roof in the W202 sound like - thud thud - the rain drops on the roof in the W210 give a tinny plink plink sound.

I was an Engineer in those days, and Mercedes-Benz was my favorite customer (and the reason I bought my first 124). Cars were until the mid-1990s built by Mercedes as an Engineer's car, and they were the only major manufacturer to price their cars on a "cost plus margin" basis. My '91 300TE 4matic stickered at $72,500(ish) plus luxury tax. Several years later, when the 210 replaced my beloved car, I was looking at replacing her (sold by then), and was astonished to find that in the late '90s I could buy a new E320 4matic wagon for less money than my car sold for 8 years earlier. Mercedes' new management had switched many things, and selling at a market-driven pricing structure meant that the price was set by the market, and the cars' production prices must be reduced to make them profitable at those prices. Quickly thrifted were some of the staples like the rotary headlamp switch, the door-mounted seat switch, glass headlamp lenses, full-dipped body, the entire W202 and W210 line were closely scrutinized during the design phases for what could be reduced or eliminated. A significant loser to this philosophy IMO was the ML, which was shown to all of us as a chassis & driveline at auto shows, that was designed without restrictions, ... but when the body and interior were later designed it was (again IMO) a Honda at best above the frame, ... very cheap. But I digress.


I have long felt that anyone can build a road-going appliance, most of them can be made durable and safe, and Marketing will be sure that the expected performance and features exist out of the box. Even the automotive greats have produced appliances at times, but they also produced great cars, ones that perform beyond mere numbers on a spreadsheet, and living with these cars as an enthusiast will show you the difference.

My business causes me to run a throw-away car. I need a large vehicle that will do lots of things and keep customers happy, ... at 1,500miles/week. I drove Grand Marquis cars happily, and transitioned to Chevy Tahoes, which have great resale when you put them on the market at just under 100,000miles a couple of years old, highway miles are kind to vehicles as nothing is worn at that mileage.

But when I hop into one of my faithful old Mercedes, or the quattro, I wear a completely different type of smile on my face and the entire experience is different. A healthy new Honda will outrun Dad's old Porsche, but he's 85 this year and has been driving that car every summer since '83, with the same big smile, ... the Lexus is just for rainy days.

I will never tell anyone that they should buy a Mercedes for economy, or longevity, or any other reason, ... it's a personal choice. Either you feel it or you don't.

Jeff, It's too bad this Peach Parts forum doesn't have the "like" option like the Benz forum has because I would "like" the bejeebers out of your last post above. I am sure that many others would "like" it also. You nailed it!
Anziani
Palm Springs
'97 CL600 53K