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

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.

__________________
Fred Hoelzle

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?

__________________
'89 260e (212K Mi.), '92 400e (208K Mi.), '92 400e (not a misprint) (146K Mi.), '95 C220, '81 240D--Sold

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

__________________

1990 190E 3.0L

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.

__________________
Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

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.

__________________
2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

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.

__________________
68 280SL - 70 280SL - 70 300SEL 3.5 - 72 350SL - 72 280SEL 4.5 - 72 220 - 72 220D - 73 450SL - 84 230GE - 87 200TD - 90 190E 2.0 - 03 G500

Nissan GTR - Nissan Skyline GTS25T - Toyota GTFour - Rover Mini - Toyota Land Cruiser HJ60 - Cadillac Eldorado - BMW E30 - BMW 135i

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.

__________________

1990 190E 3.0L

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?")

__________________
Prost!

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).

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

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

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Yep, meant W202. Getting old I guess.

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

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.)