Nice write up.

It looks like the ball joint boot towards the bottom of your strut in that picture is ripped/split possibly. Hard to tell.

Mounts on these aren't too bad, W210 is a super-pain. W126/W123 are because the bolts never want to come loose, but the R129 is suprisingly easy. (same mounts as a W211/W210 but easier to get to)

Having the little stubby 16mm tool to get at the bolts up top makes things a lot easier.

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