Ethan, great writeup. The Haynes manual for w124 said that after removing the strut mounting bolts one should use a piece of wire to tie up the steering knuckle so it doesn't come loose. I didnt understand how it could come loose or where & how it should be wired. Could you elaborate? I need to replace the front struts on my 300e, and I was also wondering if this job could be done with the car on ramps by just pulling the strut down and out from the upper mounts hole - I did my rear shocks that way and it went pretty smoothly, even with fitting the lower bolt into the eyelet. Thanks for your thoughts.

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87 300e (white/black; amg body kit)
88 300ce (red/cream; amg body kit)
93 300ce cabrio (white/blue/blue top)
93 300ce cabrio (black/grey/black top)
98 ml 320 (totaled @ 137,000 miles)
99 clk320 (black/grey/black top)