I have a 99 ML 320 with 165K miles. Last month I changed the rear shocks. (Thanks to everyone here who contributed postings on this subject.) I feel a moderately firm "thunk" or "thwup" in the right rear whenever I roll over even a small pothole or bump in the road. It's not very loud, and I can't say I actually feel it in the drivers seat. But it is definitely there and it's definitely coming from the right rear. It kind of sounds like either the spare tire or the jack is loose. But I've checked both and both are firmly secured.

I followed all the great advice from this forum to R&R the shocks. This job is not easy, but it's not rocket science either. If you can get to all the fasteners and have the tools to break them loose, you can do this. As far as I can tell, everything can only go back together one way. I torqued as many of the bolts as I could in my original work. (Couldn't reach the top three 13mm nuts with a torque wrench.) Made sure to torque the big lower control arm bolts with the weight on the suspension. I went back and re-checked all the bolts to make sure they are tight. I'm _pretty sure_ I did the job correctly.

I got my shocks from Fastlane. They are Bilstien part number BE52985 per the receipt I have from Phil. These are the shocks without the coil spring installed. I had a local mechanic swap the old springs onto the new shocks for me.

Do you think this is the correct shock for my truck?

How do you know how far down to run the top nut on the shock when you install the coil spring? The mechanic that swapped the springs had trouble removing one of the top nuts. He used an impact gun to install the new nut. At some point, the shock shaft just spins so you can't tighten it any more.

Do you think rear sway bar bushings could be the cause? Mine are original.

I don't recall seeing bump stops in the packaging. Is it possible I left out required bump stops?

Do you think the top three 13mm nuts are not actually tight on one side because, with the vehicle on jack stands, the rear suspension is pulling down as you tighten these nuts. I don't think it is possible to access the nuts with the weight on the rear suspension. Just a thought.