1989 300CE - Strut replacement - Advice needed
 

Hi all,

one of my struts is blown out, however the shop said it cannot be replaced singly but all 4 struts. It is around $900 parts and labor.

I am wondering why should all 4 struts need to be replaced when one is kaput? Is the shop right?

I'd like your opinion before authorizing the job.


Thanks for your input.

You should do both sides - 2 at a time, but don't necessarily need to do all four. By the way you have 2 struts (front) and 2 shocks (rear). It's a fairly easy DIY project - front struts should be about $100 each, rears about $50-60 each.

Thanks deanyel!

are the parts for 300CE the same as 300E ?

would those fit my car?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/KYB-GR-2-GR2-STRUTS-SHOCKS-MERCEDES-W124-260E-300E-300D_W0QQitemZ160151271317QQihZ006QQcategoryZ33590QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Later: I checked at FastLane and found the same item fitting 300CE as well, so question answered. Now I need to search for DIY threads on strut replacement, although I still have doubt if my DIY skill is sufficient for this job. Any encouragement :) ? any link to existing DIY threads?

Sounds a little high. Go see Billy Polley @ Park Place - Dallas and see what the cost is. You get 10% off for being MB Club member.
Another option, Call Louden Motorcars and get all 4 struts/shocks replaced, car aligned properly and be done with it.
Not a real bad DIY project but can be difficult without some knowledge/tools.
Good luck!

I am sure you will get a flurry of replies here regarding shocks.

Nearly all will say Bilsteins are your best bet. I don't have experience with others. I do have Bilstein comforts and those are nice.

I know the rears are the same. Almost positive the fronts are the same from the CE to the E. I have both types of cars, but have never replaced fronts.

I will some day... I have replaces some front strut mounts. If I were going to do the front struts, i would invest in the mounts too.....

Of course within budget limitations.

Initially I would just replace the two on the axle your are having the problem with..

My research on the forum led me to this

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=149084&highlight=strut+replacement

Maybe I could find one with photos.

Thanks to everyone!


Later: many people suggest lowering the control arm on a jack, so that a coil spring compressor would be unnecessary. How about combining both approaches to get more safety? Would that make sense? Thx!

Use the spring compressor or leave the car sitting on a jackstand under the control arm. NEVER lower that type control arm without the spring contained, it WILL come out and likely kill you, it is compressed about 4 or 5 inches with the control arm down to where it will leap out of the bottom bucket. I leave my car on the jackstands, easy enough and quite safe.

Peter

The coupe struts are different than the sedan, and a little more expensive, probably a little more than $100. You can get Boge for less than $100 if you shop around. Boge is also OEM and, at least in Germany, considered the equal of Bilstein. I think those are the only two suppliers you should consider.

http://www.bilstein.com/303passengercars.pdf

Strut replacement
 

I have found the struts cheapest at the dealer!!!

I was able to replace a front set easily with very few tools. There are two (19mm?) bolts attached to the backing plate and another nut on the shock tower under the hood. The rod needs a 7 or 8mm allen key depending on manufacturer.

What I did was:
1. Jack up the car and place supports under body parts, or lifting pads.
2. Remove the wheel.
3. Loosen the bolts at the lower end of the strut to make later removal easier
4. Jack up under the lower ball joint just enough to support it. While holding the shaft with an allen wrench, remove the top nut from the shock tower.
5. Remove the two lower bolts, then slide the strut out.
6. Remove the orange buffer and transfer it to the new strut. If it is damaged it should be replaced.
7. Install the new strut aligning the shaft through the hole, screw in the top nut and washers just a few threads, then screw in the lower bolts.
8. Hold the cup washers and tighten the top nut, holding the shaft with the allen key, then tighten the lower bolts to the correct torque.
9. Remove the jack and refit the wheel
Repeat for the other side.

It is important that you use the jack under the lower ball joint while replacing the struts or the coil spring could pop out with disastrous results!!! You are using the weight of the car to compress the coils, and it works well.

Shouldn't take more than 45 minutes a side, once you have your parts, tools and workspace ready.

Thanks, if the strut mount is to be also replaced, in which order is it done?
Removal: After removing the strut ?
Replacement: before the strut ?

I have removed the front coil spring on a W124 without a coil spring compressor, just using a jack. By the time the control arm was almost fully lowered, there was hardly any compression going on at the spring - maybe just 1 or 2 inches. If you lower the control arm very slowly (and from the opposite side of the car as a precaution), you shouldn't run into any problems.

With that said, you shouldn't need to lower the control arm or remove the spring to replace the strut. Just support the control arm at the ball joint as stated earlier.

gmercoleza, I'm confused! :confused: first you said "If you lower the control arm very slowly ..." then "With that said, you shouldn't need to lower the control arm ..."

:confused:

You shouldn't actually need to lower the control arm to replace a strut. I was just addressing the previous statement regarding the spring flying out of there violently, and helping you to understand that IF you were to lower it slowly, the spring would not come flying out of there violently - you would actually have to use a pry bar to pry it off of the control arm. This is from my experience.

Struts and assessories (bump stop, boot) bought. Will try this long weekend. Wish me success :P.

Thanks for all inputs!