A local benz repair shop quoted me $1,200 to replace the front and rear shocks (w/Mcpherson) includes labor.

Just curious as to whether that quote is fair?

The vehicle is a 1992 190E 2.6

Thanks

What do you mean, "with McPherson"? Early MB's don't have McPherson strut assemblies.
Front struts from the dealership run about $450 a set. Rear shocks run about $340 a set. $790 in parts, $410 in labor. I don't know about fair. You'd be saving a boat load of money doing it yourself.
What you could do, is buy a set of Bilstein comforts front and rear and you'll be spending about $450 in parts and then the rest on labor. The comforts by Bilstein are essentially the same exact thing you'd be buying at the MB dealership, only cheaper.

__________________
Allen Kroliczek
Oak Grove Autosport | Oak Grove Autosport
01 G500, 82 300TD, quite a few more.....

bsmuwk- I called the shop and said I need front and rear shocks. The guy said he didn't have Bilstein in stock and McPherson is essentially the same thing. I don't know man, that's just what I was told. Personally, I'd rather do it myself but I lack the experience.

If this is a DIY job that a newbie can tackle, and if special tools aren't required, do you know where I can find instructions on removing the old parts and installing the new?

I would insist on Bilstein or if you want to save $$ Sachs-Boge. Don't except KYB, Monroe etc.

Your car has struts on the front. Mcpherson generally refers to where the coil spring is over the strut. You don't have that.

The rears are just shocks- With a floor jack, and minor tools you can replace the rears easily. Fronts take a bit more care. Front and Rear you need to be careful as MB springs are strong and can easily kill you if they get loose.

The factory Bilstein's rarely fail (so I'm told)- you might get away with just replacing the rear shocks.

If you do the fronts, you should replace the upper strut mounts which are weak design with Meyle HD's. Replacing the struts (fronts) will effect alignment of the car....

Bilstein's it seems like Shoex.com has really good prices or there is a reputable ebay seller with them also. I would except something else as being equivlent... especially with the dollar amount of replacement.

heh, i'd do it for half that

They are super easy to replace..You can get brand new Bilstein Comforts/Sports for about $280 front and $200 rear and can be done in less than 30mins for the first side then 15mins for the other since you know everything.

This job is actually quite easy with the correct method and does not take long either. Start by loosing bolts on wheels, jack the car up and support it on quality stands.
Remove wheel and place new jack under the lower control arm. MAKE SURE to SUPPORT the weight of the car ON THIS JACK. You want the spring to not move when you release the strut. Once the lower control arm is supported, unbolt the bolt on the top of the mount in engine bay. Push shock down (should do if worn) and now remove mount.
PS: If your shock is worn a bit, you may not need to jack car up. You can do it all with wheels on ground. Just unbolt top mount bolt and push shock down. Now replace.

If shock is needed to be replaced continue. Undo the three bolts holding the shock in place. The upper mount will need a 19mm wrench to hold other the side from spinning. The bottom two are easy. Remove strut and support brake disk and associated items from hanging on the brake lines. Prop it up with a box or something....

Installation is reverse. My tip is to push the shock through the mount and secure using an old bolt to hold it in place. Now do the upper bolt FIRST because it holds it in the right place. Should be straight forward.

Safety is always #1 with anything suspension related, but as long as the lower control arm is supported, you should have no problems.

Pics:

__________________
2016 Monsoon Gray Audi Allroad - 21k
2008 Black Mercedes E350 4Matic Sport - 131k
2014 Jeep Wranger Unlimited Sahara - 62k
2003 Gray Mercedes ML350 - 122k

Wow.

To me it is not a great deal due to questionable shocks. These cars are not difficult to work on and not worth keeping if you are unable to do simple maintenance such as this.

I prefer Bil HDs, not sure if available for the W124. Sports should just be internally shorter than the HDs, but valved about the same.

In any event, if you can change your oil you can at least change the rears. Procure a copy of the factory service manual so you can do the fronts. Spend the other $500 on something else like tires

__________________
I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]

I would make two additions to the tutorial above:

1. Be very careful with that jack if it is the only thing supporting the control arm. There have been lengthy discussions here about the likelihood of a spring coming loose and doing very serious impact damage to person and property if that jack slips. Consider renting a good OE type spring compressor if doing the fronts, the rears seem to have less risk of losing a spring.

2. For the rears at least, bolt the bottom of the new shock in place before seating the top. The shock, once allowed to extend, will push the lower mounting point past the hole in the arm, and it's a pita to get it back in place.

Didn't the 190E 2.6 come with hydraulic rear suspension??

Anyway, I think you should know that "McPherson" is a TYPE of strut assembly, not a BRAND. So if they are trying to say that they are going to install "McPherson" struts, then they either don't know what they are talking about, or they are just trying to cheat you.

That said...$1,200 is WAY too much for new shocks to be installed.

__________________
Current cars:
2000 ML55 AMG, 174k miles
2003 C240 T-Modell, 202k miles
1995 S320, 207k Miles

This should be a $600-$700max job including parts....

Good luck

__________________
1993 300E, 2.8 M104 .....

I appreciate the advice everyone, and ps2cho, thanks for that awesome tutorial. I was not eager about dropping $1,200 for the job, but after reading some of your comments, that shop will definitely NOT be getting my business.

I'll be doing the work myself, but the off chance that one of those springs could come loose and mess up my pretty face scares the hell out of me

Just out of curiosity, have any of you ever heard of an upper strut mount completely failing and the strut coming up and breaking through the hood of the car?

Yes, strut mounts do fail in the method you described....new ones are recommended when changing the front struts....

as for the springs, use common sense and don't let the control arm swing all the way to the ground....you should be fine..

if you are worried, and i do recommend this, rent a mercedes spring compressor from the tool rental program on this website.

good luck, get belisteins and nothing else for struts

__________________
1993 300E, 2.8 M104 .....

MB list prices are $220 for the fronts & $190 for the rears. MB flat rate is 3.2 hrs
You do the math.

I think you can buy the fronts for $150ea and the rears for $125ea.
You do the math & install yourself.

__________________
MERCEDES Benz Master Guild Technician (6 TIMES)
ASE Master Technician
Mercedes Benz Star Technician (2 times)
44 years foreign automotive repair
27 Years M.B. Shop foreman (dealer)
MB technical information Specialist (15 years)
190E 2.3 16V ITS SCCA race car (sold)
1986 190E 2.3 16V 2.5 (sold)
Retired Moderator

Where can I go for a good pair of strut mounts? I just called MB and they want $105 for each strut mount! That's almost as much as the strut itself.

Are the strut mounts sold through AllPartsExpress or FastLane good quality?

If you are nervous about the springs, an alternative to the tool rental route could be to buy the Klann clone spring compressor on Ebay and then re-sell it here for say $10 or $20 less than you paid for it. You get cheap use of the tool and someone else looking to buy one gets a bit of a deal.

I bought one and it's a well made tool and others on this site have spoken positively about it. They generally go for around $180 to $200.