W126 - Front Strut Question
 

I am doing the front struts of out 560SEL. Since I was getting some clunking over bumps, my friend Chuck suggested I also replace the rubber spring caps. So I went and got myself the Klann Clone disk compressor, and just finished doing the passenger side.

It struck me though: How can you remove the strut WITHOUT removing the spring? The screws holding the bottom part of the strut are at such a weird angle that I could not get to them with my 10mm socket had I not removed the spring first and then significantly lifted the the suspension assembly using a jack under the disk.

Has anyone else come across this? It's a pair of twelve point bolts that work with a 10mm socket, but there is no way you could use a wrench on them.

Oh and something else funny: Not even on Mercedes everything is perfect. The top metal shim below to two nuts at the top of the strut was put in upside down! Not that it matters much, but I got a chuckle when I though whoever put this may have had too much Dinkelacker the night before... (I am from Stuttgart, and Dinkelacker is a beer from Stuttgart)

I read a tip somewhere that said to remove the top bolt first. Then you can move the shock and angle it so that you can access the bottom bolts.

na dann...

Ha so Ebbes!

Arghhh! Now I ran into another frustration. After I put it all together, lowered the car, I wanted to tighten down the top strut nuts as instructed in the manual. The instructions basically read: 17 NM, using a 5 mm wrench to keep piston from turning.

I think that manual was written by the brothers Grimm: A fairy tale. There is no place to counterhold with a 5 mm wrench on the replacement OEM strut, and nor is there on the original strut. There is a screwdriver slot, but has anyone ever tried holding the piston rod with a screwdriver while tightening the nut? I tried. Round and round it went.

So did I now ruin my new struts? How can I tourque them down correctly, or should I come up with my own fairy tale: Once the rod turns, you're at 17 nm?

Is is not a stud, but a shock absorber.

You are supposed to use the 5mm wrench as a strip of metal, just put it in the groove. 17nm is not very much, it should be easy to hold it.

There are a lot of warnings about not turning the rad, I would avoid it.

Rob

I know about the not turning it. That's why I got so ticked, wondering if I destroyed my new shocks. But so far so good, no leaks or anything. What I did instead of the 5 mm was the ugly way: I held the top unthreaded part with my vicegrip pliers. Ugly, but it worked. I torqued it with a 17 mm crowsfoot at a right angle on the tourque wrench.

The top of the newer shocks have an allen key slot for a 5mm allen key to hold it steady when tightening the nut.....

Right. I have that on the Audi. A little more thought through.

Glad you got it to work. Another option could be using a screwdiver bit in a socket so that you can use a ratchet wrench to give you more holding torque than just a regular screwdriver.
How are the new struts?

Shocks are nice. I got rid of most of the rattle, but still have something emanating from the right when I hit deep bumps. It sounds a bit higher in position, which makes me suspect I have a bad bushing by the stabilizer bar somewhere. I jokingly considered even if it was the battery being loose, which is a good hint that it is probably the control arm bushing that goes into the body. This will take some more investigation. The car has only 130,000 miles, so I don't think I am ready for an entire front end rebuild yet. Ball joints are fine, and the last time I took her for an alignment the shop threw me out without charge: There was nothing to do, she was in full alignment, and all was tight.

Thanks for asking!