Strut advice 1995 E320 Wagon
 

Hey all,

Getting ready to rebuild the front end of the E320 wagon and want some advice on struts.

I'm looking at the Bilstein Sport struts and want to go with them, but I haven't really seen anything related to their performance and installation which has me a bit worried.

My question is will these work on the E320 wagon? The wagon has the solid ball joints (replacing both LCA's as well).

Do I need different springs in order to put in the sport shocks? I'm putting a set of AMG Monoblocks I have on it, and I don't want rubbing. In some places I see that it is for shorter springs, but in others they say nothing about it.

Is the strut similar to the Heavy Duty strut in valving? If the struts are the same, and the sport is only different in length then I might just go with the Heavy Duty.

Thanks and I'll keep everyone posted with what I decide on!

colin, recommend biting the bullet and buy replacement struts from a MB dealer. Those struts will provide the same ride quality and handling your wagon had when new.

Nope, they come with Sachs/Boge shocks which I can buy anywhere. I have a set on my 300E and I like them but they are a bit soft. I also see that they make a Heavy Duty shock as well, but I'm going for Billie's.

I also found out that the sport shock is basically the same as a heavy duty shock with a shorter rod in it. I'm probably just going to go with the heavy duty and run 235/45/17's on the Monoblocks.

You don't want to run 235 section tires. I lowered my wagon with H&Rs and am using the tallest bump pads up front. It is still dicey with clearance with a 225/45/17 tire. If you are running stock springs bilstein hds are fine. The hds and sports have the same valving, but the sports are an inch shorter.

Yes, I will be running stock springs and HD's. I wasn't sure if the Sport and HD's were different in any way except for length.

Im running sport bilstiens, on a 94 e 320 wagon , there firm , im running amg 245 rear 17 and 225 17 front monoblocks, im happy with them,with 205 in frt and back they were stiff feeling, now im running 245 rear 225 frt they perfect, not to stiff

Mine are also staggered, and from what I've read 235 all around allow for zero rubbing which is good.

colin, as far as I know even though Sachs/Boge may manufacture the struts for MB they are made to MB specifications, and have different performance characteristics. My experience with Bilstein HD front struts was disappointing. The ride was so harsh that I switched to Bilstein Comfort front struts within a week.

Anyone have part numbers for the Bilstein Comforts for later wagons? I've been trying to find some for my '95 wagon and am having a hell of a time figuring out what will fit exactly. The bilstein catalog shows 22-001856, but most online retailers list this as only fitting up to '92. The mercedes part number 124-320-30-30 roughly translates into a worldpac # of W0133-1910539, which also shows up as an earlier fitment. The only later fitment I can find is another worldpac # of W0133-1910716, but this seems to be cab/coupe specific!

There is not a wagon specific bilstein. The parts would be the same for coupe, sedan, or wagon.

Go to the new parts catalog above and put in pn 124-320-30-30-M12. Those are the standard Bilstein struts, and if I remember correctly there is no comfort title stuck to them anymore.

Thanks for the help guys, much appreciated.