Mercedes quoted me $2300.00 to change out one of these shocks. The OEM part was $500.00 with the trade in of my old one! They’ve lost there rigging minds. I purchased my strut from amazon for 2011 GL450 for less than $200.0. Hell I only have 71k on my car and it has the OEM part on it so I think I’m ok buying an aftermarket part which has to meet the same specification that the OEM part dose but with no logo. So, if the logo is important to you Mercedes has them in stock. I’ve purchased the tool you recommended from amazon to make the job easier. I do not have a car lift that picks the car entire car up, but I have a standard shop hydraulic jack with jack stands. Wish me luck I will get back to you on my success. PS your video was very helpful and convinced me to do it myself. I’ve also changed out the air valve block which again I purchased off amazon. This was easy to do.
What Mercedes charges for this type of repair is borderline criminal.. You are exactly correct... For as expensive as these SUV"s are.. they are junk.. I have had 2 and I am going to switch to Lexus..
You are the coolest man. Big thanks to your selfless help. Gave me the knowledge and confidence to do it myself and save some much needed $ for my family. Cheers!
Vincent thanks so much for the comment. I'm really glad that my video is able to help you get that job done. I've used RU-vid a lot and it's helped me throughout the years so it's really nice to help other people. thanks again for watching my video😎👍
Thank you so much for your video. I purchased 6 Pc Front End Service Kit on amazon for $60 which contains tie rod end pullers, pitman arm puller, ball joint remover, and tie rod end lifter. It made my job so much easier. Thanks again for the awesome video!
Dealer charges about 23k for each front air spring replacement. The oem sir spring has 2 year warranty and it lasts about 50k miles. Arnott air springs last longer and have lifetime warranty.
You are absolutely right! MB quoted me $2,551 to replace the front left. I get knocking noises when I accelerate and dealer said is the FL strut. I wish I could add a pic of the quote. Is this something you came across? GREAT VIDEO. THANK YOU FOR SHARING.
The front right fuse panel under the hood has a trace that blows out before the 40 amp fuse going to the pump. If it blows the car will crank, start and immediately stop running after 1 or 2 seconds. It is easy to pull the fuse panel out and fix the PCB. Sad that Merc didn't bother to review this PCB design or even bother to test that the fuse would protect it. Avoid the cheap compressor, valve block and relays on Amazon. I blew lots of fuses with the Amazon parts. The parts from FCP Euro actually work. Nice video.
I buy the airsprings on Aliexpress and fit them myself on the existing strutts and they lasted twice as long than the original front MB airsprings. Works out 5 times cheaper than MB parts and service
Like many others that have commented, I'm grateful for your good advice and some great video footage. You didn't mention having to clear or reset anything on the electronic side of this repair. Is it as straight-forward as disconnect the electrical connector on the top and go. Then the opposite when installing?
Awesome video. I just did my front air struts and now going to do the back bags and strut. Is there a jack point so i can put the back of the truck on stands? I dont have the lift you have to lift from he side?
Thanks for the video I know this is years later, but i need to do this to my ml 350. Do you have the torque specs for when youre tightening all the bolts? Or is it a good hand tightening? Thats what im concerned about. Any help would be great.
Friend It's ringing when I turn it on and it goes up for eeeeeeeeeeeee and then when it goes up it doesn't make any more noise I grease it or oh and I have to buy the new hydraulics
2014 Mercedes Gl450 I removed my front, left right old air suspension struts .Having issues replacing the New ones ,I need to deflate them there full of air and to tall to fit in its place. Please Help
the air will escape if you remove the brass nut on top, but the shock absorber inside also has a spring, not enough to lift the car, but enough to extend the air strut to full length. use a ratchet strap (1 inch wide strap will be about the right size), put it around the top between the bolts, and go between the yoke. make removing and putting int the strut way easier.
How did you know the leak is from the air shock and not somewhere else, I mean, it could be leaking from the connection, is not like the air boot caught a nail.
Paul it's actually pretty simple the air struts have a piece of rubber on them that gets old and brittle. you can see the cracks in it and hear the air coming out.
Brandon Pierce I saw other videos where after replacing the air spring it wasn't that, I've put soap water on mine, and I don't see any bubbles,,the rubber doesn't look bad at all, the leak must be very small, it takes a few hours for the car to go down, I'm just trying to avoid the expense and the work, I want to be sure, that's all.
the front jack point is pretty obvious, if you look at it. rear one is not so obvious, but you can use the trailer hitch frame, which is pretty strong.
Very informative video, thanx, I will be replacing the air bags on my ml320 w164 airmatic as soon as I get the parts from eBay, which is proving to be a bit of a task, so it's good to know how to go about it now after watching your vid, cheers buddy
Brandon Pierce I have the opportunity of buying two front struts for 2010-12 gl450 without ads for $100. Thing is my 2010 with 105k miles doesn't need them yet. Should I buy them and what should I check
you have to diagnose the situation, and not just start replacing parts. if only one corner goes down, usually it's that side air bag that's leacking. it could also be the compressor, the valve block, the air hoses, the relay, or the computer,
It upsets me that the government bailed out alot of these car companies to the tune of 25 billion and they show appreciation by up charging everything wont even let you get a EXTENDED warranty if they say the miles too high parts are unnecessarily high something needs to change
