R171 Front suspension replacement

[Blobcat]

Front passenger side spring broke at the bottom (don’t they all…)

I've ordered the struts and springs - £301.31 all in for 2 x Bilstein B4 Shock absorbers and 2 x Febi Bilstein Coil Springs - although not here yet…




Wanted to check if I need the top mounts as well and as Theo is here we took the suspension off today.

With my impact driver pretty easy to remove the 2 bottom bolts and 1 top bolt from the hub. The antiroll bar bolt came off equally easily.






Held the disc and hub up on my spare jack then just the 3 x 13mm nuts on the top of the suspension tower and out it came.





I’ve tied the hub up to the top of the suspension tower whilst I wait for the parts to arrive

 

[Blobcat]

Drivers side equally easy to remove.

I’d noticed the oily stain at the bottom of the strut when changing the discs which is another reason I’m changing the shocks as well as the springs. (132k miles and 14 years old so definitely due replacement…)



The drivers side spring looked ok and passed MOT back in January



When I got the strut out though it wasn’t quite the same story…





Old break in same position as passenger side - no noise from drivers side but it’s definitely been broken for awhile…

Got to use my new strut feed though sockets - having the right tools make a world of difference



The top mounts apart from being a bit rusty appear ok.



I’ve cleaned them up, primed and sprayed them with “tough black”



What I do need to order is the bottom rubber spring locator as the drivers side one has left the scene (along with the broken end of the spring)

Passenger side rubber locator:

 

[alexanderfoti]

Great work! I'd advise replacing the plastic bearings. They often feel fine but are source of banging noises when they wear out. They are not expensive from the dealer.

 

[Blobcat]

Still waiting for online carparts/auto doc to deliver my new springs and shocks
It’s booked for a service on Tuesday, I fear I’ll have to postpone that

 

[00slk]

Still waiting for online carparts/auto doc to deliver my new springs and shocks
It’s booked for a service on Tuesday, I fear I’ll have to postpone that

Yep, I think you best postpone, it's now Wednesday BC...........Okay, I leave already.....

 

[Blobcat]

Yep, I think you best postpone, it's now Wednesday BC...........Okay, I leave already.....

Tuesday next week...

 

[Blobcat]

Yep, I think you best postpone, it's now Wednesday BC...........Okay, I leave already.....

Oh yea of little faith…



Challenge now is getting time to fit them… I’m away tonight, up to Scotchland tomorrow and not back until late Sunday… I’m working Monday so I need to find another day in the weekend between Sunday and Monday…

 

[00slk]

Oh yea of little faith…

View attachment 85221

Challenge now is getting time to fit them… I’m away tonight, up to Scotchland tomorrow and not back until late Sunday… I’m working Monday so I need to find another day in the weekend between Sunday and Monday…

Midnight BC, you can't go wrong

 

[Blobcat]

Midnight BC, you can't go wrong

I thought I’d finished my working on cars until 03:00 before work on a Monday…

Looks like I haven’t…

 

[00slk]

I thought I’d finished my working on cars until 03:00 before work on a Mon day…

Looks like I haven’t…

It's a tough lifestyle juggling car, work and house when you have more than 2 cars

 

[Blobcat]

I had 1.5 hrs between meetings this morning so out with the tools and on with the suspension.

New spring compressors better than old ones but still a challenge to get the spring compressed enough to fit and still be able to remove the compressor afterwards…




All went back together pretty easily, pry bar to get the anti roll bar connection back in then all bolted up. Tightened the 13mm top bolts last so had some movement to fit the bolts to the hub carrier.




I’d have preferred to spend more time on the job, touch up the springs and ensure all lubed and good. On a tight time limit though - both done in 1.5hrs - quick run around the block - nothing fell off so 3.5hr drive to Scotland.

Front end feels more planted and very compliant over the bumps. Might do the rears next as impressed with the bilsteins so far

 

[Chrishazle]

I know where to come when/if mine need doing Russ!! I have reservations about the rear of my 280, but am holding fire until i've had the lousy Hankooks on the rear replaced, changing the fronts from those to GY Efficientgrip Performance made a big difference, but I can't seem to find same tyre in 245/40 R17 so not sure what to go for (soon) instead.
Funny today, Amazon Prime delivered the T-Cut Headlight Restoration Kit I ordered on Prime day, driver also had a 171 280 but said his was AMG with side skirts etc.

 

[LostKiwi]

You're an expert now Russ!

Do you fancy giving my left front on the R Class a go....

(No way I'm going near it with spring compressors given I saw what happened when a big floor mounted hydraulic press had a go at compressing them....). It was bending a 3 ton spring compressor!

 

[Blobcat]

8 months and ~7k miles later and the passenger side spring has broken…
It happened on the way to Avantgarde Automotive so I turned around and took the smart instead.



Snapped mid coil, so looks like metallurgical failure… I’ll be taking this up with onlinecarparts/autodoc.

Top plastic bearings are knackered and a bit of damage on the shocker as well

 

[Uncle Benz]

That’s shocking (forgive the pun) for the time and mileage. There appears to be some corrosion near the break point and also elsewhere on the spring. Damage to the protective coating from the spring compressors or just poor original finish?

 

[sonic]

Very worrying considering the low millage.

 

[Blobcat]

That’s shocking (forgive the pun) for the time and mileage. There appears to be some corrosion near the break point and also elsewhere on the spring. Damage to the protective coating from the spring compressors or just poor original finish?

A bit of both probably, wouldn’t expect failure due to rust to be in 8 months though

 

[Snake Charmer]

I wouldn't expect to see that much corrosion in 8 months let alone the spring breaking. I'm not a big fan of powder coating on suspension components even when done correctly as it chips too easily.

 

[DSK]

If you don’t mind me asking, what Brad were those springs. Never heard of any spring fail so quickly.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Sorry to see this and very concerning - Chinese steel I’d replace with MB parts