w203 broken front shock absorber? Replace one or both?

[ccp]

Yesterday my C Class was recovered to my local MB dealer because of a grinding/grating noise emanating from the front off-side. The reason for the noise was the lower spring cup being in contact with the wheel. The photos show one shot of the near side (with separation between the spring cup and the tyre)

and two shots of the off side where the spring cup is in contact with the tyre.



The ride height (gap between the top of the wheel arch and the tyre) seemed largely unaffected.

I was tempted to take the wheel off and try to fit the space saver to see if the smaller wheel would be clear of the spring cup, but thought better of it because I feared the spring might "release" completely as I took the wheel off + the car was parked on a slope that made jacking unpalatable.

From my inspection I guess that the spring cup has become detached from the shock absorber, but without taking the wheel off I couldn't really see. Assuming that this proves the case the car will need a new shock absorber.

So here's the question - should these be replaced in pairs or will it be ok to replace just the one?

The car is 8 years old and has done 105K miles.

 

[markjay]

Always in pairs.

Relatively straightforward job replacing the rear dampers as there are no McPherson struts there.

EDIT: 'Front'

Must learn to read better...

Still in pairs

 

[markjay]

However.... it seems that if you are covered by warranty - be it MB original warranty, MB after-sales, or third party - you are only covered for the cost of replacing the damper that has actually failed and will have to incur the cost of replacing the other damper.

 

[ccp]

Sadly no warranty. More cash going into the money pit...

 

[mxs]

A already mentioned, always replace in pairs.

 

[Dieselman]

The ride height (gap between the top of the wheel arch and the tyre) seemed largely unaffected.

I was tempted to take the wheel off and try to fit the space saver to see if the smaller wheel would be clear of the spring cup, but thought better of it because I feared the spring might "release" completely as I took the wheel off + the car
The car is 8 years old and has done 105K miles.

The spring would have been released as it was only the tyre holding the cup up.

At 105k miles you will find a noticeable difference in fitting new dampers.

 

[markjay]

..and it is not bad idea to replace springs in pairs as well.

With regards dampers, MB originals are the best choice, but other branded ones e.g. Sachs or Bilstein - will also be fine

However, with reagrds springs go only for original MB springs (unless upgrading the suspension, in which case the likes of Eibach are also OK, but I understand is not the case here).

 

[EuroCarParts]

As above, always best practice in pairs.

If the car has 105k and original springs, it's not a bad idea to replace those while your at it

Pat

 

[Dieselman]

..and it is not bad idea to replace springs in pairs as well.

With regards dampers, MB originals are the best choice, but other branded ones e.g. Sachs or Bilstein - will also be fine

ich case the likes of Eibach are also OK, but I understand is not the case here).

Sach/Boge or Bilstein will be the original manufacturers. Mercedes don't make dampers.

At 106k miles, I would replace all springs and dampers round the car, otherwise there will be a noticeable difference in ride and handling, front to rear.

 

[ccp]

Thanks DM, I know you're right about the shocks etc but I am getting tired of throwing money at this car.

I've had another look under the wheel arch and the spring cup appears to be a plastic component that sits on top of the damper. From the look of it this appears to have split in half allowing the spring to hit the tyre!

I'm slightly stunned that this part (bearing 1/4 of the car's weight) would be made of plastic but if that's the case then I can hope/pray it can be replaced individually.

Just waiting to hear from the dealers...

 

[ccp]

Update:

So it is plastic and it cannot be bought separately Even tried a couple of local scrappies in the hope of finding one. Sports suspension put an end to that idea...

2 new dampers it is

 

[ccp]

About a week ago I finally got my car back all mended (2x dampers, 2x springs and 2 new wings -but that's another story) and though I'd better update to correct my incorrect statement in previous post.

The spring cups on my dampers are not plastic. They appear to be aluminium castings and the attached pictures show the OS spring cup as it was after the damper had been removed. This spring cup casting has clearly failed in quite an alarming manner.


I have also had a lucky escape with the NS spring cup. On inspection I could see a couple of small cracks on each side of the Damper. The red ring on the photo highlights one of these - the photo doesn't really do it justice! This crack was, IMO, a ticking timebomb and I would have suffered a similar issue on the NS if I hadn't replaced them both.


I believe that the suspension for W203's and W209's is shared - can I suggest that anyone who owns one of these inspects these castings very carefully the next time they have the wheel off. I don't like to think about what would have happened if this failure had occurred at speed.

My S203 is an Avantgarde and has the sport suspension - I don't know if this makes a particular difference to the construction of the dampers and their spring cups - but it can't hurt to inspect them carefully!

 

[ccp]

Bump for the evening visitors