Advice for replacing front springs please - W211 AMG styling package

[Matt's Dad]

Well, it appears I might now be a member of the broken spring club! I don’t know until tomorrow until I take the wheel off to look properly, but the front o/s is sitting lower than the n/s.

The car is a 54 plate W211 E320CDI, with AMG styling package from new - does anyone know if the springs are shorter or different to the standard Avantgarde springs? The car looks lower than other Avantgarde models, but it is hard to tell, as the bumpers are also lower.

I’ve read before about how common these cars are for the springs to fail, so I’d like to get prices and options for after market springs such as Eibach etc…….. but I don’t want to compromise the handling of the car, as I like it just how it is (nice height for looks with the size of the wheels, and handles great)

I’ll look tomorrow for any coloured stripes, so I can call Mercedes for a price on Monday, but I’d love to hear if you know of other options I can look at also.

Also, is it best to change the shock absorbers at the same time? And should I change the rear springs at the same time (the fronts show no signs of rust or wear, as I check them quite regularly)

Thank you!

 

[grober]

My guess is that the AMG springs will lower+firmer than the Avantgarde ones. The problem you will encounter with after market springs like Eibach and H and R [ who evidently incorporate more stress relieving in their manufacturing process to decrease breakage] is that they would normally offer a higher rated spring than standard i.e. an H and R spring for an AMG model will be stiffer than the AMG standard one. Its possible an H and R replacement for a standard spring might be the equivalent of a standard AMG one--don't know. Only Eibach and H and R can tell you I guess. The front springs tend to take a bit more pounding than the rears since they have that heavy lump of an engine to deal with. If the rear springs are not heavily corroded I would just leave them for now. I assume you are replacing both front springs of course.

 

[aka$h]

The springs on your car will be standard Avantgarde springs. AMG cars all had Airmatic suspension, and as far as Im aware AMG didnt offer a conventional spring\shock upgrade.

 

[timskemp]

Well, it appears I might now be a member of the broken spring club! I don’t know until tomorrow until I take the wheel off to look properly, but the front o/s is sitting lower than the n/s.

Also, is it best to change the shock absorbers at the same time? And should I change the rear springs at the same time (the fronts show no signs of rust or wear, as I check them quite regularly)

Welcome to the broken spring club! I'd stick with original springs - they'll be in stock and not expensive either.

Mines at 176k miles now, and there's no complaint about the shocks from me or my garage - they seem to be quality items. All four springs have been replaced though.

 

[nigel cross]

Not sure but if the mountings are the same as a W203 but if they are you will need special tools to change the springs. The top mounting doesn't use a regular nut to hold it all together.

 

[Matt's Dad]

Thanks for the replies!

It is a broken spring, although it is still in one piece, but has slipped down the base of the shock absorber.

The only problem is, there aren't any coloured stripes on any of the springs (front or rear), so I wonder if all 4 springs have been replaced with aftermarket types at some point before I owned the car.

 

[Matt's Dad]

It was me being blind! just found 2 yellow stripes and 1 green - I don't know what that means, but hopefully my local Mercedes dealer will!

 

[grober]

According to SACHS its for a standard chassis sports suspension whatever that means?? They do quote an equivalent Merc part no of A 211 321 0404 if that's any help?

 

[camerafodder]

If you go with your VIN to Mercedes they should be able to match the correct springs to your car. Mine has an AMG sports option which is additional to the standard sport stuff (apparently) from new and the front springs were 3yellow and 1 green although mine is an estate. The struts are easy to remove but you will need a decent spring compressor to change the springs. Ian Walker at 124works was kind enough to let me use his.

EDIT:
Sorry, I forgot to mention that they were £48 each.

 

[Matt's Dad]

According to SACHS its for a standard chassis sports suspension whatever that means?? They do quote an equivalent Merc part no of A 211 321 0404 if that's any help?

Thank you for the part number, I'm sure it'll help!

If you go with your VIN to Mercedes they should be able to match the correct springs to your car. Mine has an AMG sports option which is additional to the standard sport stuff (apparently) from new and the front springs were 3yellow and 1 green although mine is an estate. The struts are easy to remove but you will need a decent spring compressor to change the springs. Ian Walker at 124works was kind enough to let me use his.

EDIT:
Sorry, I forgot to mention that they were £48 each.

Thank you for that - I'll call them and see how I get on. At those prices, I'd rather order from Mercedes via the VIN number to make sure I get what should be on there (even though the car had Mercedes service history, since owing it, I have replaced a few parts that had fitted totally wrong, and some wrong parts had been fitted!)

 

[Matt's Dad]

Now replaced both front coil springs and bothe front shock absorbers - coil springs were a good price at £43 each, but shocks were £140 each - it's made a huge difference to the ride - I only changed the shocks, as the broken spring had been rubbing on the shock, so I thought it'd be best to change.

I ordered the parts with my local MB dealer via the VIN number, and the shocks are adjustable height, which is nice

While I was ordering parts, I treated her to a new mass air sensor (didn't realise it was the complete section), and the MPG is much better (I thought it was the cold weather that had made it drop so much)

 

[camerafodder]

Glad you got it sorted. I changed my MAF (its actually two sensors) assembly recently and it made quite a difference.

 

[Matt's Dad]

Glad you got it sorted. I changed my MAF (its actually two sensors) assembly recently and it made quite a difference.

Yes, I hadn't realised it was 2 sensors - when I got the car re-mapped, they cleaned the small sensor, but not the larger one. I had noticed that car wasn't as smooth when the engine was cold lately, and thought I'd try a new sensor - when the part arrived, I was suprised that it came complete with the 2 sensors, and they were already fitted to the tube section On a short trip yesterday, the computer showed an average MPG of 43, and I had had been at about 70 -75 for most of the way.