Have I Bought The Wrong Shock Absorber ?

[VenomX]

C240 2002 Avantgarde. Looking to do a suspension overhaul at the front with new top mounts, shocks and coils ( eventually I will do control arms )

I bought genuine springs ( the ones on the car from stock has 2x Yellow dots, so I bought these ) 2X Yellow is standard, not sport - according to an MB parts site.
Top mounts, no issue as they are straight forward to find.

the issue is the shock absorbers.
On my supplier, most of the shocks say " Without sports package/Without increased ground clearance "
To my understanding, this car definitely has standard suspension, no sport pack was ever offered for the C240. I have even checked the VIN codes, no mention of 482 " Higher ground clearance " or any sport pack codes.

Took the parts for my trusted mechanic to assemble as I do not fancy compressing springs on my drive. He said he was not happy about how far the springs have to be compressed to fit on the shock, and that he couldn't fit the shock properly into his machine, So now I am thinking I need shocks that have increased ground clearance which is a right pain because the shocks I bought are most likely wrong. Thankfully they were only £85 for the pair ( apec )

I was advised to take the parts to my local Mercedes independent garage ( not one of the expensive dealerships )
This place has star machines and all sorts so I am hoping they can identify which shocks I need.
Has to be aftermarket as genuine shocks are way too much for a project car.

Any advice ?
Thanks

 

[ray_hennig]

I seem to have said this before but did you cross-refer the genuine MB part number to an aftermarket brand? I had no problem doing this on my 124 and 7 years ago Sachs dampers were installed. All still well and they were the correct fit matching exactly the MB spec but for about a third of the price. What is the VIN for your car? Maybe I can find the MB number and thus the Sachs or Bilstein equivalents.

Just a thought.

RayH

 

[markjay]

C240 2002 Avantgarde. Looking to do a suspension overhaul at the front with new top mounts, shocks and coils ( eventually I will do control arms )

I bought genuine springs ( the ones on the car from stock has 2x Yellow dots, so I bought these ) 2X Yellow is standard, not sport - according to an MB parts site.
Top mounts, no issue as they are straight forward to find.

the issue is the shock absorbers.
On my supplier, most of the shocks say " Without sports package/Without increased ground clearance "
To my understanding, this car definitely has standard suspension, no sport pack was ever offered for the C240. I have even checked the VIN codes, no mention of 482 " Higher ground clearance " or any sport pack codes.

Took the parts for my trusted mechanic to assemble as I do not fancy compressing springs on my drive. He said he was not happy about how far the springs have to be compressed to fit on the shock, and that he couldn't fit the shock properly into his machine, So now I am thinking I need shocks that have increased ground clearance which is a right pain because the shocks I bought are most likely wrong. Thankfully they were only £85 for the pair ( apec )

I was advised to take the parts to my local Mercedes independent garage ( not one of the expensive dealerships )
This place has star machines and all sorts so I am hoping they can identify which shocks I need.
Has to be aftermarket as genuine shocks are way too much for a project car.

Any advice ?
Thanks

From the mechanics description, it sounds as if the springs may be too long?

The height ride is determined by the springs, not by the dampers. The dampers should have the correct length and travel for the springs, or you'll get weird habdling, but they do not affect the ride height.

The new dampers will have to be significantly shorter than the originals in order for them to cause the springs to be compressed too much. You'll be able to see it with the naked eye, if this was the case.

Did you at least take the opportunity to make a note of the MB part number on the old dampers?

 

[markjay]

BTW, there's a rubber bush and a bearing at the top of the strut, it may be worth renewing these as well.

 

[OneForTheRoad]

When I did my w211 , the springs had to have nearly every coil touching , just to get the nut on. Tell your mech to grow a pair and keep on compressing.

 

[Supernoodle]

As you're replacing springs and dampers you must be able to compare the dimensions, new and old?

My recollection of changing my springs was the same as @OneForTheRoad. With the tool I used (a Clarke, it was a struggle to compress them enough, but doable.

 

[VenomX]

BTW, there's a rubber bush and a bearing at the top of the strut, it may be worth renewing these as well.

Yea I have all the parts for the whole strut including dust cover and mounts as you say.

I seem to have said this before but did you cross-refer the genuine MB part number to an aftermarket brand? I had no problem doing this on my 124 and 7 years ago Sachs dampers were installed. All still well and they were the correct fit matching exactly the MB spec but for about a third of the price. What is the VIN for your car? Maybe I can find the MB number and thus the Sachs or Bilstein equivalents.

Just a thought.

RayH

yea the OE number on the original part matches the part I bought

 

[markjay]

yea the OE number on the original part matches the part I bought

In this case... :

Have I Bought The Wrong Shock Absorber ?​

No, you did not, you bought the correct parts.

 

[Petrol Pete]

You bought all this , right ? OK not exactly this as these are AMG specific springs , but you know what I mean.

 

[VenomX]

You bought all this , right ? OK not exactly this as these are AMG specific springs , but you know what I mean.

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Yes correct. I’m taking the parts down to a Mercedes garage next week hopefully they can assemble the strut

 

[VenomX]

Just an update. Had the shocks assembled by a local Merc independent. Fitted the passenger side all good, so appears they were the right parts afterall.
Bit of a pain installing but now I have some experience hopefully the driver side will be a bit easier