R230 ABC Shock covers

[swithin]

My new to me R230 had an advisory at its last MOT of split Shock covers. Having read about the potential problems of these and how difficult they are to get hold of I thought i'd upload this link:

Mercedes R230 SL Class Front ABC shock absorber boot SL500 SL55 SL350 SL600 SL65 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Mercedes R230 SL Class Front ABC shock absorber boot SL500 SL55 SL350 SL600 SL65 at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

I've ordered 6 of them, 2 for me and 4 for my specialist. They are arriving at the end of June and I will update on their suitability etc.

 

[Dickster]

I’m interested in these. If they go an easy I’ll get some, but they’re slightly expensive!

cheers for posting

 

[Dickster]

I thought only rears were available. Just done a search and found this via another MB forum:

Page Not Found - Aliexpress.com

 

[swithin]

Still waiting for mine to arrive, 2 months so far, expected at end of month, fingers crossed.

 

[Dickster]

Got mine, 9 days from HK and £50 for a pair

 

[swithin]

Got mine, 9 days from HK and £50 for a pair

They look exactly like mine which finally arrived Friday. Have you had yours fitted yet and we’re there any problems? I’m taking mine to my specialist tomorrow.

 

[Dickster]

I haven’t fitted them yet. I came up with a quick and much cheaper solution that’s holding up well. 3mm rubber sheets fitted over the top of the old covers....

 

[Thattrecksss2]

Apologies for resurrecting an old thread but Dickster, did this simpler solution hold up? or did you end up installing the replacement covers. And if so, how complicated was that procedure? Running into the same issues on an 03 SL55 here across the pond…

 

[Dickster]

No problem. Highly recommended. Three years and still going strong! I have covered approx 7,500 miles with them. If they fail I’ll do the same again. I secured them with plenty of 3M black super weatherstrip adhesive (to stop them slipping), over the old covers.

Good luck

 

[Thattrecksss2]

No problem. Highly recommended. Three years and still going strong! I have covered approx 7,500 miles with them. If they fail I’ll do the same again. I secured them with plenty of 3M black super weatherstrip adhesive (to stop them slipping), over the old covers.

Good luck

That's good to hear. I also purchased a set of *ahem* non MB branded dust covers from ebay ($60 for all four so cost wise not bad). Quality looks fine but the quote to install from my indy (r/r of all four struts $1600–1900) was eye watering. Not doubting thats what it costs but since this was pre-emptive, wasn't worth going that route.

So it looks like weatherstrip adhesive at the long seam to hold the rubber sleeve cylinder together, and dabs to keep the ties/fasteners in place.

I'm assuming since the rubber is flat and there are no bellows, the sleeve sits over the strut, snug enough to stay on but some clearance diameter-wise and top and bottom to allow the strut to raise and lower?

 

[Dickster]

I left the old covers in place and washed them to aid adhesion. Since the bellows are at the bottom I applied adhesive above the bellows and used the zip ties to make a tight fit between the rubber sheets and old covers.

I left an over lap at the bottom where the bellows are on the basis that being rubber it will just bend with the movement of the strut.

Make sense? $1500 is crazy!

 

[E55BOF]

Love it! That's what I call a demon bodge...

As opposed to a botch, which wouldn't work...

 

[Dickster]

Love it! That's what I call a demon bodge...

As opposed to a botch, which wouldn't work...

Cheers

It doesn’t look pretty but seems to do a better job than the crap oe covers.

 

[Thattrecksss2]

Cheers

It doesn’t look pretty but seems to do a better job than the crap oe covers.

Can't look worse than this… Crap OE is right, Granted this is 20 yr old plastic/rubber but this is a car w 34k mi, always garaged, in a (pre-dominantly) warm/hot climate and rarely, if ever, sees rain. Looks like a serpentine belt job gone wrong :

 

[Dickster]

Indeed. It’s disgusting that such poor quality items were used to protect such an expensive component.

 

[Thattrecksss2]

Just to follow up…

Finally installed my homemade dust covers—i ended up cutting slits into the sleeve to hold the zip ties in place. For the fronts i did use 3M weatherstrip adhesive (after cleaning the sleeve and the strut housing) along the top edge and cinched the zip tie as tight as possible to keep it affixed to the strut body. For the remainder, i tightened them snug but not over tight to allow the strut to move up and down as needed. Plenty of room to work on the fronts, not so much for the rears so i skipped the adhesive, just cinching the top tie as much as possible. Also had to shorten them since you can't really access the top of the struts.

Each sleeve has about an 1 1/2" of lateral overlap. Even if it's not 100% it should keep most of any dust or debris out. Definitely better than ripped covers.

Total cost was $60 for a huge roll of rubber sheet and $10 for 24" zip ties.

 

[Dickster]

Well done. Good idea with the zip ties. And yes, the rears are awkward but doable. Anyway much better than crap new and expensive MB covers.