w203 front springs snapped

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bouncer

Active Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2007
Messages
329
Can anyone give me a ball park figure for the cost of replacement of both front springs. My springs have gone apparently :(

Car serviced only in april and not picked up then. But now i'm 7 days out of warranty and its MOT time.

sTeVe
 
Yes, very. We do loads and loads of them.
 
It has been discussed here many times.

It is not just MB that suffer, most marques do. You may get MB to contribute to the repair under the goodwill scheme. It is worth a try.
 
Steve, if MB don't want to contribute and you need them doing, I can help you. :thumb:
 
hi Steve ,Just had mine done today, springs were £57 each from MB and my Trusted local Indy fitted them for £60. Im not sure how long my spring has been broken as it was only picked up at recent service but has completely transformed the handling :) I had both front springs changed but apprantley it's ok have only the broken one done. All makes of cars suffer from broken springs mainly because of speed Bumps.
 
I've read that the springs do seem to snap quite often on Mercs, my C32 needed both fronts replacing a short time ago, so if it's a somewhat common occurence wouldn't it be a better option to replace them with some aftermarket springs? I'm thinking H&R, Eibach, that sort of thing. Or am I way off the mark here?
 
I recently had a set of Eibach springs fitted on the W203. Full set of springs were about £165. Labour to fit all 4 was £200. Whilst fitting was taking place, I got a phone call to say that one of the old springs had snapped anyway. Was quite a result really and fortunate that the timing was spot on.
 
H and R and Eibach a] heat stress relieve and b] shot/peen their springs before powder coating and will reputedly last longer-- being more immune to stress corrosion fracture. Unfortunately they tend to sell uprated/lowering springs so you may not be able to obtain "standard ride" springs from them
 
I wonder that if it's down to corrosion that the standard spring tend to snap, that if I buy new ones and get them properly powder coated/stove enamelled before fitting that this might prolong their life somewhat?

Although, as grober said about aftermarket springs also reduce ride height, I do think my C32 would look better 30mm lower :D
 
hi Steve ,Just had mine done today, springs were £57 each from MB and my Trusted local Indy fitted them for £60. Im not sure how long my spring has been broken as it was only picked up at recent service but has completely transformed the handling :) I had both front springs changed but apprantley it's ok have only the broken one done. All makes of cars suffer from broken springs mainly because of speed Bumps.

I didnt notice or feel or hear anything snap break and the handling feels really really good. :dk:.

And i only do motoway 56 miles a day most of it motorway.

I dont know how long they have been broken and i've had it 12 months

sTeVe
 
Ian, Thanks. Mercedes have offered to go half on cost.

But i will pop in and see you anyway as i have a vibration when braking.

sTeVe

Good result!
 
I didnt notice or feel or hear anything snap break and the handling feels really really good. :dk:.

And i only do motoway 56 miles a day most of it motorway.

I dont know how long they have been broken and i've had it 12 months

sTeVe

No I didn't hear mine snap either, I'm not sure how long the handling has been a bit sloppy, I suppose with my car now being 10 years old it gets progressively worse without you ever noticing any real change. I would say the body roll has been cut by Half:D
 
I wonder that if it's down to corrosion that the standard spring tend to snap, that if I buy new ones and get them properly powder coated/stove enamelled before fitting that this might prolong their life somewhat?

Stress corrosion fracture occurs because there is residual stress left in the spring after its manufactured. Corrosion causes minute surface imperfections which become micro cracks. These act as a "focus" for the residual stress causing the spring to eventually fracture. While a good coating will delay the initial corrosion damage without the " stress relieving" I doubt a better coating will help much. Unfortunately the spring coatings are in a position where they are subjected to a lot of damage from road grit and its almost impossible to keep them in good condition.
 
So its a design fault ?

sTeVe

Years ago (2002 in fact) both rear coil springs were found to be broken om wifey's Renault Clio at the cars 4yr service. Being a 1998 car, it only had 1 year year warranty but, because it was a Renault and they "go wrong a lot", I'd paid extra for 5yrs through Warranty Direct but it had a money back guarantee if not used. So I was anxious not to claim!

I noted the dealer had 9 springs in stock, when they'd never had anything else I wanted, so I assumed it was a common problem, although at that time I hadn't heard of it before.

The dealer laughed at the suggestion it should be done as goodwill but I called Renault, told them I expected the springs to last a life-time and within a few mins they called back and agreed to replace 100% FOC.

Oh, and we did get our money back for the warranty after 5 yrs!
 
Posted this before but for anyone who hasn't seen it:- [YOUTUBE]6ZMuMvpgKFs[/YOUTUBE]
 

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