For those who replaced their front shocks, some said the Monroe shocks are too stiff. What do you guys think?

John

It hasn't affected the ride detrimentally. I still need to replace the sway bar bushings, as I still have the annoying "bump bump" when going over potholes and bad road. Original shocks lasted 85K.

As above.

John

Hi!
I have Monroe on my ML320E - Perfect.
I need for the rear - where I can get?

Unfortunately, the best deal on these is probably from the dealer.

The aftermarket struts don't have the springs - the ones that MB sells have the springs already on them for a little bit more. Everybody says that springs don't wear out easily, but that seems not to be true. I used to have a Volvo 960 - I replaced the struts but didn't replace the springs. The ride only marginally improved. I wished I had replaced the springs (only $30 each) as the technician had recommended. The car only had 65K on it, so I didn't think it needed the springs. It turns out that age is as big of a factor as miles. Remember, springs are holding up the weight of the vehicle when it is standing still as well.

HTH

Does the front shock need the shock mounting kit for Bilstein?

Thanks,

John

To be honest, I don't know. I contacted a local tire/front end shop to order the shocks, and they offered to mount them for $20 each extra. I paid the few extra dollars not to have to fool with the job. It looks pretty easy, though. The rear may be a different story, though.

I thought all Mercedes came with Bilsteins factory? After looking at this post I checked my '98 ML320 and it looks like it has a pos twin tube style shocks on there. What gives?
Bilstein doesn't list a rear shock for this vehicle. What the hell am I going to do now?
Has anyone tried to the BE5-2985 made for the '99-'03?

Call dealer on OE replacement of front shock. $234/ea. How much are Monroe reflex shock? Where can I get them?

Thanks,

John

The shocks were $79 each installed at local tire shop that is a Monroe dealer. Monroe has a "find a dealer" link on their website, try that to find your best deal locally. I know that Sears is a Monroe installer, they may be a little higher in price (especially on installation). Check your front sway bar bushings, too. If it is 98 or 99 and hasn't been updated, they and the two brackets are most likely shot. If you have a noticeable "clunk" when going over speed bumps and potholes, they are shot. Price is circa $200 for all the parts from Mercedesshop.com - I can give you the part numbers if you need them.

Well, I was able to special order them from O'Reilly locally. $54/ea. Should be here in few days. I enjoy wrenching, so I will put them in myself. Look pretty straight forward to do.

Thanks everybody,

John

I put on front shocks last night, not without problems. I cut the tip of the top of the shock to access it with a socket wrench. Big no no. The nut twisted with the shock. Took 3 hours to cut it off with a Dremel due to poor access on the driver side. The other side took about 30 min to do completely. Grab the top of the shock with a visegrip. Use a close or open wrench to loosen the nut. Took 2 min to get the nut off the passenger side. The rest went in pretty easy afterward. So DO NOT CUT ANYTHING!
My 2 cents.

John

I will wrench just about anything - I work as a CNC technician in a pump manufacturing environment (I maintain 2 machines that cost over a half million dollars each), but when it comes to shocks, struts, and transmission work I leave it to a properly equipped shop. I've never had any luck DIY'ing those. Just about anything else is fair game. I started my replacement of the sway bar bushings last night, but found the end pieces seized as is common to the ML's. I did replace the actual brackets that cause the "clunk" and it immensely improved the quietness of the front end going over bumps. I got my oil level/quality sensor in today - will pull the oil pan next week and tackle that one. I bought our '98 ML320 this time last year with 69K on it. We;ve put another 20K on it. This has been an expensive week for it. (4) new Bridgestone Dueler HT's at $480, sway bar brackets and bushings $200, oil level sensor $25 (off eBay), and I have a harmonic balancer on the way $50. The total is not too bad, but I shudder at what it would have cost me if I took it to Mercedes to do all this.