Mercedes W211 E500 Rear AIRMATIC Air Strut Replacement (W211 E320, E550, CLS500, CLS550 & More)

[@fcpeuro]

Here's a quick video on how to bleed the air out of the air strut: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q6u9n4OZfrN_bqs

[@bihcjohnson121]

Hi Kyle where are you located, I have a E500 MB and my air strut need to be replace. I watched you video and it was very informative. Do you work on anyone car. If so and if you are not to far from me I would like you to check my car out.

[@mmid8960]

I’m doing a conversion from air to “strut masters” struts and springs I’m a little concerned about doing the rear I’ve never taken a job like this on myself if you have any advice please note it

[@howiebernard7961]

How much did the whole repair cost , parts and labor?

[@OfficerAlexis]

19 years old female learning a mechanic engineering from Ghana🇬🇭🇬🇭. So happy to meet this channel 🤗🤗🤗.

[@Mercedes-AMG_Motorentechnik]

Best air strut replacement step-by-step tutorial on youtube 👍🏻 Keep up the good work and stay healthy. Greets from germany ✌🏻

[@Sarge-R1]

always nice to see when a mechanic does this looks so easy but when you do it youre self its hell

[@ljsense]

2006 E500 4Matic wagon -- just did both sides using the supplied jack and some jack stands. Not having a lift makes this job harder, but it's possible. I replaced the rotors and brake pads while I was at it, but each side took a full morning. I released the air by just cutting into the line to the reservoir, which you have to do anyway. A drywall saw worked well for me. When I jacked the first side, there was still air in the bags. The geometry was pretty open, and putting the bolts back was relatively painless. The strut needed a little pushing. When I started working on the second side, the rear suspension was fully compressed, and the geometry was much harder to work with. Getting the lowest linkage together again was a nightmare. I had to use wedges and block, every German profanity, etc. Someone asked about lowing the vehicle from the jack with no air. I did that. Then I started the car and the suspension inflated. I hope this didn't damage the new bags. The car settles to a lower height when parked, rises and lowers with the button, but some element of communication is missing (maybe) between the Arnott parts and the car's computer -- it says visit workshop with a little car raising icon. Perhaps there is a leak or some fault, but I am hoping it's just a thing where the Mercedes computer is not understanding the new part completely. The wires were really tough for me to unclip, so another possibility is that I weakened a connection. The Arnott Voss valves come with a little white plastic plug in them. You just pull those out, insert the line, then tighten it ever so slightly more. It took me a second to figure out that plastic part just needed to be pulled out. The ride seems better or at least as good as it ever was. I don't know what role the reservoir played in the suspension, but I wouldn't let that consideration weigh heavily on whether to go this route.

[@vidsforsquids]

I just did this - out of necessity. People, DON’T WAIT until they go bad. If it’s dropping overnight or you see any signs of of it, do the repair. Don’t wind up needing a tow...

[@user-mr9uy9gj5l]

Hey Kyle, I had mine replaced about 6 years ago, but I wanted to watch a vid to see what all was involved. Excellent concise video with no extra talk. You kept right on subject and therefore your video instructions are really clear. Thanks for such a great job.

[@Gripen85]

I want to thank FCP Euro and in particular Kyle for this how-to. I just completed this on my 2004 W211 Mercedes E55 AMG Wagon using Arnott 2725's. I also used the how to deflate the air using a 9V battery and the BMW part which worked great. Both my air springs that came new were NOT inflated, but the one on the car had some air left in it so that worked great there. Now I really hope tomorrow morning the car is still on it's feet :P we'll see. First airspring took about 4 hours I think, because I forgot to deflate the airspring which caused trouble and there was no 21mm in my toolbox, had to go out and get it. The second one was done within 2 hours :)

[@gkelly941]

Very helpful. I just completed this job on my 2003 E500. My experience says the time estimate of 2 hrs. per side is vastly optimistic. Of course, now that I know how to do it, . . . . I ran into two big issues. first, it was a real bear getting the new air spring in position over the edge of the lower control arm. I solved this by using my floor jack to compress the air bag enough to get the base over the LCA, using pieces of lumber to raise and position the jack Second, it was impossible to get the hew bolt back into the mount for the toe-in control arm, until I bought and used a tapered alignment punch to align the holes. I used small C-clamps moderately tight to hold the pieces in alignment, so I could remove the alignment punch and get the hex bolt in the hole. I worked on the ground, and it was also difficult to get the bolts properly torqued. I also used Loctite on all of the fasteners. I would add the following to the list of tools: Alignment punch, snall C-clamps (x2.)

[@EuroNiceguy]

Thank you for the video. Thank you as well for advising that there is the option for eliminating the larger hose for the central reservoir. Keep up the great work

[@fcpeuro]

You're very welcome, Michael!

[@michelbuchs7645]

You also loose the airmatic functions by this...

[@douglundy5755]

@@michelbuchs7645 No the pump still works and the ride height sensor is active as well. This does not eliminate the airmatic function at all unless I misunderstand what you mean. Maybe the pump kicks in more frequently is all.

[@whatashineautomotivedetail9908]

This video helped me so much. Step by step and got the job done for my 2005 E55. Shop was going to charge $3200

[@walangbuhok1]

What’s the level of difficulty?

[@REALITY_ONLY_PLEASE]

Great video. I’ve had the rear replaced at a dealership. Never again. These bags make it much more shade tree friendly.

[@UnknownUser-me2vj]

I just got back from doing this work with the new air struts as discribed. Great explanation but I have one thing to add: since the deflation is not really easy I losened the bolds that are closer to the car center as well (not native Somebody may translate better). This way you can slide the old air Struts to the inside (not wheel facing side) which makes the job so much easier especially if you still have pressure on the bags. Sure if you have a diagnosing computer and can manually deflate it might be an unnecessary step but for the DIY community I can recommend to do it this way. Cheers

[@tileader6302]

Do you mean you completely took out the toe control arm to create room?

[@randbradbury]

Great video. I wish I could hire Kyle to work on my E500 with me! He did a fantastic job describing the process and seemed to really care about what he was doing.

[@MotownModels]

Just an FYI to anyone looking to do this - I didn't touch the lower shock bolt, and the air spring was able to come out perfectly fine. Also, if you want to release air from the OEM air spring and are replacing it with an Arnott unit, you can just start cutting into the OEM air reservoir line (as shown in the video) and it'll start releasing pressure. The you can maneuver out the spring much easier.

[@LynxStarAuto]

You should be replacing the shock along with the air spring every single time. Weak shock will kill these bags in no time. It's cheap insurance and doesn't add much more to the labor.

[@subbaaja100]

@@LynxStarAuto the shock absorber is 530€ per side. Not exactly cheap

[@richardkwon6697]

What do you do with that big air hose after you cut it? Just leave it there?

[@eetu2315]

@@richardkwon6697thats what im wondering

[@andrewanderson3355]

Thank you Kyle. Fantastically helpful video and the Arnott product is superior to the OE in terms of foolproof installation. The OE design is easy to wreck if the bottom section is allowed to flip around while inflating. The bottom section needs to be aligned and bolt needs to be tight before inflation.

[@elymartinez9682]

Fantastic video! It was the most thorough and complete video instruction I've ever seen! The only thing I would have done differently is I would have taken my watch off so it doesn't get scratched.

[@suhaibalomary]

Great job man, keep posting videos about European cars.

[@franzie4158]

Best video I have watched. Clear and simple to understand.

[@jasonlasley6726]

Awww man great video! I wish this was out about 3 weeks ago :)

[@fcpeuro]

Sorry Jason, had we known!

[@smelmybut]

Excellent tutorial. I did not know the shocks/struts could still be functional when the Arnot 2724 is bad. Thank you.

[@willharris7063]

Thank you so much for making this!

[@fcpeuro]

no problem Will!

[@00700556]

So is anyone going to point out that this car had 307,000 miles? Lol I hope my 2008 CLS550 reaches that. Currently at 182k and still riding amazingly and flawlessly

[@fcpeuro]

She's had a good run, definitely some battle scars on it lol

[@amirazmanpokpsdphajiabdulr6711]

Mine w211 2005 with 256k miles.. still runs but was told that i need to replace electric kit

[@graysonschott4304]

I have a w211 E350 estate at 183,678 miles and I swear it will run forever. All original parts apart from air ride and this thing has paid for itself. Religious maintenance will make anything run forever.

[@gkelly941]

Mine failed at 105K. OEM airbag had a small hole after months of overnight leak-down. Two front airbags already replaced by PO, one of which I already replaced.

[@00700556]

@@fcpeuro Indeed! lol

[@michaeldean2447]

Great video! Man that rotor (rear driver) looks hammered as well.

[@Roger8984]

Good video and really helped!.. A couple points.. The torque + 90 bolts describes tty type bolts which are usually one time use and replaced on most applications. The little plastic bit on the air fitting (the piece that you remove after installation) was a somewhat confusing to me until I took it the other one apart.. Could be a bit clearer on that detail.. Finally... My old air fitting had a rubber grommet. The replacement part has a rubber grommet on the plug but not on the replacement fiitting... After assembly, I removed the air line, took the grommet from the plug and put it on the new fitting to be safe. Seemed like a good idea. Really I think arnott should have clarified those details in their instructions instead of leaving it as guess work. All that said, still good and glad I could do this myself as I could not find a shop around that would even quote me price on the work.

[@freddy94730]

thank you guys so much, mine need to be replaced and your video provided me with the information I needed to do this job myself:D

[@fcpeuro]

Happy to help Lassiger Louie !

[@mmid8960]

@@fcpeuroI’m doing a strut masters conversion kit and I’d like to see how that’s done would you be able to do that or do you already have a video on the channel

[@rondog2457]

Lol you made placing the airbag in the car look like such an easy task. In fact, it’s hard af.

[@petejordan327]

Nice work, Thank you for the excellent, very helpful video. If I may add though, In Europe the wheel bolt torque setting is 130nm

[@viliammakuka1623]

Nice work and thanks 👍

[@stevenweseman1473]

Brilliantly prepared (If I am even qualified to comment); details and efficiency. Do we even have an index provided? Unbelievabe: Mr. Bascombe, FCP Euro and all those involved with the quality of FCP Euro tutorials: you rock! I am not prepared to embrace that the new Arnott's, which lack ADS, give equivalent performance but I won't argue against their quality or the rational for the shortcuts. Order from FCP Euro absolutely...with my mechanical expertise, I have to prepare my speech for crawling back to the real mechanics in advance! In this regard, allow me to confirm that tire sealant does pass well through the complicated valves at the head of the front struts. The upside, my "how not to fix things" tutorial video on that one is way funnier than this polished stuff. I demand to see the outtakes. Please send a DIY obsession disorder therapy video with my next order.

[@19Grayfox95]

Great video man thank you from germany

[@jasons7629]

I used my 24" bypass loppers (tree branch cutters) to cut the rubber hose on the air strut. Way easier.

[@lazarotorres9630]

Beautiful Work and on Point ❤🙏🏾 thank You sensei

[@pedrotalavera3541]

Very professional video. I appreciate it.

[@fcpeuro]

You are welcome!

[@janstafford1490]

Brilliant thank you kind sir most helpful even to torque sets, cheers, so simply explained not so nervous now.

[@veronelion4536]

great presentation. love it. good luck

[@adriankeys6245]

Many thanks for your excellent video ... very helpful.

[@lifestyles0101]

Top shelf content. Respect.

[@Roger8984]

I used a simple tubing cutter tool that made short work of cutting the hose to the reservoir.

[@davidgreenaway8997]

great video Kyle, thanks. I'm about to replace these on my '05 W211 E55 AMG which uses the Arnott A2725's. Apart from that is the process the same? What about the torque settings? Thanks again

[@Gripen85]

Hi David Greenaway, do you know the answer by now? I'm about to do this on my 2004 W211 E55 AMG Wagon and want to know the same :)

[@davidgreenaway8997]

I performed this on my '05 E55 AMG, the process is very similar. Around the 10 min mark the video shoes cutting the hose at the top of the airbag, I found it easier to cut it at the bottom close to the differential. If you google "AR32.22-P-1500TA" you should be able to find the document that has the torque settings you need.

[@mattycaaakes]

Excellent video! I've got my replacement air springs arriving from FCP Euro tomorrow and this video gives me confidence. For clarity, could you provide some detail around the reinflation process? How did you determine the correct ride height with the jack before torquing down the hardware? Also, I assume the new air springs were deflated before install. After you used the raise function to fill the springs, was it okay to put the vehicle on the ground full weight and let the car raise to the correct height on its own? I've heard stories of new springs failing when inflated from empty when the car is completely bottomed out. Anyone's clarity would be much appreciated!

[@adogmcdizzle]

Great questions, they really glossed over that part.

[@conanvarvar633]

excellent explanation

[@edwardsage5277]

dude is serious about his newton meters

[@nnarkaj]

One thing, deflate the bag then push it out from the top mount, then you can get to the air line and connector much easier.

[@mzee5533]

I’ll be changing my Wagon 211 E320 this weekend with Anortt 2726

[@fcpeuro]

Let us know how it goes Muchie!

[@jasonlasley6726]

Hey I just did my 320 wagon. There is no air reservoir on the wagon. Also... there is no need to take apart the trunk to get to the top of the shock... ask me how I found out.

[@vidsforsquids]

Yup I just did my E320 wagon too. All good 👍🏼

[@mzee5533]

Success I changed without any issues. To those who wanted to know how to discharge air from the air springs i used a little 9v battery mostly used in multimeter

[@mzee5533]

#FCPEURO thanks for the tutorial

[@JusKeef]

Amazing video!!!!!!!

[@SW-qr8qe]

Very clear, thanks

[@willcalderon1990]

Just to confirm it is the same procedure for the front driver side correct? Awesome video FCP is the best.

[@christorres9019]

great work on point with everything

[@Bamban0303]

You have to do more videos about this car because I love this car I have the same car for me is the best car

[@peterock4948]

Love the that t-shirt man. Ok back to the vid

[@fcpeuro]

we're getting more of them in stock soon!

[@marknichols8533]

good video, quick Q ON THE NEW NUT FOR THE AIR BAG DO YOU TAKE OFF THE PLACTIC COVER TO FEED THE AIR ONTO THE NEW NUT

[@briangraham473]

Great video!

[@fcpeuro]

Thanks for the visit!

[@baba_2072]

Hi, again thank a lot for taking a time to reply to me. I finally put on the airmatic suspension on my 2006 mb e350 wagon. The only problem I had is the rear wheel of the car is not turning. Not even moving kind of block and very stiff. Do you have an idea why? Sorry for the headache.

[@simonmoreno4757]

Nice video, I wonder if in the near future you'll do hydraulic structs from 1996-2002. Those on wagons

[@gkelly941]

Replacing the spheres on the 210 is much easier, based on my experience with wife's E 320 estate. FCP is a great to buy parts, but I got the Antel air bags for my 211 from Rock Auto.

[@باکۆمُحَمَد]

Great channel if only you do more w221 vids

[@norrisalatto6671]

What did you do with the air hose you cut with the razor blade? was it plugged up. or just left as is with a open end

[@التطورفكره]

The original Airbag had something called expansion tank when there’s high pressure caused suddenly on the Airbag the Air will go to the tank in fast action to prevent damage of the Airbag this feature is not available in the new Airbag he did fix so we can say the original Airbag is gonna stay longer time compared with the new one 🙏

[@subbaaja100]

@@التطورفكره arnott units have a different interior design to do the same thing.

[@التطورفكره]

@@subbaaja100 but it’s the same size if it have tank means it’s not reaching the same performance as the original and of it’s having pressure valve to release air in high shocks mean the compressor will work more time to refill it again

[@subbaaja100]

@@التطورفكره actually the small reservoir is there for comfort. And a quick Google search revealed that the W211 and W219 is the only models that has used the extra bladder. Not even S-class has them. And about damage; arnott uses thicker and better quality rubber and since it doesn't have the leak prone tank, is possibly more reliable.

[@subbaaja100]

@@التطورفكره and by that logic the compressor would work less because of the smaller volume of the bag.

[@markcoomber6282]

Great video Kyle. I'm doing the rear air springs in my 2008 E550 in the near future. You mentioned you would show how to release the air from an air spring that had not collapsed. Can you explain how to release the pressure in the air spring? Is there a lot of pressure in the air line from the reservoir to the air spring when you cut it? Thanks for providing such informative videos for us DIY'selfers.

[@fcpeuro]

Mark sorry about that unsure how that didnt make it into the edit... we will try to post a follow up video on it tomorrow!

[@mzee5533]

#Mark check this video about releasing air kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJzWmJ9pf6aVZ8k

[@markcoomber6282]

@@mzee5533 Thanks Muchie. I appreciate it.

[@scubasteve4277]

Doing my rear left on my 04' E55 now, never done it, wish me luck, backyard tools only

[@sawyerpalmer9626]

do tutorials on W140s please!!

[@joejoe-ij4qy]

great video

[@Adminandrei95]

that reservoir that arnot removed is like saying bye bye to comfort ride mode , don't ask me how i know! when you drive the car every day from home to work and you have on your rute 10 km of dirt road at 80 km/h it s an big difference ! glad to say w211 is like an tank car !

[@baba_2072]

Thank you for your video. it helped me to remove and replace both rear AIRMATIC SUSPENSION on my 2006 Mercedes e350 wagon. I followed exactly as you mentioned in your video. At the end you used the button inside the car to add air and rise the back of the car. In my case, I don't have that button and the back of the car still down. What I need to do next to rise up the back of the car? Thank you,

[@fcpeuro]

You may want to start the vehicle up and shift it through the gears, even let it roll a bit to get the system to kick on and level out the car. Thank you for watching!

[@averagejoe6978]

Thanks for the video - question: You just abandon the reservoir hose in place, you don't need to cap it off and/or secure it?

[@JohnSmith-xc7xk]

What happens to the air reservoir ?

[@nattyp7801]

Nice video…..safely glasses

[@corneliusd3688]

What did you do with the hose that you cut while removing the old air spring

[@poeckes1]

I just have one question, after you cut through the rubber hose to the resevoir, what do you do with thay afterwards? Just leave it cut or...??

[@LSXREVIVAL]

Did this with the 2724 the other day got a DTC 5380 on left new air spring. :/ waiting on new part

[@kaibintech]

Great video! Subscribed.

[@andrewthompson4068]

What did you do with old hose..., the one you cut off? Trace it back and tidy ..?

[@stevesalatti7887]

Friend...great video. Hey, is there a ride height sensor on a 2008 Mercedes E550? When I order the Arnott air suspension, they also sent me ride height sensors. Thank you for the reply.

[@tylerlathrop1803]

good work. I have an e320 2004 wagon base. the old owner put on coil springs instead of bags and it is to low and bottoms out. I was going ot put on mercedes airbags but think these might be better. I am confused about the bigger rubber hose that was connected. It is not needed on the the Arnot?

[@juandiaz3205]

I buy the piece rear left. And put in the back of my car. And is broken the little thing of big black hose. You think is still good for fix it?

[@davejohnson3860]

Good video...'05 E500 wagon on both sides are low, but no errors on dashboard. Will not raise up. Seems odd both side are out. Is that normal? Thank you

[@ashleyhernandez2219]

Hey there Dave, what did you figure out?

[@Dylan1471]

Thanks for the tutorial. I'm going to replace the rear air struts on a 2011 E350 wagon (S212). Is the procedure the same? Thanks.

[@fcpeuro]

Dylan1471 the process is very similar although you will not have a reservoir to deal with.

[@star500e]

The wagons have a different set up back there. It is a bit more involved and while with airmatic dc are different than those without. Bear in mind, cars with airmatic do have the extra reservoirs and they have adjustable struts. If you can relieve those at the range time, do.

[@DaxReihana-RFB]

Good detailed video but would’ve been great if you stated to double check your electrical plug to see if you require a 2pin or 3pin unit. I brought a pair of rear air suspension after watching this video for my 2003 E500 Sedan which I’ve just found out is 3pin after removal, but my new air suspension is 2pin so now have to send it back overseas 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[@jerry5876]

what about the hose to the air reservoir? do we reconnect it?

[@ronettelealmccarthy4120]

Great! Thanks

[@edocsil1635]

To refill, do you need to start the car or just turn it on? If you have to start it, is there a way to manually fill up the struts? My car was out of service for a good while so all the bags deflated over time. Im tryin to take it to a mechanic to get it fixed but it's gonna be hard to put it on a tow truck bed with it being super low

[@aman_lu]

Wish you were in LA!

[@AlanMorelli-u3m]

I have a 3pin connector and was told that I need an Arnott A2724, but you said it was a 2 pin connector on your video.

[@DarryllEdmunds]

I have a 2004 e500 change compressor can not get the car to go up at all seems like all the air shocks failed or can the actuator that the front and rear airlines be bad

[@richardkwon6697]

Only my rear passenger side is leaking. Do we have to replace both rears or can we just replace the one that failed?

[@overhand4]

I installed these 2 Arnott Rear Air Bags on my CLS55. TWO (2) IMPORTANT VIDEO ERRORS: (1) Video says you "don't really need to disconnect it" referring to unbolting the lower shock mount bolt! BUT, Arnott's "Installation Manual" SPECIFICALLY says "LOOSEN AND REMOVE THE LOWER SHOCK MOUNTING NUT AND BOLT." It's NOT an optional step. It's CRITICAL you DO remove the Shock Bolt!! Otherwise, it's IMPOSSIBLE to install the Lower Air Bag Mount into position because Arnott's design requires a clamped interference fit when assembled and the most convenient way to get that is remove the shock bolt. With their instruction they used the "flexible" gap at the lower mount position - an opening that can be gently & easily flexed/pryed open maybe 0.025" or as needed to allow the NEW LOWER MOUNT to FIT nicely into position. (2) Arnott's Installation Manual has NO mention directing you to disonnect the END LINK. And I learned that you DEFINITELY do NOT NEED to waste time on that step. I ignored that and it created no issue for me nor did it slow me down.

[@IKhanNot]

307k miles on that Benz. Amazing. My C300 is a spring chicken at 124k.

[@thefud645]

Hey mate, awesome vid. Question though, will the Arnott A-2427 fit a RHD 2002 E500. On the website it only has 2003 onwards. Is there a difference?

[@gideonkuleschow1111]

Does the 2008 Mercedes Benz e63 amg air suspension spring bags, fit on the 2008 Mercedes Benz e550 4matic?

[@nattyp7801]

How about the arnott air bag computer connection,will there be a capability issue 2pin r 3pin

[@TheBlendzPlug]

Would this video and maintenance translate to 2008 w211 e63 AMG?

[@josephmccarthy8153]

Will these struts from Arnott work for a 211 wagon?

[@kikichantal72]

Really helpful Video- Thank you for making it! One thing: The additional air reservoir hose was cut off but not re connected anywhere. How did the vendor revise the air spring, so you don‘t need it anymore? Or did I miss something in the vodeo?

[@subbaaja100]

Arnott revised the insides of the bags in a such manner that the reservoir is not needed. The point of the reservoir is to soften the suspension when there is a sudden surge of pressure due to pot holes etc. Arnott bags have a different "piston" inside to do the same job

[@g3prataksha78]

@13:05 So you could just push the air hose to the fitting 😮? Everyone that I know including me have been doing the other way where the fasteners go first in the hose and then it gets screwed into the airbag which is quite painful if you ask me.

[@williamscheer1481]

I have an ‘06 E500 and the drivers side rear airspring looses air almost every night, sometimes it bottoms out. I’ve already purchased two Arnot airsprings from FCP but a question I have is; why haven’t I gotten any warnings on the screen and why doesn’t the compressor try to fill the spring when I open a door? It will fill up when I turn the ignition and start the car

[@douglundy5755]

my 04 E320 wagon leaks down only on the right side. Pumps up quickly but if its the reservoir and not the air bag then the arnot bags would fix this? 180K miles. It seems many of the aftermarket air bags are arnott style with no air hose to the reservoir. probably a good shift in design.

[@alfredocalpito9439]

Is this the same procedures as in 2005 station wagon e320 4matic???

[@buyiphilip]

DO Rare custom air suspension solves the issue of the ABC suspension on cl 55 / cl 500? any recommendation for an ABC suspension replacement for a CL 55 AMG something long-lasting ?????

[@haroldl.r.watkins198]

you have any videos on Mercedes engine and trans removal and install?

[@PhilipHargrave-n5o]

I got a quick question so my cars back air bags are blown and I I jus ordered new compressor and rear bags but wha ima wantin to ask is if when I press the raise button if my front onz are supposed to air up cause from fronts struts are brand new but nothing is airing up my fronts just hold air and my compressor turns on everyone I open or door to so i don’t kno if it’s bad or not but I’m still replacing it

[@aquilesgutierrez5630]

Do i need to reprogram the ecu..if id removed the rear ones