How to fix a $1300 Mercedes air strut for $6.95

So I drove the pimptastic '00 S500 to Gainesville this weekend for the challenge, and on our way back to the hotel Saturday night, the right front Airmatic struts starts leaking profusely. At this point I'm 800 miles from home. So Mike and I jack it up and start looking around to devise a plan. I dug through Les' truck to find a perfectly sized 2"x4" and some zip ties, and viola! I went to Home Depot in the morning to get spare 2"x4" chunks and zip ties in case it came out. I went ahead and swapped the lumber out in the HD parking lot, because the new ones looked a little better than the one from Les' truck.
Step one: Jack up the car a little. Step two: Insert 2"x4" Step tree: Lower the jack, sit back and revel in the absolutely perfect ride-height.

The ride was a little bumpy, but really not that bad! It really wasn't much harsher than it is when you push the button that stiffens the suspension! I made the 800 mile trip home with ease, and never had to change or replace the block of wood.

Huge thanks to Hong Norrth (Mike, Wayne, and Les) for helping me out!

I was kinda hoping you actually fixed it with parts from home depot.

Don't get me wrong, good game on getting home, but it woulda been cooler if you really did fix it..

Thats what I was hoping for too. Like a bicycle pump with the hose routed throught the firewall into the wheel well connected to a fitting drilled into the top of the air bag.

RossD wrote: Thats what I was hoping for too. Like a bicycle pump with the hose routed throught the firewall into the wheel well connected to a fitting drilled into the top of the air bag.

Yeah, there were lots of thoughts being thrown around ranging from filling the air bag with fix-a-flat to rigging a cheap Harbor Freight 12v tire pump to it and running it flat out. I decided to keep it quick, cheap, and easy.

That block of wood gives new meaning to the term "leaf" spring.

I bet the car really felt "planted" in the corners.

It's supposed to be grass roots, not tree trunks.

Sorry, I've got an odd sense of humour. Nice job on the roadside fix though.

Bob

I knew someone wood support this fix.

...or fix his wood.

Glad you were able to spruce it up.

uh, anyone else notice? six bucks for a pack of zip ties? seems a bit excessive

Strizzo wrote: uh, anyone else notice? six bucks for a pack of zip ties? seems a bit excessive

china sez thx

Strizzo wrote: uh, anyone else notice? six bucks for a pack of zip ties? seems a bit excessive

Not just any zip-ties - they were the 8" black ones!

For 100 of the heavy ones, that's about what I would expect... I usually just buy the "mix packs", so I can use 5 of the short ones to string something together because I was too cheap to buy a bunch of the long ones...

You may want to patent that idea before Mercedes takes it and starts offering it as an option....customers will be able to choose from oak, maple, burled walnut or ash. And before long, there will be cheap knock offs from Chinese automakers using wood veneer.

Nice fix. I'm impressed the wood, even with zip ties, didn't wiggle on bumps and fall on its side.

I approve.

Strizzo wrote: uh, anyone else notice? six bucks for a pack of zip ties? seems a bit excessive

I thought that was a little high too, but I also thought that would be the weak link in the equation so I better get the good ones.

davidjs wrote: Not just any zip-ties- they were the 8" black ones!

I will refrain from adding to the tastless humor in this thread

Soon as I cedar there in the pictures, I thought, "Say, this is going to be pretty poplar fix. Lot of people pining for those kinds of roadside skills. And it's way better than being left in the larch by your suspension."

Those look like jin-u-wine Greenlee cable ties - the high dollar spread.

Wally wrote:

davidjs wrote: Not just any zip-ties- they were the 8" black ones!

I will refrain from adding to the tastless humor in this thread

Beat me to it.

Nice fix, though haha.

That's how we move 'em around the shop when they puke.But we don't go 800 miles. Check out Arnott Industries for reman air struts mucho cheaper than the new OE stuff. http://www.arnottindustries.com/part_MERCEDES-BENZ_Air_Suspension_Parts_yid18.html

glad you made it home OK.

Jensenman wrote: That's how we move 'em around the shop when they puke.But we don't go 800 miles. Check out Arnott Industries for reman air struts mucho cheaper than the new OE stuff. http://www.arnottindustries.com/part_MERCEDES-BENZ_Air_Suspension_Parts_yid18.html

Yep, ordered one from Arnott earler today. $370 shipped with the benzworld discount code with a lifetime guarantee. The cheapest one I could find used was $350 shipped. The salvage yards need to wake up on this one.

I like Arnott for aftermarket lux ride replacements, put them on the Cadillac when the ACDelco magneto-rheo-super-dynamic-wtf-$$$-$750-per-corner shocks went out, even came with sensor bypass...

He'll never be the head of a major corporation.

I posted this on the benzworld forum, and the first response was "things have reached a new low in this forum". Haha!

Over there if you ask a technical question about a repair, 50% of the answers are "take it to the dealer", but there are actually one or two helpful DIY'ers.

I guess they do not like the grain this thread has taken?