Hey ML Comrades > I just changed out a leaking ADS left rear shock on my 06 ML500 - back in business. It's a pretty straight forward procedure. The sub woofer is located on the left side , so 1) I removed the emergency door panel, 2) removed aluminum track , 3) aluminum/chrome rear door base, lifted and strapped base gate vertical position , 4) popped side panel to gain access to the top bolts of the shock (the insulation was already cut, so this is at least the `2nd replacement shock being swapped in @ 83K mile - ridiculous) 5) loosened 2 top shock nuts, 6) jacked left rear wheel and remove (JACK Stands recommended, blocked 2 wheels) 7) open end 24mm (15/16 inc) , interior orientation , on the shock nut so it will turn and hit the control arm when ratcheted from the bolt side. 8) remove shock top nuts and the control arm /shock assembly will drop down , 9) remove shock bolt and nut , remove leaky shock after disconnecting the electronic control connector , 10) reverse all this for installation - recommend orienting the new shock and thread the top bolts and hand tight from the top. Use a bottle jack to raise the control arm assy. to line up the bottom bolt. You probably want to oil the bolt and nut for removal next time - these shock don't appear to last very long - I got mine off ebay for $220 - appears to be German part , not that that says anything these dayz...
I didn't bother getting a twin shock for the RR... if I was rallying in an AMG , I probably would. Besides, I'd rather move on to the last piece of the puzzle which is the transfer case. I'm sourcing an 08 or newer transfer case from my recycling source which are $500-$600 these days. I'll take the old one and rebuild it with new bearing and seals. Seals seem to be the culprit on noisy transfer cases - I popped open the two plugs to see what would fly out of the case , I was greeted with a table spoon of fluid... uh oh , thanks for checking the truck out used car lot... Since, I added the proper German fluid and I checked the level after a couple of hundred miles - I know it was down because I did see a drip from the vicinity and burn... all in all , it quieted down some, and lost about 1/4 capacity after 1000 miles. Still driving local , rarely wind it out on the freeway or high speed... waiting for this to crap out, before I get around to a replacement part, (farming out the installation). Ironically, I was chasing down stuff during my project today and a G-class AMG parked next to me... made me feel small fixing my needy ML....