So my 04 s55 developed a leaking left rear strut shortly after I purchased the car. Well I was a newbie to w220s then and had a lot to learn but I'm a fast learner, so I decided to replace the strut and got to looking at it and discovered it was an arnott, the other three were OEM with about 110,000 miles on them and no leaks. So I read up on how arnott struts are rebuilt with new and improved seals and a lifetime warranty so why is mine leaking? I don't have the history on when it was installed on my car before I bought it but it could not have been too long ago, car had 104,000 when I got it. I contacted arnott about warranty and guess what no warranty for me cause I'm not original purchaser, understandable but a load of crap. Then I find out they don't rebuild the shock absorber or plunger sensor or the strut mount just the seals for the hydraulic portion of the unit and the dust boot and some shiny new paint and a bunch of decals, really that's all 500+ dollars gets us. Anyway the warranty bs still doesn't explain why this strut is leaking, it wasn't when I bought the car ,I did my homework before buying the car and was one of the first things I looked at. I have been an auto technician most my life so I know cars well. I wound up replacing the arnott leaking strut with a used on off Ebay and it's been trouble free. So I guess my question is has anyone else had issues with arnott ABC struts or am I the only one.
Centurion6971
Arnott ABC struts
1 reading
Hi,
Thank You, this is an interesting post from a fellow professional "Spanner"
Plenty have had problems with Arnott Air Struts, although as they were the original Purchasers they did get a good after sales service, and replacement part(s), one guy @wallyp IIRC, had to get 3 before he got a good one.
Like you, I have started to believe they are not rebuilds, merely repaired units, and your troubles and description adds fuel to my bonfire :wink
Being an Indie repairer, I always fit MB Remanufactured units to customers cars, never any trouble, and if it were one of my own vehicles it would be brand new Bilstein for Airmatic, (MB OEM).
I am not sure who makes the ABC Struts for MB, or if indeed they are actually available from whoever that may be ....................
@cowboyt may be able to tell us more he has a very good knowledge of all the OEM's for these Cars :wink
Cheers,
Thank You, this is an interesting post from a fellow professional "Spanner"
Plenty have had problems with Arnott Air Struts, although as they were the original Purchasers they did get a good after sales service, and replacement part(s), one guy @wallyp IIRC, had to get 3 before he got a good one.
Like you, I have started to believe they are not rebuilds, merely repaired units, and your troubles and description adds fuel to my bonfire :wink
Being an Indie repairer, I always fit MB Remanufactured units to customers cars, never any trouble, and if it were one of my own vehicles it would be brand new Bilstein for Airmatic, (MB OEM).
I am not sure who makes the ABC Struts for MB, or if indeed they are actually available from whoever that may be ....................
@cowboyt may be able to tell us more he has a very good knowledge of all the OEM's for these Cars :wink
Cheers,
I see that strutmasters offers a rebuild service for ABC struts, has anyone on here had any experience with them. It's always been my belief that if something can be made it can be remade/ rebuilt, it's not rocket science.
My friend just bought one for his CL600 - the first one had a plunger sensor failure, but RMA was painless and they sent over a new one.
I have two new Airmatics in my rear on the S500 and they are so far fine.
I have two new Airmatics in my rear on the S500 and they are so far fine.
Hi,
It could be, I had one recently, it was the short Pipe that goes in the top of the Strut and to the Quick Release connector under Wheel Arch .....................
It is behind the Strut and was spraying a mist of Pentosin over the Strut which made it look like the Strut was leaking
Luckily for that Customer the Pipe is available separately from MB, Corrosion had peppered it with a few tiny holes :wink
HTH,
It could be, I had one recently, it was the short Pipe that goes in the top of the Strut and to the Quick Release connector under Wheel Arch .....................
It is behind the Strut and was spraying a mist of Pentosin over the Strut which made it look like the Strut was leaking
Luckily for that Customer the Pipe is available separately from MB, Corrosion had peppered it with a few tiny holes :wink
HTH,
Has anyone ever opened up a ABC strut to see what makes it tick. I'm thinking about dissecting this leaking one I have collecting dust. I've rebuilt hydraulic cylinders before , there's really not much to it. Especially if its separate from the pressurized shock absorber section.
Well I had time to work on disassemble this arnott strut and made some interesting discoveries looks like the upper strut mount is new but the lower one sadly is not. But the lower bushing appears to be the same as the one in the spindle which I just replaced last week.
![2606619]( "2606619")
![Image]()
And the cover was good ,I'm stuck getting this loose but I will take it to work tomorrow and try some different methods.
![2606620]( "2606620")
And the cover was good ,I'm stuck getting this loose but I will take it to work tomorrow and try some different methods.
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