Yesterday was 1982 240D service day , after only 328,000 + miles , all four shocks were plumb wore out ~ even SWMBO (who's car it is) had begun to complain about how bouncy it is .
The interesting thing is : you need to remove the entire back seat to access the upper rear shock mounts , they're hidden behind white plastic body plugs so if you don't start by removing the rear seat , your interior is going to get grubby when you touch the nice upholstery after getting road grime & brake dust all over your hands.....
Removing the wheels is necessary in front , removing the rear wheels allows you to adjust the park brake , inspect the brake pads & wash all four wheels & hubcaps (If so equipped) , they'll be nice and dry by the time you re install them after replacing the shocks .
I use Bilstein HD shocks and no , they do not make the car ride harshly ~ the car once again rides like it's new (I replaced the ball joints a couple years ago) again , SWMBO loves it .
Using Monroe , Gabriel , _grey_ KYB or other off the shelf shocks is a serious wa$te of your hard earned $ , you have been warned .
When the rear seat is out , you'll find lots of crumbled horsehair padding from the seat cusions , take the time to vacuum it all out , the Garage Mechanic won't although he'll crertainly grab all the loose change , iPods and other assorted crap that's there .
It's about a two and 1/2 hour job to do all four shocks , remvoing the upper nuts whilst the suspension is still loaded makes the jog much easier and you'll need a 12 point , 3/8" drive 10M socket to make the front lower shock bolts come out in 30 seconds rather than struggling with a box end wrench ......
As I was undernesth the car I noticed that two of the rubber exhaust hanger donuts had parted so I ordered up a full set of four W-107
" lifetime " exhaust hangers donuts and will instal them to - day along with yet another set of rubber air cleaner can mounts .
I posted the Lifetime hanger P/N in the files section but will re post it here to - night or soon as I have the package in hand , if anyone wants .
-Nate
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