Mercedes GLK (X204) Front Strut Replacement - comprehensive video with spring compression and swap

This comprehensive DIY video shows you to to remove your front struts, and then remove and install the original springs on new struts (along with replacement of the strut mount).

NOTE: Using a spring compressor creates a potentially dangerous situation if you misuse the compressors, or even if a compressor has a catastrophic failure. I use some old-school (home mechanic quality) compressors that are honestly difficult to use with these particular struts and springs, but they did get the job done. There may well be other, better options out there for the home mechanic. Worst case, many suspension shops and machine shops are willing to swap your springs to new struts for a relatively modest cost. If you do this, the total workload of the job is much, much reduced (you can skip the middle half of the video, and jump ahead to re-installation of the completed strut).

Another option is to install a "loaded strut", which comes per-assembled with a new spring and a new mount. The down side of this is that it adds cost (to replace what is almost always a perfectly good "old" spring), and very often (most times?) it will change the ride height of the front of your vehicle. I spent a lot of time and effort getting my GLK's stance "just right", so this wasn't an option.

I opted for the industry standard Bilstein B4 struts (and next job, rear shocks) to keep the ride quality as great as possible for as long as possible. The original struts were made by Sachs (another available option at most quality vendors). They're interchangeable, though there are a couple minor differences. The top nut on the Sachs strut is a shouldered 21mm nut that's got an interference thread design to keep it in place. The Bilstein B4 strut uses a 22mm nut with a Nylon lock ring, and a separate washer. The old nut could be re-used if you want to use a spark plug socket to rebuild the strut (since it won't fit on the Bilstein nut).

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