ABC - Order of attack

[mrkrapez]

Hi All,

Having been out of the Benz club for a few years after selling my CLS55 I have been starting to get a hankering for another, though not a CLS55 this time round, I am thinking SL55, whilst this brings me the lovely engine etc what it also does is expose me to the fantasy world of ABC suspension! I am an engineer, I weirdly like this sort of thing so I am not going to prattle on about what are common problems etc etc, I have no doubt that this forum is absolutely full of information on that!

What I am after and what I can not find is a systematic list of what to attack on it and in what order, I would like after a short while to have a mostly brand spanking new ABC system that I can have serviced and look after without living in fear of many of the problems encountered by fixing it as you go along.

So far as I can work out based on posts etc it would be:

1. Make sure oil and filter are changed, flush system at same time to make sure no debris or any sort anywhere, check system and replace anything that even looks like it may be even weeping a little.
2. Replace Pulsation damper and pressure valves.
3. Rebuild valve blocks.
4. Replace Front and rear pressure reservoirs.
5. Replace Oil cooler.
6. Replace Pump and all pipes, new oil change with filter and flush. Make sure pipes are heat shielded and protected when reinstalled.
7. Keep on checking the dampers because you can see those and replace the moment I need to.

The last question, is this too obsessive, or is it the right thing to do, what I am trying to avoid is one component going wrong and breaking the whole damn system.

Also, it is good to be back, I am off car shopping this weekend, there are a few about at the moment, hopefully I get lucky!

All the very best

Tim

 

[mrkrapez]

Sorry, thought I needed to add, this will not be done all at once, hence I want to know whether the order makes sense.

 

[Dickster]

Okay, this is based on my experience with my SL55 and some research on the system.

I would treat the accumulators and pulsation damper as service items and replace on 50k miles - one of mine went on 60k ish.

Regular oil and filter changes are a must. I am going to do mine every two years which will be 5-10k miles.

The lines should be ok. They may rust or burst if a damper goes - one of mine did.

I have read that the rest of the system should be good for high mileage if regularly serviced. Some oil misting on the struts is not terminal. Mine have some, but there is no loss of oil - I check it regularly.

Rebuild the valve blocks if you want. I changed the front together with a pulsation damper and line. If the system is working ok I wouldn’t bother. My car drops (all four corners) within 15 mins of turning the engine off. A good indie has advised me to leave it, as it otherwise performs well.

I would guess that a lot of issues that owners have experienced is due to lack of maintenance over the years.

I hope that helps! They are cracking cars!

 

[mrkrapez]

Hey Dickster, thanks for the reply, that is really helpful to me.

I want to avoid the big catastrophic failures I hear from people, seems like as you say this is a pulsation damper and accumulator driven failure.

It just seems to me to be a system where the longevity is based on all items working in harmony.

I will report back upon purchase!!

Thanks again.

 

[BaldGuy]

As Dickster says, many leave the odd leak or car that drops when parked... Buy on history and NOT looks as such... a nice set of wheels, hifi, grill is not going to get you down the road.... I've owned mine since February and to be honest its been a money pit, it came with allot of history both Mercedes and an Independant, but they were not a Mercedes specialist, just a usual "garage round the corner" I only noticed all this after getting all the history 2 weeks after paying for the car from a friend...
Since Feb my car has had 2 front struts, tandem pump, 2 ABC front long lines, rear drive shaft, both front ball joints, both front suspension arms, crank pulley and many other bits with a bill near 8.5k so far and its just about to get the complete front ABC block assembly replaced.

Some people use pattern parts or the seal kits but i personally have used all MB original parts....

Good Luck!

 

[mrkrapez]

Hey BaldGuy, that sounds horrific. I always buy what I hope is the right car, (sometimes I miss) I do not buy based on cosmetics, those are an easy fix, some of the most honest cars are those that are actually used and look a bit more tatty, rather than those stuck being polished to death in the garage as some kind of fashion statement.

I was looking to solve most issues myself using the rebuild kits etc, I am qualified to do so but am now a little concerned on the quality of the kits. I am confident that the quality of my workmanship will stand up to any scrutiny, but if the parts I have available to me are sub standard than this would obviously be an issue that I do not want. I would always buy items like the damper, accumulator, pump, struts etc if required from MB, but the valve blocks (and even the pump) and other rebuildable items I like to fix, I do not like binning things just for the sake of it.

I will go check out the rest of the forum for any info on these kits, but if you or anyone has had any experience of quality and longevity then please let me know.

 

[Dickster]

I am assuming that Baldguy had all the work done at MB. I have brought stuff through these guys and I understand that they supply MB with refurbished items. Do a search there is plenty of info on them.

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[BaldGuy]

All of my work is carried out by Olly and his team at PCS Horndean - I wont take my Mercedes anywhere else across the last 10 years...

 

[Dickster]

All of my work is carried out by Olly and his team at PCS Horndean - I wont take my Mercedes anywhere else across the last 10 years...

Fair enough

like mrkrapez, I do my own work mostly, so that will save a ton on labour costs.