Looking to do ABC to Yellowspeed conversion

[RoosterBooster7]

Hi all! I'm a new user however I've been on the forum almost daily for over a year now, an on my second mercedes, now driving my w215 cl500 but my first was a w202 c230k.

Now, the ABC system has started to fail on my beloved CL500, the passenger rear corner sunk right down after a long drive, had the car recovered and sent to a main dealer as the car has a full service history, the cost to carry out the repair (leak in n/s/r suspension pipe) was extortionate so I'm looking to take out the ABC and replace with coilovers as the title states. I have a few questions regarding this if anyone could advise me it would be well appreciated.
Having seen the Strut masters video on doing the conversion, they simply capped the ends of the hydraulic lines off after disconnecting from the strut, is this the best way to do this? Wouldn't this damage the pump? Also will a sway bar be essential? There seems to be alot of people saying a W220 bar will fit, is there a reason why I shouldn't fit this? And my last question, should I remove the ABC pump from the car and replace with a w220 steering pump instead? I look forward to your replies and am happy that I have finally joined this forum

 

[m2287]

Find a local hydraulic specialist, they will more than likely be able to make you a custom pipe for under £100 then get a merc specialist to fit it.

 

[clk320x]

Find a local hydraulic specialist, they will more than likely be able to make you a custom pipe for under £100 then get a merc specialist to fit it.

When I saw the title I was going to tag you lol

 

[RoosterBooster7]

Find a local hydraulic specialist, they will more than likely be able to make you a custom pipe for under £100 then get a merc specialist to fit it.

This is one I didn't think of, actually a great idea, will try taking that road first as I do love the ABC, I'll post an update here later, thanks!

 

[m2287]

My mate called Pete works for a company called HAS supplies. I’ve never used them but he is always busy and I’m sure he could probably help... Say Aidan sent you his way if it is Pete who you speak to!

Nationwide Mobile Hydraulic Hose Repair & Replacement HAS - Supplies

 

[flowrider]

If you do go the coilovers route you will need front and rear ARB's plus you wil need to replace the ABC pump with a dedicated steering pump.

 

[steveskeggy]

I did the coilover conversion on my S55 AMG, previously ABC.
I will assume that the layout of the W202 and the W220 are similar enough to make the job a close enough match to give you some idea of the work involved.
I used Strutmasters to source the coilovers, total cost including import fees was around £1600.
The caps will allow you to keep the tandem pump, and the system will last as long as it was going to last before.
You will need a electronics box to fool the system into thinking the ABC is still fitted, else it never stops nagging you.
I decided to get rid of the tandem pump completely, and replaced it with an airmatic based S500 steering pump.
The hardest bit with this part is the high pressure pipe that runs from the pump to the steering rack, firstly you have to get the right pipe.
The difficult part is screwing the union into the steering pump, it is quite a confined space, and the only way I could do it was to drop the rack, which was not a problem as I was changing the old notchy one, unfortunately the first rack I purchased was faulty, I got quite adept at taking and replacing the racks!
I also had to make a spanner to remove the rear nuts and bolts, as the nuts are not captive (18mm).
the front Anti-roll bar is not that difficult to fit, while underneath you would have to remove some of the old ABC parts to get it in, I dont know if you could put them back on if you dont do the pump swap.
You will also need different bottom control arms, again from an airmatic model, as they have the ball joint that the anti-roll bar drop link attaches to.

I have not done the rear anti-roll bar yet, I have been re-building the engine, and intend to do the rear end work (LSD, ARB) next year.
However it seems a bit more of a job than the front.
The only thing I will comment on is that the rear of the car is sitting too low, the tyres catch the wheel arch when I go around roundabouts, this may have something to do with changing the wheels for 19 inch, and slightly wider, but again, this is something I will tackle after the engine work is completed.

Its not a straight forward job, its a job to take on only if you have experience working on cars more complex than an oil change, or are willing to learn and are very brave.
There are owners that will think of you as Satan on earth for changing the beloved ABC system, but it was a job I always intended to do from buying the car, as I personally hate all hyraulic/pnumatic suspensions, and if you think about it, the whole kit to change all four corners cost me £1600 (no doubt there are cheaper around), but if one ABC strut had failed, it would have cost pretty much the same to buy, and if one fails, the rest are usually not far behind.