ctravis595

understandable. don't sway bars also decrease tire life?

my conclusion on the sway bars concern - the overall ride quality would diminish with them, but cornering at high speeds would be safer.

not a ton of people actually push their 215 to the point where it would need anything as serious as ABC for suspension. yeah it's nice to know you can remain flat in corners, but most of the 215 drivers i've seen on the street - drive pretty docile.

my fix for these two points? drive the struts normally (especially on long trips where reliability can't be rested on the ABC system) and for days like fun drives or track days maybe bust out the abc struts. granted you keep the abc system in proper order

i enjoyed the ABC while i had it, but the peace of mind i get knowing my ABC isn't going to fail me is priceless. i just wish there was some adjustable shocks out there, i miss the lowered ABC stance i was able to achieve. it was death of my tire wear (2,000 in tires a year) but it sure looked cool lol

once you get past the abc issue. these cars are bulletproof. carry a spare crankshaft position sensor on you, and this car will never leave you stranded

OCKlasse

I have adjustable dampening with my new air setup, and that has definitely made the car easier to drive low in a straight line. But to me, sways are a must, as the car definitely over leans on anything other than a babied turn. I will definitely be adding them once I remove all the ABC lines that would currently be in the way.

I have already preemptively added W220 front lower control arms with sway bar end links.

ctravis595

how much did you spend on your air conversion? you've got me very interested, especially for the sake of being able to lower the car again

also what did you do about your inner fender pieces? is there anything there to stop rainwater and stuff from splashing up into crevices? i'm also looking for some alternative to whats already there

OCKlasse

Check out my thread in the AMG section. The rear is particularly difficult because of the minimal clearance.

I'm not too worried about rust being in sunny CA. My inner liners were removed in the rear.

1999 S500

Hello,




I can't get a reply on the W140 thread so I was wondering what your opinion would be on replacing the rear Hydraulic Struts with the strutmaster set up on a W140 S500? I do not have the ABC so I assume mine would be the equivalent of the air ride for the rear. It has the standard spring/strut/sway bar set up on the front.


It seems that it would not impair the handling of the car as severely as a W220 or W215 car given the way the front is set up.


Thanks,


Mark

Welwynnick

W220 & W140 are quite different in this respect.

Strutmasters on a W140 would probably be fine.

Nick

fc3swrx

I was wondering if you ran into any problems with the pulley on the power steering pumps. I have a 2003 S600, did the strutmasters conversion, and now am doing the power steering conversion.

My problem appears to be the ribs on the pulley, the stock S600 pulley has 6 ribs and all the other pumps from most other cars appear to be 5ribs. I suppose I could switch the belt out with a belt that fits it, but the rest of the pulleys on the car would not be using one of the ribs. I assumed this was something others had run into....????

anyone?

OCKlasse

My M113 motor did not have this issue. I did have to switch to the smaller E55 belt though, as the ABC pulley is larger than the non-ABC power steering pulley.

ERNY

TO all W215-CL owners, I salute you for choosing the most beautifully- designed 4-seat coupe in the world(in my opinion). I have a CL55 and a CL65. I purchased my first cl55-low mileage dream car 6 years ago and thought I’m the luckiest person that day. The mileage, condition and quality is impeccable considering the low price.
My story begins when I drove the car in my first year of ownership, I had 2 trips to the dealer for ABC- related problems. I have the money to spend on all the preventive “MAINTENANCE “ needed on this car. I spent an average 3-5k/yr on “MAINTENANCE” and like everybody says, Ok, it’s a 100k car and the “MAINTENANCE” cost should be expensive, I get this. My second year, it happened again on ABC related problems, costing another 4-5k. My third year, it happened again with similar cost. The cost of repairs doesn’t bother me and at that time totaled 10-15k in three years, its the inconvenience. I might’ve been stupid to pay this but in reality, I don’t have the mechanical expertise nor the time to maintain my car myself. I make enough money per hour and my time is very valuable; instead of tinkering with major repairs on all of my cars.
To make the story short, I realize that
1. 1. The sellers of these low mileage cars have no more money to keep throwing in this ABC infected cars. The low resale of these cars are the result of one thing only, ABC.
2. 2. The low mileage are due obviously to driving in short distances like buying milk and storing them for weeks/months. Or it’s in the dealership/mechanics being repaired and not being driven.


Me, personally, I drive my car between 60-70 miles a day, everyday and everytime it puts a smile in my face. I don’t like just “LOOKING” at my car, I enjoyed the purpose of this fine automobile, to be driven.
The benefits of ABC are ALL useless if:
1. 1. It fails and put you and your family in a dangerous situation (PRICELESS). Like getting stuck on the side of the freeway at 11:00 pm.
2. 2. The car is stuck in the shop being repaired, hence, you’re not DRIVING your loved-ABC equipped car for a couple of days/weeks.
3. 3. It will damage other components on top of the ABC components if it fails. ( I even saw one post that his ABC-car damaged the frame.)
4. 4. The hoses burst while driving and might cause fire. The hoses of the ABC ( especially the high pressure hoses) car are located in the hottest part of the car, close to your catalytic/exhaust pipe.
5. 5. Lost valuable time at my work/business. I lost a lot of money missing business opportunities because I’m stuck in a disabled car due to ABC issues again.
6. 6. ABC failure, causing you embarrassment in front of your family/friends/peers in a restaurant parking lot for driving a 100k car.
7. 7. You’re scared/worried driving the ABC car and that the RED message will come up anytime now or soon. I swear you’ll never forget that RED message even if you’re sleeping.


Then I found a coil conversion. It’s the BEST + smartest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I was skeptic at first, but after driving my cl55 for the last 2 years, I have zero(0) cost in terms of ABC “MAINTENANCE”. I drive the car normally everyday and put a lot of miles on them. I’ve put almost 100k+miles after the coil conversion and I bought 2 more sets so I can keep the car until the end. The daily drive is THE SAME with 10-40mph traffic and 70-80mph burst daily drive and even with 60-70mph on freeway on-ramps/interchanges. I loved every second of DRIVING this car. The “SWAY BAR” as most people talk about is irrelevant for me. It handles very well without this and I would drive this car for hundreds and thousands of miles and 100+mph burst on a open highway trip with my family and feel safe in it anytime and I will never do the same with an ABC fearing it will fail. ( it did fail already at 40mph and luckily I was able to pull to the side). With this experience, I bought another CL, CL65, and the first thing I did was replace the ABC with COIL. If I have all the money in the world, I will buy all the low mileage CL’s out there and convert them all.


To all readers, buy yourself 2 CL’s and convert one of them ( the cost of these 2 cl’s is cheaper than a new KIA). Experience it yourself and drive the hell out of it. Put miles on them and drive it everyday and I guarantee you’ll be so impress that you’ll convert the other one too. If you only want to “STARE” at your car, then keep the ABC. If you want to go drifting, get yourself a 350z. Handling is a relative word. If you want to keep your license, then drive normally, not 80-100+mph on any public roads, my CL can do this anytime, anywhere in the next 10-15 years. Lastly, put the SMILE back into your face everytime you drive your CL with no worries and peace of mind (Priceless). Folks, this is my 10 cents on this.

biker349

erny, which set up, company did you use? what did you do to get the abc warning message deleted from the dash? thanks for any info. i to love the car, but the abc problems cause too much concern.

ERNY

Dear Biker349,
As you have notice i didnt mention any company since i didnt want to endorse or advertise anybody on the site. But if you google it, there's only one company that have this product. You can buy the module to eliminate the messages as well ( for me, the whole package is well worth it !). I'm only sharing my experiences with MY CL55. I've put approx. 105K miles since the conversion and loving every minute because i get to DRIVE the car everyday. Also, if you can put 19' wheels or less, the better. The 20's with 285's are hitting the plastic wheel cover if the car is fully loaded in the rear with stuff + four passengers. But if you're the only one driving + a passenger, 20's will do just fine. Also, cover the high pressure hose underneath the car with some heavy duty rubber hoses and clamp them, so in the future, if it burst, the fluid doesnt get directly to the hot catalytic/exhaust parts. Also, put just enough fluid in the ABC container, so when the hose breaks, it will not spill too much fluid ( unless you totally eliminate the ABC, i havent done this yet !)
thx

biker349

thanks for sharing. it is appreciated.

beisenhauer24

I'm loving it too. mine is a v12tt s600, but not having to worry about fluid or lines. and I deleted everything pump, lines struts, blocks, even level sensors are not needed when done cause you just remove the abc computer all together. and I used s55 power steering pump I needed to get custom spacers but fit on and pulley is 6 rib the v12tt cars are 7 rib.

biker349

which set up did you use? arnott, struttmaster?
thanks

beisenhauer24

Arnott and alot of research and mb parts and last set of sway bars from brabus

1Willy1

great post Erny, exactly how I feel about the whole thing.


I don't wanna knock the engineering and actual performance of this ABC, im sure its everything as great as I hear, I just want a reliable car I can rely on and enjoy.


If I have to sacrifice a little bit of ride quality to me I think its worth it ,


Im used to driving big sedans anyways and body roll is what they do best, so im sure it wont be anything im not used too.


So if I can sum this up quickly -


1. Arnott and Strutmasters make a coil conversion kit ?
2. There is an ABC light fix for the dash ?
3. You can swap out the entire ABC set up for a Power steering unit from cheaper models ? (which models?)
4 Sway bars are not required but can be installed from other models if desired? (which models?)
5. Once the cancer is cut out (the entire ABC system) you are now free to enjoy your car without ever worrying about it again?

tusabes

I wasn't aware arnott made an abc conversion ?
I thought they only did airmatic conversions

vmystikilv

I will be doing this when I have a catastrophic failure of the system. So far all my repairs I did my self and were kept under 400.....

beisenhauer24

Arnott does not make abc delete but it's same I used their kit cause better struts and spring rates. Electronic device still keeps light off. I did whole thing removed level sensors and lines and blocks and put a s55 power steering pump and bottle on and mine was a s600 si had to make some custom spacers and bracket for bottle. But it worked great ! O and front lower control arm s and I used the last w220 brabus s500 swaybar kit they had in us and Germany. It's not that hard for u guys with v8 s but all plugs for level sensor s and pump are just sitting there and Arnott box keeps it off! And word to wise use AutoZone parts like arms and swaybar end links cause life time warranty! And I changed frame mounts while rear section was down. It's really cheap through parts geek's dot com. Good luck.

tusabes

So are you saying you used arnott airmatic conversion kit to replace the abc ?

beisenhauer24

Yes that is what I did! Strut masters set up is weak and warranty is junk. And they know nothing of their product. But kit works the same and you really don't need the sway bar's I did cause I race my 600 with benz club but was fine without

tusabes

Did you use the arnott w220 conversion kit since there is no kit for the w215?

There is a touring tech brand conversion kit in eBay for the w220 for $1200 with lifetime warranty I wonder if that would work .

beisenhauer24

Yes I used kit for w220 cause mine is s600. What is your car? If same struts it will fit. Do not use other then Arnott rest are made in China struts. Arnott is bilstien. Just my opinion

tusabes

Mine is w215, cl class coupe

That's why I'm unsure if the arnott w220 conversion kit will work?

beisenhauer24

The cl is the same! When my abc was on I used cl struts when I got from salvage yard! And airmatic and abc computer is same so when u use Arnott setup remove whole computer and make sure battery is off and just plug little blue box in per paper work and it works. And like I said when taken stuff off u don't need level sensor s lines or brakets take all off! If you have a v8 all u need for pump is from s500 will bolt up with brakets from old pump and I switched to sl550 resivor that goes on left stur tower. And I used a in line filter on return line for pump that has magnet! I got all the metal after about a week from when mine went out. So put it where u can take it out and remove it after like 500 miles and clean then u should be fine. And I still used potozen fluid since that is what was in rack and pinion from factory didn't want to mix. U can get it cheap at AutoZone for 18.50 pint here. Also where u from? If close could help you out show u my car how I did it.if you need more help or any v12 guys to can call or text 7178135252. Glad to help and telling after I did this I would've never went with abc the bars I used from brabus with the Arnott setup is crazy and like I said I track mine at 4680lbs and I easy take down sl cl and e classes c class is just funny they try so hard but waist of good engine. So good luck and im in lebanon pa. For anyone who might want this done but can't figure out or have a shop do.