Joeblo

Hey guys I own a 04 cl65 and have hit a holt with the abc system. I have searched the forum hi and low and can't seem to find anyone with the same issues.

Here it goes.
ORIGINAL PROBLEM
- pump was becoming noisy and churning at times so I kept an eye on the oil levels from time to time and topped it if ever needed despite there being no leak. However when ever I'd view the reservoir there would be small air bubbles alike froth in the tank. The would be white abc codes on dash from time to time.

I had the pump rebuild by a local pump rebuilder using genuine seal kit. The pump refitted and after the car was running for about 10-20min I realised a big puddle of oil underneath the car. Out came the pump again and after inspection the bellcover (under the pulley) had a Split and this is where the oil was leaking from. I removed the bellcover to see one of the screws had self extracted and caused the cover to split, I brazed the cover and reinstalled the pump together. The pump was then fitted to the car and no leaks from the pump Or direct surroundings.

NEW PROBLEMS
- since the pump was rectified and installed I manually lubed the system, changed both filters and new genuine oils. I got my local mobile mechanic to do a rodeo on the car (using star) and pressure was fine between 190-192 bar. The reservoir spilt oil during the rodeo test and we just thought it was because we had over filled it. After the rodeo was complete I washed the area surrounding the reservoir, though oil kept seeping out at an alarming rate.
I took the car for a drive around the block several times and nothing appeared on the dash (even over speed humps).

I parked the car for 30 min and came back to it and the puddle was huge, I turned on the car and hit the vehicle raise buttons and nothing was happening to the car and instead a abc warning light appeared.so we plugged in the star scanner and these codes came up :
- rear right strut valve is closed but strut is still moving freely.


WORKS COMPLETED AFTER THE ABOVE
- inspect all struts externally and no leaks
- all accumulators and Air cells were checked and non have collapsed and seem to be holding very well
- remove rear valve block and and rebuild with new seals ( none of the existing seals were damaged Ie; split, scratched or broken. The oil was not contaminated )
- reinstalled and started car and the white abc light came in the dash several times, so I got feed up and decided I'll take the car to the local merc stealership and the light did not appear on the trek there(15 min)

MERCEDES BENZ DEALER
- the master tech instantly freed up time and took the car into the workshop while I waited and came back after 30 min and said that the oil was everywhere all over the disks and breaks and he wanted to wash the engine bay to see where the leak was from. I told him what work I have done to it and he said he will do a quick scan for codes. After another 20 min he came back to me saying that the car has further more logged an extra to codes ;
- rear right strut valve is locked but strut is moving freely
- rear left plunger sensor out of range
- Rear left strut valve Is locked but strut moving freely
The car never had codes prior to pump rebuild

The tech said he will need the car for a minimum 3-4 hours @$250 p/h just to try diagnose the problem. He said he will start by doing a wheel alignment, wheel balance and a vehicle level adjustment to see what's going on


MY IDEAS ON IT
Can the pump be caveatting? Can there still be an airlock in the system after rodeo?

Please guys any help would be appreciated as these cars are a dime a dozen here in Australia and no one knows anything about the abc system

Thanks in advance

Fayde

The bubbles and the fluid spilling from the reservoir make me think you have a ruptured accumulator.. probably the rear one. Is the car "bouncy" over bumps?

If an accumulator has failed or is extremely worn, then they will be holding on to more fluid than they are supposed to. When the car is shut off and the system is depressurized, this fluid is pushed back to the reservoir. This is what causes the classic reservoir overflow symptom when the accumulators fail. There are 3 of them in the system.. Were all checked?

Joeblo

Thanks fayde, ended up at a friend of mine who is a master tech at mb and it turned out to be a split o ring/seal in the reservoir cap👍 problem fixed 😃

Fayde

lol!
Man.. wish my problems ended like this. Usually have all the diagnosis problems.. but with a much higher repair cost at the end.