tusabes

Well i guess you know he was a crook by that offer to reduce the price
Don't use him

KT1990

Just got the part from Rock Auto!

Called http://www.yelp.com/biz/stadium-auto-service-ann-arbor

$650 + fluid cost to put in.

Sound reasonable? Said it will take 6 or 7 hours.

Edit: Called another mechanic, not a Mercedes guy, although he says he's worked on a few, said he can put it in for $200. Said it's 2hrs of work.

biker349

i believe i asked my dealer the cost of a flush with my own fluid and if i remember correctly it was $600-$650. so i don't think your getting a deal on the flush. what are they charging you to replace the pump and did rock auto send you a rebuilt pump before you sent them the core? i remember reading that they would only rebuild you existing pump on their website.

Quadcammer

I would be very leary of an A1- Car done pump. They are the cheapest of the cheap crap when it comes to remans.

tusabes

Should be two hours for an experienced mechanic

There's a guy on this forum who rebuilds valve blocks for $300 or so if the pump doesn't solve your problems

tusabes

They have a rebuild service as well as an outright pump sale. The a1 cardone is a real mb pump rebuilt with new seals. It's not a China imitation

biker349

i believe mercedes says it takes 5 hours to replace the abc pump. can you really replace it in 2 hours? any special tools or knowledge (short cuts) required?

tusabes

Book time and actual time are completely different things

Be sure to turn the wheel lock to lock 30 times before dropping the car

fireman685

So what's the latest?

KT1990

Everything went good. Pump is installed.

He said there is a very tiny leak. He added some dye to the fluid so he can find it if it ever goes down, to bring it in but it should be ok.

Also had him change the lights. High beam, headlight, and a brake light aux were out. All together spent $800.

The left turn signal was out. Said it needs the whole casing or something so he ordered it. And ordered my light for the passenger view mirror is broken.

Suppose to come in next week. Anyone know what it will cost me? I think he said it will take 5hrs. I called today but they are closed to monday. 5hrs is almost as long as the pump. That took 7 and he charged me the 700 for that so it's $100 an hour I guess.

I can get the side view mirror lights on ebay for $20.

Edit: Also a rattling sound need the rear wheel whenever I hit a bump. Sometimes it scrapes when going slow. He's gonna check it out next time I bring it in but I check for 20 mins. Can't find anything loose.

tusabes

Keep us posted on that rattling sound , I have it too

The mirror led are a quick job there are forum threads about it using the $20 ebay replacement

KT1990

Great. Guess what? ABC red light back on.

Car won't go up. Have to bring in back into shop.

Wonder how much they are going to charge this time.

If I fill up steering fluid again that should keep it up for awhile right?

I don't see it leaking anywhere, but he did say there was a small leak, small enough he added dye to see where it bubbles.

Edit: Never mind. It's leaking again.

He said to buy some ch11 pentosin if I want to keep it up for awhile to refill it but he cant fix till friday.

fireman685

The pump didn't go dry did it????

KT1990

Theres still oil in the power steering dipstick. A little under the fill line. He said it's ok. The ABC fluid dipstick has none. He said it shouldn't really anyway that's just a resevoir or something.

He said it's probably blown accumulators. A few hundred each?

I don't see how I magically have a different problem. Sounds like he's just trying to not admit he screwed up.

He did offer to pay for a tow though. I said it's ok I can drive it in.

I bought some power steering fluid. Gonna fill up tomorrow morning and see if it raises.

fireman685

Oh lord. Well it sounds like the pump did run dry and could very well be ruined. It's two pumps in one. One for power steering and the other for the suspension. The reservoirs may be connected but they're for each individual pump. They dont share fluid. If the ABC fluid is empty then there's no fluid going to that pump.
Your mechanic sounds less than qualified for these cars. Now if an accumulator did rupture it could've burped some fluid out and dropped the level significantly. Use only the Pentosin CHF11.
Good luck. I hope the new pump is not toast.

calgary

I would not take my car back to this mechanic. A free tow means nothing..compared to the cost you are looking at. "Just a reservoir or something" What does he think the two separate dipsticks are for??

KT1990

Are you sure. It's a Mercedes specific place. Every car on the lot is Mercedes, or Maserati.

He did say the pump was leaking already when he fixed it, but it was so small it shouldn't matter, had to add dye just to find a little bubble.

KT1990

The ABC hydraulic dipstick was so clean there was nothing on the paper towel when I wiped it. Like I bought a brand new dipstick.

Are you ****ing with me right now? The name Mercedes is in the name of the shop lol.

KT1990

Honestly I'm going to ****ing cry. Spent so much money already.

I bet you they replaced the pump then forgot to add ****ing hydraulic fluid and now since my pump is leaking, that's obviously done too now.

None of the ****ing work is covered because I supplied my own pump and now I'm f'ed. Gonna have to buy a new pump and and got to another mechanic.

FML. Going to ****ing kill myself. Maybe chargeback my credit card since I paid with Amex.

The ABC hydraulic fluid dipstick is completely spotless. I could lick and suck on it all day. They obviously didn't put any in and now my pump is burned the **** out.

My only car too lol. ****ing christ. Gonna take weeks.

Sorry for the rant. Having a mini breakdown. And honestly, I'm such a ****ing nice person I'm probably just going to take whatever bull**** he says hoping he will just get it done.

Welwynnick

Nobody's messing with you; only your mechanic. Just because he's a mechanic doesn't necessarily mean that he know show to fix ABC.

The ABC reservoir MUST be filled to the upper dipstick mark when the engine isn't running (or the ower dipstick mark when the the engine IS running). The ABC pump will destroy itself quickly without an oil supply.

Just putting oil in the reservoir isn't enough unfortunately. The pump has to be bled - even though its below the reservoir. This needs the reservoir to be lightly pressurized, or the pump to be slowly turned by hand until it fills.

Nick

fireman685

It might be in your better interest to look into the strutmasters conversion. Arnott is giving $300/per shock for rebuildable cores so that'll cover most of the expense. If the abc portion of your pump is bad it does not mean the power steering is therefore you can hopefully continue to use that pump for a while.

http://www.strutmasters.com/products...ht-fix-mb14fm/


https://www.arnottindustries.com/blo...cle-cores.html

KT1990

Bought the pump online for $300. Someone posted it in this thread.

So since the ABC is bone dry, no fluid, and the pump is now leaking, I have to buy a new pump now right?

Wonder what he is going to say when I point the fluid out.

It's a Mercedes specific mechanic, Every car on the lot is Mercedes.

I just don't get it.

biker349

sorry, found out arnott is only paying $100 per strutt for w215. $300 for w216.

fireman685

Well that sucks. Guess they got a recent influx of rebuildable cores.

CLK500 TWINS

Yea the 215, 220 cores are only $100 now, they have too many of them as per Arnott, I just sold mine. So KT, it sounds like you've been through the ringer and it seems to be because of the techs you're choosing. Anyone that would tell you the abc reservoir shouldn't have fluid in it doesn't even sound qualified to work on a Honda, much less a Benz with this much complexity.
It's not exactly the windshield washer reservoir we're talking about here. Check with the place you bought the part, they may warranty it. If you paid the tech with credit, dispute the charge and be honest, he didn't fix anything, he caused further damage. I believe if you've been running the pump dry, it starts to shred and all these tiny pieces of metal will now be traveling throughout the system and cause subsequent failures of other components (valve blocks, accumulators, etc). Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
Search for a new tech or take it to a Mercedes dealer. whatever you do, be it continue to fix the system or convert the suspension, please pick your tech wisely. Ask some of the same questions you've asked here, if they can't answer them correctly, they're not qualified.