SeanR1700

Hey guys,

I bought an aftermarket magnetic filter for the Active Body Control suspension system, however I accidentally bought the one for CL-Class cars instead of the one I needed for my S55.

I read about these magnetic filters on a forum post over at benzworld.org here. In summary it removes metal particles from the hydraulic fluid reducing friction and increasing the lifespan of the system components.

I actually purchased the filter from the company mentioned in that forum post, Exclusiv Automobile, off their Ebay store. I can't imagine what could be different between filters for the different car models, but I'm not about to question actual Germans on the details.

Please find the link to the item on their Ebay store here.

They said I could send it back to them and they would send me the filter I need for S-Classes. However I figured I would see if anyone would be interested in buying the filter for CL-Classes off me with the bonus of not having to pay for that pricey international shipping. I managed to talk them down to $92, or 81 euros.

If this was the wrong forum for this I apologize.

Thanks!

LynnBilodeau

Just curious; seeing that it installs in line, what would be different between a CL and your S55 as far as the filter?

ItalianJoe1

Pics? I should probably pick this up for my car.

SeanR1700

The filter is still in transit to me from Germany actually so I don't have it to take pictures of in person. I realized my mistake 30 seconds after I bought it and sent them a message asking for the S-Class filter but they didn't read the message in time. You can see some pictures of it on the Ebay page where I bought it I linked in the first post.

As for what the difference is I'm not sure, I sent them a message to ask actually as I was also curious but they never responded to that one. I did ask in English though, I'm not sure how well they were able to read it. All I know is they advertise different filters for different cars. My best guess, and this is pure conjecture, is that perhaps the S-Class has higher fluid throughput as it's a larger/heavier car and thus the filter needs to be slightly larger or something to that affect.

tusabes

Please compare the two filters since you'll have them
Side by side and you're the only English speaking person to actually have them both !!

SeanR1700

Haha I'm not sure if I'll get the chance to have them side by side in front of me since if no one wants the CL one I gotta send it back to swap it for the S-Class one. If someone does want the CL filter then the arrival time of the S-Class one will probably be after I send the CL one off to the new owner. I'll definitely be taking notes and measurements, for the sake of all our curiosities.

renault12ts

I fail to see that they could be different...they even have the same part number...MF30100

SeanR1700

I agree, I don't get it either. They have a phone number, what are the odds I call it and someone can speak English?

tusabes

Was it the seller who said you bought the wrong filter, or are you just going by the eBay ad where one is listed for the S and one is listed for the CL? Many eBay ads are written that a part only fits one model , when in actuality the same part may fit multiple models and they just run separate eBay ads for the same part

SeanR1700

Well after I noticed I had bought the one for the CL-Class, I sent them a message saying essentially I had mistakenly bought the wrong one and asked if there was even any difference or issue with just using the filter I had bought in my S-Class. They responded a few days later with "Hello, Send us in this case, the magnetic filter back and we will arrange for delivery of the correct filter. Thank you for the message. kind regards"

SeanR1700

I got curious and went to their website, it's all in German so I'm google translating my way through.
Looking at the CL item description, it says translated "Fits: Mercedes Benz all CL C215 , also AMG models by 2005", part number MF 30100.
The S-Class says "Fits: Mercedes Benz S Class W220 all , also AMG models by 2005", part number MF 30100 again.
However the one for SL-Class says "Fits: Mercedes Benz SL R230 all , also AMG models by 2012", part number MF 30200.

So you could take this to mean that the CL-Class and S-Class filters are the same part, which happens to fit all AMG models through the year 2005.
The filter for SL-Class fits R230 models and all AMG models through 2012.

So if I'm reading this right, you could make a reasonable argument that any of these filters would fit my 2005 S55, since it's an AMG model before or during 2012.
The part number matching also gives me some confidence. I might actually try calling them tomorrow morning since that would be early afternoon in Germany.
If I'm feeling confident I might just slap the CL-Filter in my car and let you guys know if it explodes.

calgary

It appears that they list the same item on their website under different car models, instead of listing all models that are meant for the same item. Hard to understand why they would want you to return the MF30100 unit - and most likely send you the same item again. I would be surprised if they would not have English speaking staff. All my relatives in Germany take - or took English lessons - in school.

tusabes

all amg s class had abc , but only some regular s class had abc
As well as all cl class models had abc

That's why they use the same part
They say up to 2005 because 2005 was the last year for this body style in Germany - while we got them through 2006

It's pretty clear the s and cl are the same part but the Sl uses a different part

SeanR1700

Good news, I finally heard back from Exclusiv Automobile and got a definitive answer about the filter.

"Hello, the magnetic filter for the S-Class and the CL is the same. As the SL models are other installed, as you should be careful. I will check the homepage and change it if given and thank you for the hint. kind regards"

So as I've done many times in the past and will surely do again in the future, allow me to apologize for my stupidity and thank you guys for the help.

If you CL-Class owners happen to be buying one of these filters off Ebay at 4 AM during a bout of insomnia and accidentally buy an S-Class one, don't panic. It's cool, they're the same part.