ABC Pump Replacement & Hydraulic Line Upgrade (With pictures!)

[sound 8]

Originally Posted by Oxygen How did you get away with paying just £600? The pump alone cost me $1,377.00 and that's my cost, regular walk-in at the dealership is around $1,650.00 for the pump. And that's without the hydraulic lines which are another $400.00 and the fluid at $40.00/liter... With 3 Mercedes you can imagine how much I spent last year. I had just had a bill for £1200 to replace the lines, the service guy had a go at MB as the pump was working ok before they fixed the lines, so MB said they would pay half and I got a 20% discount on labour.

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[hyelifeCL]

Thanks for posting. Last picture is beautiful!

[Busa196]

Man Oxygen, your more of a man than I'll ever be- that looks like a major PITA. Excellent pics/write-up and thanks for taking the time to post it

[KIWI KEN]

You were lucky!

I know of 3 CL W215 cars that have had front hydraulic hose failures which have resulted in serious engine bay fires. One of those was mine.
There is also currently a video on youtube showing one of these fires.
These 'thermal incidents' as MB described them were the subject of recalls on CL and S class where a hose was replaced on the left hand front.

[Oxygen]

Originally Posted by KIWI KEN

You were lucky!

I know of 3 CL W215 cars that have had front hydraulic hose failures which have resulted in serious engine bay fires. One of those was mine.
There is also currently a video on youtube showing one of these fires.
These 'thermal incidents' as MB described them were the subject of recalls on CL and S class where a hose was replaced on the left hand front.

That is INSANE! How can MB be so ignorant towards this?

I checked 5 times there were NO RECALLS for my 2005 W220 related to ABC.

[KIWI KEN]

My vehicle was a 2000 model CL.
When I received the recall notice it covered both CL and S class but I do not remember which year models. The model upgrades in 2003 and 2005 may have rectified the faulty hose.
The recall was for a steering or ABS hose which both run off the same tandem pump.
When I am next at MB I will attempt to get more details.

[KIWI KEN]

The recall in Australia covered W220 and W215 vehicles up to 2004 and was for the replacement of a ABC hydraulic line. The recall was in 2007 but I have read of recalls prior to that in other countries.

[TTMotorsports]

We performed the replacement of Oxygen's lines and pump at our shop.

If you are located in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut or Pennsylvania and have any sorts of issues with your ABC system or need routine maintenance performed - TTMotorsports is the place for you. We will beat any dealership's prices and will have your car back to you faster than they ever could.

We offer the following routine maintenance items for your ABC System:

- Complete system inspection (including all hydraulic lines/valve blocks/pump)
- Filter Replacement
- Hydraulic fluid filtration
- Hydraulic fluid flush & refill

We also offer the following diagnostic services to locate failures or failing components:

- Individual strut test
- Pump pressure test
- Pressure sensor test

We offer replacement of the following components:

- ABC pump
- ABC struts
- ABC valve blocks
- ABC pulsation damper
- ABC controller
- ABC pressure sensor

We of course also replace failed ABC hydraulic hoses. You have the option of replacing them with MB OEM hoses or we can manufacture custom hoses using your OEM fittings/connectors.

Replacement power steering filters are also available.

We stock these components and the fluid so your car is in and out as fast as possible.

[fierceshade]

Almost as if we had been driving the same car...unfortunately given the circumstances!

My dealership went out of business in the beginning of this year. I got screwed with my maintenance option package for my pre-owned beauty as a result. A 2003 CL 500 (bout it with ~50K miles 20 months ago and have it now at ~69K miles), with 20" customs.

Anyhow, ABC light came on and went off maybe twice over the course of two days, before the inevitable: I was pulling out of my driveway only to hear a loud pop under the hood, followed by an oily trail coming out from under my hood. I drove the 3/4 mile straight to my mechanic without hesitation.

ABC Steering Pump, filters, fluids all had to be replaced over a two day period. The pump itself is about $1600. So tack on another $600-700 in labor plus the particulars and additional sales tax and you'll drop about $2700 if you don't have an extended warranty....like me!

The fluid runs ~8 liters at $23 each.

It's unclear whether the Recalled tubing connected to the ABC Steering Pump contributes to the faulty parts, but you definitely don't want a fire under the engine. It's free to get it fixed, but it's best to set an appointment to do so.

Also I did notice a few weeks prior when I pulled up to a store front that had a windowed entrance, that it look like my car was listing to the drivers side more than the passengers, but I though I was imagining it (until now). Even a friend said I was just paranoid about it...HA! What did he know!

Hopefully everything stays good from here on out. Otherwise I'll be back to vent.

[ibeforreal]

Well the ABC problem hit me last night just as I was backing my car into the garage. I have a 03 S500 with about 68k miles on it. The red light came on with the message "please drive carefully". Very fortunate I Was home and backing the car in the driveway. Like you Oxygen, I left a trail of the mineral oil in the cul-da-sac. I wouldn't even attempt to do this myself so it is a tow truck and call to the dealership tomorrow morning. I do have a warranty and it should be interesting how much of the tab they pick up. Damn Oxygen I wish I lived near you. You definitely know you SH-T. I'll let you folks know how I make out.

[yarubkal]

Oxygen - Could you repost the pictures of the old lines and the new ones and thr pump please?

[GoodBeach]

Ibeeforreal,

Please let us know what dealership you are using. I dread the day that I may need their services...

[yarubkal]

Guys. My 2002 S55 with 83K started to dip the front driver side when ever is parked longer than 1 week. it did this for over 9 months. Once I turn it on and put it in gear it bounces back up immediately. Again only the left front driver side would dip down. By the way I had the ABC Hydraulic line replaced under the national recall one year ago. Two days ago I parked the car after driving it and a huge spot of oil leaked out from the same front driver side of the car. Some smoke also becasue the car was hot. The entire car from all sides dropped two inches. I could still drive and turn but obviously did not want to cause additional damage. I had the car towed to the dealership yesterday morning. Today I get the verdict from Mercedes Benz of Portland. Here it is. Hose replaced under national recall is fine. Tandem Pump which controls power steering and ABC is leaking badly and need to be replaced. Its located in the upper left corner driver side. The system need to be flushed and a new filter and hydraulic fluid need to be added. Cost $3200.00. There's also a 50% chance that two valve block (Front and Rear) will eventually fail because of introduction of the new parts. Cost for each block is $1500.00. I will have the car repaired at a friend of mine Range Rover Shop and will let you know how much savings it will be. Reason I am taking it to the Range Rover Shop is because from previous experience RR have a common similar problem with these suspensions failing. Although RR have Air and not fluid I will take it to my friends garage and see what i can save. He stated he has the equipment and MBZ diagnosis tools to work on it. I will take it Friday with the dealership diagnosis. Stay tuned....

[endri sallata]

i have a 2005 sl600 my abc pressure is fine but pump make a dry noise.is thak ok?

[TTMotorsports]

A noisy pump is usually an indication that it is starting to "eat itself up" and it is headed for a complete failure.

Monitor the pressure and you will notice it will begin to drop and/or the noise will become much louder.

[A2CL500]

You give a lot of good information, but for some reason I cannot see your pix of the job you did. Wish you worked closer to Ann Arbor. I would really like you to be able to work on my car 2002 CL500.

I too have ABC problems with the ABC red "drive carefully" message. Started to notice a burning rubbery smell at times from under the car over the last week or so. From your posts sounds like oil on the Catalytic converter. Will take it to MB on Mon.

[wspewterphantom]

pictures?

[Nightflyer]

I have Valve blocks and an ABC pump from a 2003 CL600 if any one is interested.

[renzo 85]

Originally Posted by Oxygen

Well before you bleed the system, you need to prime the pump. You do this by pressuring the ABC fluid tank with air to around 4 bar. Once it's pressurized you have to carry out a step-by-step procedure specified in Mercedes WIS. You also have to prime and bleed the power steering system, since it's run by the same pump. It's a bit lengthy but it requires the use of SDS to perform actuations such as Pressure Value, Pitch, Rodeo, etc...

Like I said it's not really a DIY in your garage kinda deal... bring it to a me, a Mercedes mechanic experienced with ABC or the dealership.. but it will be a lot of money at the dealer as all this stuff takes a lot of time and cleanliness.

hi Oxygen im in england , going to change my pump this week how do you use the sds to det things up ? i have a freind with a star dio will this work. he as plug it in before and it reads all ABC items at fAULT

[punk760]

Thanks to Bruce at TT Motorsports your help and knowledge was very much appreciated,wish i lived nearer to your shop.

[radride]

Well just picked up the car from the train yard. It was completely lowered. When I got in it the ABC warning was on. I tried raising it up but it didn't work. I then took it to the Mercedes mechanics so that they can try to "wake" up the car. Hooked it up to the computer and nothing. The pump was only pumping at 6 bar. He eventually got it raised up enough to be able to drive it but diagnosed the ABC pump was toast.

Now I don't know if it was the idiots loading it on the train and they did something or it was the dealership that knew something was up and didn't say. Regardless both companies are telling me to go screw myself. So I'm stuck with a $3000 bill.

R.K.

[danlnyc]

is it just me or is none of the pictures showing up?? I've refreshed this page several times...

[radride]

Originally Posted by danlnyc

is it just me or is none of the pictures showing up?? I've refreshed this page several times...

Its not just you. The pics aren't working.

R.K.

[jason00]

Helllooo Every oneee MB Drivers

my ABC light turn on ayyy YESS!!!! too low go to dealer spend some money stupid drive... Passanger side front drop to the floor kiss the ground , i took it my Mechanic, they took out the pump. Im going to take it to Rebuild the pump in Toronto Canada,
Im NOT going to spend $3000 on 2004 CL500 @ MB dealer. ... i will let you guys know what going on after that......

Thank you

[ojohnso1]

Hi Oxygen. great explanation. I happened to just have the same abc issu on my s55 2002. The pictures are no longer accessible. Is it possible I can get these pics. I intend to work on the car this weekend with my mechanic friend. Will deeply appreciate if I can get those pictures. Thanks