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2001 S600 Lorinser Body Kit & W215 Front-End Conversion
Questions Regarding ABC Valve Body Cleaning Technique
So I have been gathering information in regards to cleaning my valve body. I've been reading as much info as I can but there are so many articles to read from I sometimes get confused. So I thought let me ask some of the experts here. So here are some questions I have gathered in the hopes some can chime in. Hopefully it'll help others out as well in the future.
My scenario:
So lately my car has been sagging front and rear on the drivers side. When I first got the car few months back, the car would take about 2 days to fully sag down where I would get a message 'car too low'. Now, it came down to less than a day. It takes less than 24 hours for the whole left side to go down low. And usually within 2 hours if left parked, you can visually see the rear left sagged below normal. So I am thinking the valve body needs cleaning. I see no leaks and the fluid is still intact to it's normal level on the reservoir.
My questions:
1. Since I believe that the current fluid is dirty, should I do rodeo test and filter replacement first to trap the dirt on the filter? Or will that be taken care of when I flush the fluid after cleaning the valves? My concern is that when putting the cleaned valves back on, the current dirty fluid will reach back there if I do rodeo after that? Isn't there a better chance if I clean the current fluid, then take off valves for cleaning, then do the flush? Or am I overthinking this?
2. Since I plan on cleaning the valve body from both the front and rear, I am wondering if I should start off by lifting all four tires off the ground and have it sitting on jacks. Would that be the best way to go about taking off both the front & rear valves?
3. I was trying to locate the rear reservoir/valve block the other day when the car was on the shop lift getting exhaust done but couldn't find the valve block on the rear left. I assumed it was right by the rear wheel. But now that I see the illustration, it seems it's actually in front of the wheel. But where exactly? Do I need to remove the rear wheel to actually see it? Or is it much more further up from the real wheel like on the top arch? Is it under some cover? The illustration shows it's quite up front from the rear wheel. (Item number Y36/2 on the illustration below)
4. I noticed that there is a rear axle pressure reservoir(Number 4 on the illustration above) which is located what appears to be either on the right rear strut). Does that need to be disconnected in any step to 'depressurize' the struts? Or is depressurization only involved when disconnecting the hoses from the actual valve unit?
Those are the questions I have at the moment. I believe Nick has done it before? And from his famous maintenance thread haoz129 wrote the step by step instructions for the rear valve block.
I thought procedure dictated putting in a new filter during the flush, and another one after a bit of driving. I'm going to have to a lot of reading on this, as I have some weepy hoses to replace. As soon as I can figure out the part numbers.
You should just do a flush and filter change before dissembling anything as that may be all you need
The easiest procedure is to disconnect the fluid return line at the abc reservoir , hook up a clear hose and let it drain into a container as you run the car and add new fluid into the reservoir
When it begins to run clear green , you've flushed it . Change out the filter and operate the up/down abc dash button about 20 times and you're done
2001 S600 Lorinser Body Kit & W215 Front-End Conversion
Originally Posted by tusabes
You should just do a flush and filter change before dissembling anything as that may be all you need
The easiest procedure is to disconnect the fluid return line at the abc reservoir , hook up a clear hose and let it drain into a container as you run the car and add new fluid into the reservoir
When it begins to run clear green , you've flushed it . Change out the filter and operate the up/down abc dash button about 20 times and you're done
Yeah I will try that out first. Would you know how much fluid I would need to do this procedure?
So I have been gathering information in regards to cleaning my valve body. I've been reading as much info as I can but there are so many articles to read from I sometimes get confused. So I thought let me ask some of the experts here. So here are some questions I have gathered in the hopes some can chime in. Hopefully it'll help others out as well in the future.
My scenario:
So lately my car has been sagging front and rear on the drivers side. When I first got the car few months back, the car would take about 2 days to fully sag down where I would get a message 'car too low'. Now, it came down to less than a day. It takes less than 24 hours for the whole left side to go down low. And usually within 2 hours if left parked, you can visually see the rear left sagged below normal. So I am thinking the valve body needs cleaning. I see no leaks and the fluid is still intact to it's normal level on the reservoir.
My questions:
1. Since I believe that the current fluid is dirty, should I do rodeo test and filter replacement first to trap the dirt on the filter? Or will that be taken care of when I flush the fluid after cleaning the valves? My concern is that when putting the cleaned valves back on, the current dirty fluid will reach back there if I do rodeo after that? Isn't there a better chance if I clean the current fluid, then take off valves for cleaning, then do the flush? Or am I overthinking this?
- Flush all fluid and replace filter, then rodeo for a while, then change filter again. This could very well fix your problems. Even if it doesn't, its better to not have dirty fluid running through your cleaned valve blocks.
2. Since I plan on cleaning the valve body from both the front and rear, I am wondering if I should start off by lifting all four tires off the ground and have it sitting on jacks. Would that be the best way to go about taking off both the front & rear valves?
- NO. If the wheels are unsupported while you remove the isolation valves, the weight of everything will pull the boots off of the struts and they are impossible to get back on correctly. It takes a decent amount of hacking to get them held back up after they get pulled out of the top. If they are left down, your struts will see accelerated wear. If you take the wheels off, you should be alright. I haven't actually seen any rears get pulled off but the fronts definitely do.
Jack up the car to a little over a good working height, then put blocks or something under the tires and lower the car so that the wheels just touch the blocks. Now they will be supported when the system is opened. Make sure to support the frame of the vehicle though. When you do remove the isolation valves, the car will drop if any weight is on the struts. This is a good way to get crushed The car drops lowwww.
3. I was trying to locate the rear reservoir/valve block the other day when the car was on the shop lift getting exhaust done but couldn't find the valve block on the rear left. I assumed it was right by the rear wheel. But now that I see the illustration, it seems it's actually in front of the wheel. But where exactly? Do I need to remove the rear wheel to actually see it? Or is it much more further up from the real wheel like on the top arch? Is it under some cover? The illustration shows it's quite up front from the rear wheel. (Item number Y36/2 on the illustration below)
4. I noticed that there is a rear axle pressure reservoir(Number 4 on the illustration above) which is located what appears to be either on the right rear strut). Does that need to be disconnected in any step to 'depressurize' the struts? Or is depressurization only involved when disconnecting the hoses from the actual valve unit?
- The system won't have any real pressure in it. Don't disconnect that. Just remove all the lines at the valve blocks and pull them out. If you want to be lazy, you can get the isolation valves out of the front block without removing the block. Just take off the front bumper, crack a line, and take them off. Admittedly, this can be very hard for someone doing the job for the first time. Usually the isolation valves are very stuck in place and it can take some serious effort to remove them. Once you do the job a few times and know exactly how to take them out, it gets a little easier.
Those are the questions I have at the moment. I believe Nick has done it before? And from his famous maintenance thread haoz129 wrote the step by step instructions for the rear valve block.
You need about 10.5 quarts of Pentosin CHF 11. Also, when you are flushing make sure that the reservoir does not run dry. You almost need two people to do the job. After flushing you can do a cheap rodeo by raising and lowering the car about 30 times. just use the button on the dash for this...............or you can take it to a place that has the equipment to perform the rodeo.
2001 S600 Lorinser Body Kit & W215 Front-End Conversion
Thanks alot everyone. Yeah I am gonna have a friend help me out with this.
So I was just browsing Amazon for the bigger volume order and noticed some comments were saying that CHF 202 is the new CHF11S. Is that correct? They were saying CHF11S were all leftover stock and CHF202 is the replacement.
IF that's the case, can I just use that? The concern would be if it's not exactly similar then not to cross-contaminate two different chemicals.
NO. If the wheels are unsupported while you remove the isolation valves, the weight of everything will pull the boots off of the struts and they are impossible to get back on correctly. It takes a decent amount of hacking to get them held back up after they get pulled out of the top. If they are left down, your struts will see accelerated wear. If you take the wheels off, you should be alright. I haven't actually seen any rears get pulled off but the fronts definitely do.
What do you mean by boots? Do you mean the plastic covers that go over the springs?
They don't bear the weight of anything, they just get gently stretched; same as if you were changing a wheel. The unsprung weight is partly born by the twist of the rubber suspension bushes (which is why you tighten them up at normal ride height) and partly by the bump stop in the strut itself.
There's nothing wrong with letting the wheel hubs hang (PS. I've done a lot of this).
CHF202 is indeed miscible with CHF11S, but do you really want to? ABC is designed around CHF11S. There are lots of brands. Only Pentosin is MB approved, but there's very, very little to chose between them.
Nick
Last edited by Welwynnick; 07-14-2016 at 01:08 PM.
2001 S600 Lorinser Body Kit & W215 Front-End Conversion
Originally Posted by Welwynnick
What do you mean by boots? Do you mean the plastic covers that go over the springs?
They don't bear the weight of anything, they just get gently stretched; same as if you were changing a wheel. The unsprung weight is partly born by the twist of the rubber suspension bushes (which is why you tighten them up at normal ride height) and partly by the bump stop in the strut itself.
There's nothing wrong with letting the wheel hubs hang (PS. I've done a lot of this).
CHF202 is indeed miscible with CHF11S, but do you really want to? ABC is designed around CHF11S. There are lots of brands. Only Pentosin is MB approved, but there's very, very little to chose between them.
Nick
I meant Pentosin makes CHF202 and was wondering if I can purchase that and use for the flush & refill instead of the Pentosin CHF11S. I assume you recommend not to because ABC is designed around CHF11S. Correct?
What do you mean by boots? Do you mean the plastic covers that go over the springs?
They don't bear the weight of anything, they just get gently stretched; same as if you were changing a wheel. The unsprung weight is partly born by the twist of the rubber suspension bushes (which is why you tighten them up at normal ride height) and partly by the bump stop in the strut itself.
There's nothing wrong with letting the wheel hubs hang (PS. I've done a lot of this).
CHF202 is indeed miscible with CHF11S, but do you really want to? ABC is designed around CHF11S. There are lots of brands. Only Pentosin is MB approved, but there's very, very little to chose between them.
Nick
Yes, the plastic covers that cover the shaft.
If the wheels are left on and the isolation valves removed, often times that plastic cover/boot will pull out of the top. With wheels removed, I've never had it happen. Once the boot comes out of the top, it doesn't really go back in. They don't always come out but it isn't worth the risk.
I meant Pentosin makes CHF202 and was wondering if I can purchase that and use for the flush & refill instead of the Pentosin CHF11S. I assume you recommend not to because ABC is designed around CHF11S. Correct?
Well you COULD (some people even use ATF, and I guess mineral oil would work as well), but CHF-11S is specifically recommended due to its lower cold temperature viscosity, but it's your car...
If the wheels are left on and the isolation valves removed, often times that plastic cover/boot will pull out of the top. With wheels removed, I've never had it happen. Once the boot comes out of the top, it doesn't really go back in. They don't always come out but it isn't worth the risk.
By isolation valves, do you mean the valves in the valve block?
07-13-2016, 03:14 PM
