1karline

I have a 2005 500SL. About a year ago I had to replace the ABC Control pump. Last month I had to replace the ABC Control hoses. Last week I had to replace the from left actuator for the suspension system. A day after that, there ABC Control red light came on again and the dealer is telling me the other three actuators need to be replace. Has any experienced something like this?:

Thanks TF

MJ50

moved to R230 forum...

kbob999

Not me, but it sounds very likely if the ABC system did not have the fluid changed. I've had to replace 2 struts, flush the fluid, new fliter, and will replace the accumulators even though they have not failed.
These parts are somewhat life limited, and yours are 10 years old, which is about when they fail.
In your case, the dealer may have 'fixed' something that was not the actual problem. This happens a lot with the ABC.

next2pool

I just had to replace my ABC pump because it had a bad leak. When I removed it, it felt lumpy and rough so it's possible some crap got into the system. Unfortunately the filter is on the return side of the system so a pump failure can cause debris to get into struts, etc. I have flushed the system and replaced the filter. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Athlon

I had ongoing issues with the ABC, stuck in position , disabled, warnings and errors. Was worst in cold weather. The fix was a known issue on the SL, wear in the ball joint that sits on the bottom of the shock. After they were fixed never had the issue back in 3 years. MB said it was everything but. Only came to light on the MOT. I would suggest any wear at all in these can throw these errors. £1000 a strut from MB but you can have them rebuilt for less than £100.00 each.. is what I done and they are better than original.

mercy-me

Quote:
£1000 a strut from MB but you can have them rebuilt for less than £100.00 each.. is what I done and they are better than original. 01-27-2015 04:02 PM

Looks like you are in the UK. Just curious, who did the rebuild on your struts? Obviously, that individual has found the resources to do the rebuild. It would be interesting to know how extensive the rebuild is and what parts are replaced in the process and where to get the lower ball joint.

Thanks,

Bob

Athlon

Would have to look it up on the paper work, but they are in Liverpool. They do a post and return service also but I drove there and it was done in an hour.

It was an engineering shop that rebuild ball joints etc for trucks mainly Volvo and buses.

The ball joint must be good condition, usually the case unless you are stupid and drive it with the bangs and knocks produced by failure for some time.If the internal ball has excessive wear then it is scrap. They can tell you if its gone too far.

What they do, is how it was described.

Super heated removes all internals.
It is then drilled and and a grease nipple is attached for future lubrication.
Then under high pressures it is injected with some high tech polymer resin material... they say is stronger than original, given they rebuild truck joints i have no doubts. They do S class and SL struts regularly and are extremely good value for money.

Pulling the shock off is very easy, drain the fluid from the shock after removing and clamp feed pipe.

Rodeo etc is not needed after refit and no bleeding is required as it is not a pressured sealed system. Simply top up the fluid and up/down the suspension several times, drive do again. I have done it twice now on both fronts, the other side I had done as preventive maintenance as I know it will fail at some point.

mercy-me

Quote:
Originally Posted by Athlon
It was an engineering shop that rebuild ball joints etc for trucks mainly Volvo and buses.
.

Got it! I missed that part from your original post and thought they rebuilt the entire strut for the £100. Thanks for the detailed description on refurbishing the ball joint itself.

This link shows a rebuild on the entire strut including replacing the ball joint with a new one. It is in German but you can use Google translate for the English version if needed.

Thanks again,

Bob