2014 don't pm me, I didn't even read it. You seem to be of the dimmer variety, so apparently you couldn't see through my vast amount of sarcasm and big words, I was really trying to give you a good old fashioned fu$c off. No one is interested in entertaining your over- inflated egotistical bull*****. Not sure why you're so emotionally invested in me or my car, but you came to this thread with 0 knowledge to offer, just a lot of half assed assumptions and unsolicited oppinions, so. . . I'll tell you what, when I want your opinion, I'll tell you to swallow and speak.

 

Amen to that brother!!!

2014 = Pompous d-bag

This forum needs less of the "I have so much money I wipe my butt with it" attitude and more R&D and feedback on the results of pushing the envelope with mods and new ideas.

P.S. I'll compare net worth and annual income with anyone on this site.......I'm sure I'm not at the top, but certainly not at the bottom either. With that said, I don't feel any compulsion to throw away my hard earned money on a system with questionable reliability and marginal improvement over a coilover suspension. Let's not forget that MB's flagship performance vehicle, the SL65 AMG Black Series abandoned the ABC for coilovers, so it is not like this is modification is sacrilege. We all come to this site with different backgrounds, different motivations and varying goals. Not saying mine are better or worse than the next guy just different. Philosophically, I agree with CLK on this mod and I'm doing similar. I'm fine with technical disagreements especially if you bring data to back-up your viewpoint, I'm even OK with philosophical differences of opinion, but don't insult someone's socio-economic standing because they choose a different path and do it from the safety of your anonymous screen name .

 

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I will agree with the fact that altering your car from factory original is almost always a bad financial decision however I do not agree that it is not an improvement in a lot of cases.

A lot of race cars are modified street cars. They are safer, faster and handle better however they are not as smooth and offer a very uncomfortable ride.

The reasoning that you should not change an unreliable setup for one that is reliable just because it is not manufacturers original makes no sense especially as stated above, the flagship model has done exactly that to improve longevity for track use as well as improving the handling.

 

I had the same issue with my CL few years back. Don't panic.

You can get a rebuilt ABC pump for about $900 from buyautoparts.com. It is just as good as new one. You can find ABC hoses at mymercedesparts.com for a reasonable price. You can also find a hydraulics shop to make hoses for you (it would cost about 10-15 bucks per hose).

Yes, it will cost a few thousand to fix (with parts) but it is worth it.

IMHO, ABC issues and panic are way overblown. Pain in the neck - yes - but totally fixable.

If you have cooling issues, spend $300 for a new coolant pump and new hoses and clamp (another $100 or so).

My CL was "abused" and I knew I'd have to fix a few things. Today it is perfect and a beast to drive. Well worth the trouble and expense - if you know where to find parts for a reasonable price. Let me know if you have more questions. I drive my CL daily.

 

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I have had different views of this car since I got it and even "hated it" for a little while. The reality is this: if you get this car used, it will most likely be neglected in maintenance. Mine was. So I took it upon myself to bring the fire-breathing personality back to this car. I learned a lot, established a lot of good contacts with mechanics and parts suppliers and I started enjoying the process. It is not cheap but it is manageable if you do a little bit of research.

I replaced front struts with new ABC struts, new ball bearings. Then coil packs and new spark plugs. ABC system (pump and hoses), also added some heat shields (yeah!) to protect them. Replaced the tires of course too. Some jacka$$ had put cheap "Sunny" tires on this beast before. Replaced the water pump, coolant pump and some other pump whose name I don't remember LOL

It drives like new now. And it makes noise like a new car, that fire-breathing whoosh. It does not make a wall of sound like the GT500, though.

I am checking it up myself every week for any signs of trouble and knock on wood, it has been smooth sailing so far

 

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Very eloquently put and you couldn't be more correct. As a New Yorker, I hate to admit it but the stereotypes are pretty spot on. We take no prisoners when we've been disrespected and we lead with our firey tempers, at least I do. I had to read his pm just because I can tell the type of person he is and he is everything he accused you of being. I got a pm worth of what he has and how great he thinks he is, blah blah blah. If only he realized the measure of a man is never in his wallet, but instead his character. Typically men who lead and try to represent themselves with a list of possessions lack the character and quality that's truly important in life. He was due to excuse himself from this thread, not sure why he's still here, but save your energy. I appreciate you for noticing and taking the time, but he truly has nothing positive to offer. One of the dangers of being able to buy a bunch of "stuff" is the rejection you feel when you realize you can't buy people, their approval or acceptance. I'm not easily impressed and definitely not by "things," I am impressed by you however. Thanks again, but just ignore it.

 

2014, you can repeat yourself 100 times, no one is going to care who you are or what you have. If you need this amount of constant validation, I wouldn't go pointing fingers about who has a Napoleon complex as you seem to be suffering from a very common complex among men who overcompensate their physical male- related short comings with extravagant items. Yes I asked for opinions and originally I told you, I respected your opinion but my I was unwavering in my decision. That wasn't good enough for you, because you feel your opinion should hold some sort of power or authority. I reiterate I don't care who you are in the outside world, on this forum or what you have in your garage. It means nothing to me. I could care less what you bought your mother, I find it quite intriguing you made no mention of a wife or buying a car for a wife in your pm. Pull your head out of your *** for a moment and realize that whether you have 6 cents or 6 figures in the bank, it holds no bearing on the conversation at hand. You brought it to be about money by your ignorant implications. Now I'm going to ask you nicely to either remove yourself from this thread or only comment if you have something to bring to the table. Unless you're offering to pay for everyone's 10,11k abc repairs with a guarantee that you'll keep paying for the system every time it breaks down, your finances are irrelevant and you just sound rediculous. If you're not going to be able to accept when someone doesn't "listen" to you, reserve your opinions or orders for those in your life who are obligated to. GWElliot is 100% correct. These forums are about extracting the true capabilities of these cars. In regards to performance, reliability, etc. what is important to each individual owner is subjective to what they want from their car. It's not my place nor your place to judge. I can't stand the lowered stance a lot of people aware after but I don't go criticizing those looking to achieve it. In addition as he mentioned the SL65 Black series abandoned ABC and the exclusive SLR MCLAREN also had a coilover set up. Mercedes wouldn't offer a conversion for the same reason they wouldn't issue a recall. There are simply too many people like yourself who are willing to pour tens of thousands of dollars into the same severely flawed system repetitively, just for the sake of not going again the Mercedes brand grain. It is lucrative. Typical customer may have a 1000-2500 repair bill at the dealer. ABC customer has a 10k bill and many will pay it, regardless of whether or not they'll be paying it off for months, years to come, they feel they have no choice. They are a business, just like any other.

 

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Well said, and you are spot on. Bottom line is just because they engineered it, it doesn't mean they got it correct, especially not with the earlier models. Had they have, so many people wouldn't share the same common issue. Is it a bad financial decision in regards to the resale value of the car. Again, I'd say that's subjective to the individual perspective of the buyer. I don't expect it will add any value; however, knowing what I know first hand of the ABC system, if I were ever in the market for another model that was equipped with it, I may avoid that model or option all together or be more drawn toward one that had been previously converted of it were available.

 

Unfortunately the situation I found myself in was the result of the previous owners negligence. However 2 weeks after my purchase I had a car that was too low to drive and a estimated 10k repair. Reading on all the repeated failures cemented my decision that it just wasn't worth it. I wish I had those connections you mentioned or the mechanical knowledge to do the work myself. If I did, I may not have been as intimidated by the initial failure or the threat of repeat failures. I appreciate your input and as you seem to have some definite knowledge to offer, as have many on this thread. In my future inquires, you'll be on my list of opinions I'd like to solicit

 

Your on my thread and "this man" is a woman! The only reason you have latched onto 600v12, who yes, does seem to be knowledgeable and a gentleman. However, he seems to be the exact opposite of how you've presented yourself here from the start. You simply feel he is agreeing with you and it appears that for anyone who does not, you want to battle with or attempt to belittle. You'd be better suited on a forum that covers narcissistic personality disorders. A wise man once told me, never argue with a fool because from a distance no one can tell who is who. With that, I bid you adieu.

 

Well, we all now know why this, "New Yorker" is so beguiling. She just revealed herself as being a woman and not a man. My mother is from New York and I have to tell you she is the exact same way. Once she gets on the soap box, it will never end unless she has the last word. How many times can she keep going?? Anyone care to make a wager? Here is my mother a "New York Woman" one you wouldn't want to mess with. I was adopted at birth but just found her two years ago. Even though we come from totally opposite economic spectrums, she is a wonderful woman but very difficult to deal with. This was my gift to her. I love her but if she gets ahold of a bone, as she would say. "Forget about it".

 

And this is me. A mean horrible person, who tried to offer someone my advise and help but was cut down at the knees.

 

Lol I didn't just reveal myself as a woman, if you read this thread I made no attempt at hiding it. I mention being a woman and not being mechanically inclined in a lot of my threads, including this one. However I like to be informed as a woman because I won't be taken advantage of. Nor will I be disrespected I should mention. I learn from what most members here are willing to offer. This was never about getting the last word but I do find it interesting how you seem to have softened your abrasive edges since you came to be aware I am a woman.

 

Very interesting thread

Is that Aston for sale?


@2014: thank you for kind reply. I come to this forum to share what I learned from others and to share my own experience with the CL. It is an amazing car but also one that will often test one's nerves and patience unless treated with care.

The CL is a subtle combination of 12 explosive chambers connected to 24 platinum spark plugs , controlled by six onboard computers, floating on a cushion generated by hydraulic fluid pressurized at 3000psi.

This is not an ordinary car. It is an extraordinary car. It is the closest thing to a "fighter jet" you can drive on the road.

Just wanted to clarify a few things:

- I learned everything I know about the CL on this forum and I will also say that without this forum, my CL ownership would be a very, very different experience

- I wanted a V12 and boy did I get one

- I wanted to drive a V12 without spending 150K on a car and I did not want to cut corners with maintenance. The CL is a unique combination of a V12 and a suspension that seems to cancel gravitational forces when driving. If you drive this car like a true GT, you will see what I mean. This is not a race car but a GT machine and it will sail along curvy roads with unwavering power with zero body roll in curves. You can't get that with coils. My experience with ABC was not bad although it blew up on the highway without any pre-warning. My car was owned by no fewer than 4 previous owners who did not maintain it at all. I made a few calls and found parts and brought them to an MB mechanic.

- I like the CL but I wish I had waited a bit longer and gotten an Aston. That will be my second V12 So far, I have three cars I enjoy: the CL, Shelby GT500 and an Acura 3.2 CLS - all amazing in their own right.

 

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How contentious is ABC!

Both the parts and the labour are expensive for a new car, but prohibitive for an old car. I've been extolling the modified / DIY approach to keeping it going for years, and sure, that won't work for most people. However, it's let me keep my 160k mile car on the road for 100's per year instead of 1000's.

Having said that, mine started leaking again recently, and it was my modified part that leaked. And the engine had to be lifted just to get access to it - its truly one of the nightmare jobs. Part of my solution is finding simple, robust repairs and methods, and I just supported the engine, removed four bolts and lowered the subframe a few inches to access the leaking pipe. To my embrassment, I had simply failed to tighten the compression joint enough, but it was all fixed using DIY facilities in a day.

However, if you had to pay someone to do that, you might find the maintenance cost more than the car's value. If you had an accident like that, you'd call it a total loss. Sadly, I think this is happening more and more to the older S-class and CL-class cars - in particular those with ABC.

Out of idle curiosity, I often browse the used-car columns for similar cars, and I've noticed that cars like mine are becoming rare. So I'm beginning to think that the cost of these repairs is driving our cars off the road, which is very sad.

Nick

 

@Welwynnick: I read many of your posts and learned a lot from them. As a result - just one example - I had heat shields installed around ABC hoses to make them last longer.

People own cars for different reasons. I wanted a V12 without spending a 100K+ kind of money and the CL was the only choice. Repairs are expensive but I have also learned to find parts and I know mechanics who are eager to help for a reasonable price. Every little step in improvement was felt in a more responsive car. Not too long ago, mechanic called me and said that I *must* replace both front struts because they are severely damaged. I thought that was going to cost me a fortune but then he found me a "factory deal" and in the end it was like getting a 50% discount on parts. Labor to instal those was negligible and I even got to watch part of the process. It was a similar story with ABC repairs several years ago when the engine had to come out.

This forum has been invaluable in navigating the CL ownership and keeping sanity throughout.

Aside from the V12, I enjoy the tweaks and keeping this car on the road. It may not make sense economically to drive a car like this for most people or to put up with repairs but in that case you are not looking for the CL (or GT500 or anything with extreme engineering).

 

Bordeaux and Java... very nice. Very nice job in keeping it in such pristine condition.

I got my CL with about 70K miles and many rattles. It looked new but it was a wounded beast. After four years, it now has 85K miles and I have replaced all critical components (suspension, electronics, ABC) which means it is now "largely under warranty" LOL

All Astons look stunning - I am most interested in the Vantage V12: small car with a wild V12 under the bonnet and that unmistakable sound note.

Dealer offered me nothing for my CL when I wanted to just give up once. I am glad I did not.

 

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A CL 600 and bentley gt cost roughly the same in 2005. (About $140k)

That bentley is $50-60k today and you'd be lucky to get $15k for the cl600