Sojo40

Just want to send out a note to all to keep an eye on your ABC high pressure hoses coming out of the pump. I had one blow 2-3 months ago, the hose to NO where that comes off pump and horseshoes and ends just capped off. It handles the pressure spikes. Then last week I had the other high pressure hose go, yes the expensive one that the motor mount and subframe has to be moved to get to the banjo bolt on the pump. I was lucky I seen it weeping and was keeping an eye on it, it let go right in my drive way so I towed it to Indy and pump was saved. If your car sags any just get it checked out. Self diagnosis will lead to wrong or unnecessary repairs. When mine started sagging I thought it was the valve block read other threads and thought ok no fluid leaking and sagging on front right so must be the block I almost was going to have the valve block rings replaced and then that first hose went. Followed by the other. The weeping was causing the sagging cause the fluid was sweating out of the hose which was letting the pressure release and the sagging would happen. Had accumulators checked, valve blocks and struts all good. So those hoses will be the most likely culprit. Sad thing is there is no preventive maintenance to keep the hoses from going so keep and eye on them and if even a little fluid usage that is a big sign that there may be a weeping hose if no obvious fluid to be seen under car. Unlike having the fluid flushed and filter changed on ABC system to keep valve blocks from debris and good viscosity the hoses will have to be checked well worth it cause that pump is not cheap.
Best to my fellow w215 ABC forum friends.

tusabes

Given the age of these cars all hoses are 10-16 years old. Well past the life expectancy for hoses in the hydraulics industry . In commercial applications like bulldozers where downtime and safety is an issue , hoses are changed every two years

There are at least ten abc hoses and all of them are past their life expectancy waiting to fail. It's not a matter of preventive maintenance , Mercedes was never going to suggest to owners that all hoses should be replaced every two years . Frequent inspection and immediate replacement of any leaking hoses is key

You can't just drive the car with a abc leak , like you can with a long term small engine oil orvtranny leak and just live with it

fastlife23

about how much does it cost to replace all the abc hoses on the w215?

tusabes

At a mb dealer probably $4000-5000

fastlife23

And what do you guesstimate at an indy

ONEBADAMG

One of my hoses blew on my CL55. The car lowered all the way down while
I watched all the hydraulic fluid spray out from the bottom of my car. When I
eventually towed it to my Mechanic, he quoted me over $1000 to replace that
specific hose. Plus it also looked like the rest of them were on their way out too. Mercedes quoted over $4000 for the complete parts/hoses that I would need to rebuild my ABC. That did not include labor & any other misc. parts.

That's when I had to make a decision to go full conversion strut coil? Or just get rid of the car? I was not in my right mind to blow over $5000 on a 13 yr old car.

My car is full strut coil conversion (Strutmasters). I did the complete install
myself and eventually replaced the ABC pump to a conventional power steering pump.

Welwynnick

I promised myself that I would spend less time on the PC and more time in the garage this month, but I couldn't resist this.

Its bad news when an ABC hose fails, and it happened to me three years ago. In hindsight I could have avoided it by inspecting all the vulnerable hoses.

"Vulnerable" means anything in the oven - er - engine compartment, and "inspect" means take the covers off and do a quick visual.

If a hose is damp around the crimped joint, its telling you that it's about to fail. Sure enough my pulsation damper hose seeped, and I ignored it , and it failed.

Surprise.

There's lots you can do to manage ABC, besides go the MB dealer. Like read my thread below

Nick

tusabes

Not going to be much cheaper at an Indy , the hoses are only sold by mb and just the parts are several thousand dollars

The only way to repair them cheaply is to diy or use an Indy mechanic willing to cut off the metal ends and repair the hoses rather than replace them using generic hydraulic hose from a hydraulics /forklift shop

See welwynnick thread that's what he did

ONEBADAMG

There's virtually no way to repair them. You can get a hydraulics / forklift shop to fabricate them?
Well over 2000 psi running through the hoses when under pressure.

fastlife23

I have plenty of hydraulic hose shops near me here in Chicago. You're saying they cannot replicate the hoses with the needed ends?

ONEBADAMG

They should be able to fabricate no problem.
I just don't want my Mercedes Brothers to think that you could just get
hydraulic hoses and install fittings using hose clamps. It will not work..
Trust me....lol..They will burst.....The fittings have to be crimped on the hose with special machines.....

Mercedes OEM Hoses are very expensive here in Toronto Canada.
I was quoted over $4000

I actually had one hose fabricated by a local hydraulics shop and it worked amazing great.
The problem with my CL55 is that the whole ABC system was starting to deteriorate.....plus my pump was starting to go again for the second time.

fastlife23

Did you install roll bars with the strut conversion one bad?

ONEBADAMG

No sway bars installed....
I actually think the suspension & handling is fine.
If I was going to be tracking my CL, I'd consider doing some kind of mod
but for now my car's suspension is great. Only problem is that I don't
have the option of lowering my car like before......and my front end is a bit high......Other than that, I'm happy overall with Strutmasters....

tusabes

You can fill that wheel well gap by getting higher profile tires such as 50 or 55 series

The yellow speed coil overs should allow lowering

No one has tried them yet and posted about it
https://mbworld.org/forums/cl-class-...coilovers.html

Welwynnick

3000 psi actually.

Dirt cheap, industry standard, 3/8" two-wire hydraulic hoses off the shelf of any hydraulic shop anywhere in the World will work just fine. And you can use compression hose fittings, so no need for custom pipework. Reliable.

Nick

fastlife23

Nick what would you estimate the cost of replacing all the abc hoses with quality hydraulic shop hoses?

tusabes

I don't think you understand , you can't just go to the hydraulics shop and replace them .

You have individually cut the necks off all your existing hoses , take them to the hydraulics shop , then attach them to the cut down metal necks of the oem hoses. The hydraulics shop isn't going to do that to your car for you , that's all labor you need to do yourself

fastlife23

I understand was just wondering if anyone has done the replacement and what it cost them. Fully aware a hydraulic shop is not going to work on my car and replace lines for me.

Welwynnick

Its the hoses in the engine compartment that are vulnerable, due to engine heat.
There are ten of those, and I replace all mine for about £300.
The flexible hoses at the back of the car are much less likely to fail.

Nick

fastlife23

thanks nicolas

ONEBADAMG

Too much stress with all these hoses & ABC parts……..
I don’t want anyone to get me wrong, the CL’s Active Body Control is amazing technology but when our cars become a bit older this stuff breaks down.
There is tons of preventative maintenance you can do but hoses/valve blocks/ABC pump & filters/fluid inevitably will fail as our cars age…..

I met this older gentleman at a gas station last Summer. As he was admiring my CL55, he approached me and said, “I respect you for driving this car”!
He told me that in 2003 he bought a brand new CL55. The car at the time was sold to him for over $125,000 CND from Mercedes. He said that it was
his favorite car of all time and that he had to purchase it. For the first 3-4 years of ownership the CL was fabulous. Thereafter the car’s
maintenance was unreal…..Not wanted to give up on his dream car, he paid over $25,000 trying to maintain & keep his car on the road. Finally 5 years, he
gave up & sold it for peanuts.
He told me that he didn’t regret buying it because he loved the power and style but eventually maintenance costs killed it for him!
He’s now driving a newer E63 Wagon……….. “Atleast he’s 100% Mercedes Loyal”……..lol

tusabes

Unless you can diy and use alternative parts like hydraulics shop hoses, cars with Abc simply cannot, cannot be maintained by a dealer as the costs will exceed the value of the used car. That's why the value of these cars are so low .

If this car had a coil spring suspension from the factory it's resale value would be double . But aftermarket coil conversions do not help with value

Welwynnick

Active suspension is the holy grail for auto suspension, and this is the price to pay for being a pioneer.

My 1991 Lexus Soarer is the first production car with active suspension, but the active option cost almost as much as the car, and they only made a few hundred.

The W215/220 were the first MASS production cars with active suspension, and we're all guinea pigs here.

Old S600's are certainly troublesome, but if they were that bad, they'd be worth less than V8's, and I don't think that's true.

If they had coil spring suspension, I'd be driving something else.

Nick

RoadHazard

I've had my fair share of ABC issues too. I had the entire main line and the pulsation dampener resleeved, which I believe is a more durable, cheaper alternative. If anything ever blows or the pump fails, it's straight to coilovers.

Welwynnick

Could you explain what you mean by "pulsation dampener resleeved"? I don't get that bit.


Cheers, Nick