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Hoses ! I recently bought a CL65. I read all the threads before I did. Car is an 05, 56K miles full benz history 2 owners. Flawless car. I knew I was going to have ABC issues and within a week of my very hard driving, it blew one of the main ABC hoses and I got fluid all over my loafers 😀
Anyway, I decided the only solution is to replace every ABC hose, all the accumulators, filters, fluid and rebuild the valve blocks with fresh o rings.
Everything you see there was around 4K all in. And my friend Eddy (the guy in the picture) is doing the work, and another friend of his is helping. We are using my neighbor's lift. All parts from the local dealer in San Jose with wholesale discount of 25 percent, and the o rings are from diybenzrepair.com.
Last edited by Shiv Sikand; Jan 21, 2017 at 10:34 AM.
Reason: Update
You are very heroic
Good luck for the work, it is insane on some places
and good luck with the pump and valves after that
I have the whole ABC removed now
Thanks ! Here's the way I see it: if the valves do fail or I have any issues with them, I'll swap them out. They are around 1300 each for the new design. The only pump failures I'm aware of is when they run dry after a leak or suck in air. Even if the pump fails and I have to replace it, this is still a 188K supercar which I bought for 25 K. It's still an absolute bargain as far as I'm concerned. I'm not in the remove ABC camp !
I sure is a supercar, I removed the abc because it wasted my time and energy
I rather concentrate on engine and power
but ABC is better then coilovers for sure
Awesome post !! Looking forward to lots more posts and pics !! I'm close to you on the peninsula , I have two cl500 and a cl600 so I'm a glutton for abc punishment
SHIV, the only other problem is that occasionally the abc pump leaks from the front gasket. btw, you can buy re-manned pumps in the $150-$300 range. you could do us a GREAT service while you have all the new hoses out. many of us use compression fitted hoses to attach to the pipes when the hose is leaking. you seem like a very meticulous guy. would it at all be possible to measure the length of the hoses that attach to the pipes. it would be a great way for some of us to purchase compression fitting hoses to keep on hand in case we get a leak. if you could possibly post the part number and the hose length for each abc hose that would be magnificent research for the board. if you are willing to take this on, only measure the length of the hoses, not the pipes. i would be for ever grateful if you would do this as many of these hoses are are very hard to measure while on the car as they criss cross all over the place from front to back and many are covered up by engine and wheel well covers. it would be great if you are willing to take this on. also your experience on doing the job both positives and negatives would be great. don't forget to prime the abc pump before you finish the job and start the car.
the best,
Last edited by biker349; Jan 21, 2017 at 02:07 PM.
SHIV, the only other problem is that occasionally the abc pump leaks from the front gasket. btw, you can buy re-manned pumps in the $150-$300 range. you could do us a GREAT service while you have all the hoses out. many of us use compression fitted hoses to attach to the pipes when the hose is leaking. you seem like a very meticulous guy. would it at all be possible to measure the length of the hoses that attach to the pipes. it would be a great way for some of us to purchase compression fitting hoses to keep on hand in case we get a leak. if you could possibly post the part number and the hose length for each abc hose that would be magnificent research for the board. if you are willing to take this on, only measure the length of the hoses, not the pipes. i would be for ever grateful if you would do this as many of these hoses are are very hard to measure while on the car as they criss cross all over the place from front to back and many are covered up by engine and wheel well covers. it would be great if you are willing to take this on. also your experience on doing the job both positives and negatives would be great. don't forget to prime the abc pump before you finish the job and start the car.
the best,
Measuring the new hoses would be ideal I guess but I'm out of time. I will keep all the old hoses and offer them to anybody in the bay area who wants them for research. Can't promise the measurements right now, I'm too focussed on the job.
As for the pump, if it does develop an issue, I will just buy a new one. I don't want you guys to think I have a bad attitude to DIY or saving money or not listening to the forums, I'm just a buy-new-OEM-parts guy and do the labor yourself kind of person.
The market/depreciation has truly gifted us these cars !!
Awesome post !! Looking forward to lots more posts and pics !! I'm close to you on the peninsula , I have two cl500 and a cl600 so I'm a glutton for abc punishment
The only issue I have with just buying a new ABC pump, is that the pricing is retarded for what you get. Mine was leaking from the front seal, I picked up an AC Delco reman for under $300, and it works perfectly. I still have the old one to potentially re-seal when I have a chance, as it was working otherwise and had not run dry.
Changing all the hoses is a bit excessive, as the rear ones are not exposed to the engine heat and almost never fail, but the peace of mind you will have with all new parts is worth it, your car will be good for another 10+ years now, longer with a few fluid flushes in there.
The only issue I have with just buying a new ABC pump, is that the pricing is retarded for what you get. Mine was leaking from the front seal, I picked up an AC Delco reman for under $300, and it works perfectly. I still have the old one to potentially re-seal when I have a chance, as it was working otherwise and had not run dry.
Changing all the hoses is a bit excessive, as the rear ones are not exposed to the engine heat and almost never fail, but the peace of mind you will have with all new parts is worth it, your car will be good for another 10+ years now, longer with a few fluid flushes in there.
I hear you on the pump cost and alternative options.
I agree that some may see it as excessive, but since any leak is a tow in, and the car is 11 years old, and I intend to drive the HELL out of it in a hot climate for the next few years, it seems like good insurance IMHO. I hate breaking down and any ABC leak is a disaster and has the potential to ruin my day/weekend/road trip/etc. I want to do this once and once only.
Some pics from today. My hose to nowhere was burst, and another from the front valve block was leaking from the fitting. For some reason, that hose was overlooked in the order so will have to wait for one to arrive. The rear line is very long and tricky to install, so we are going to drop the subframe to get it back in. The valve blocks were dry and in good condition so we didn't disturb them.
The shop you see in the pics isn't doing the work. They are just lending me a lift. The guy doing the work is Eddy. You can see him in the first picture. He is rather good.
did he have to drop the sub frame and lift the engine a bit to do some of the abc lines in the front of the car? also i was wondering if you would be willing to ship a few lines to florida. i'll pay the shipping. i understand if you don't.
the best
did he have to drop the sub frame and lift the engine a bit to do some of the abc lines in the front of the car? also i was wondering if you would be willing to ship a few lines to florida. i'll pay the shipping. i understand if you don't.
the best
Sorry, lines have already been donated.
And yes, we dropped the subframe and on Saturday we will lift the engine to get access to the banjos on the bottom of the pump.
The pump banjo can be done with everything in place. There is straight access through a hole in the subframe, there is a plastic shield over it but it's not solid, and simply moves out of the way when you stick the extension through, loosen the bolt and you're good. I had to change my pump after I put the car back together (originally dropped the subframe to do the engine bay lines), and it was actually much more simple than I thought to change the pump with everything in place, that banjo was easy.
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