Fluid Hammer. Great point. Considering the pressure of 3000 pounds per square inch is on the scale of what submarines have to be able to withstand at great depths.

 

If you have the link handy, I'd appreciate it.

 

You might want to talk to Sathinas:
https://mbworld.org/forums/cl55-amg-...4-built-4.html

I know Munk talked about it somewhere, but he is banned, so you won't be able to get any more info.

 

Saintz, thank you.

I had the opportunity recently to visit Speedriven shop in person. After talking to Marcin, I am convinced that Speedriven is the best place to bring the best out of the CL. He took the time to explain what they are working on, showed me some custom-made turbos (part of their 800hp upgrade for the CL). Then we went for a test drive in a Speedriven CL65: imagine oversized twin turbos singing over a growl of the V12. It sounded very close to jet engine at take off. Scary fast too: 2.7seconds (0-60mph). Very impressive. They will be announcing some additional products and packages soon. I will definitely go back for some of the goodies.

 

How do you check accumulator's "health" or do you replace them based on car mileage? Part number(s)? ))

Since my last post, I had the new front brakes (akebono/ceramic), abc pump, hoses and engine mounts installed. Being a member of MB club USA, MB dealership in St. Pete, FL honored the labor+parts discount (10% for club membership and an additional 5% because I am a good customer and did an awesome job. I am truly pleased how they handled the repairs, level of professionalism, quality of the work - and patience with my numerous questions. Highly recommended.

Since I had the engine mounts replaced at the same time as the hoses, parts and labor combined (this includes new abc pump, new hoses, fresh pentosine, new front brakes and new engine mounts) were under $4k ($3800 to be exact). I bought the (rebuilt) pump and hoses from direct part resellers which saved me a bundle. My new maintenance plan for ABC is 3 years/60,000 miles, whichever comes first. If everything works fine at that point - great. Otherwise, replace.

Brakes feel great (=quiet) now and there are no more squeaks. New pump and hoses made the car quicker and firmer. The growl got bolder, too.

Why did I do this? Car was running great but I noticed some minor vibrations, noises and hesitations. I want the car to be in top notch shape - ABC pump made some noises (and gave me one of those red messages once and never again which was a bit strange) - it turned out that one of the hoses was sweating a bit (very lightly but sweating nonetheless) when they opened up the beast. Could I have waited longer with replacement? Probably, but I don't like waiting until something blows up. If parts are near end of their life expectancy, I prefer to replace them while they still work rather than wait for a complete pump/hose failure. Engine mounts were also "more than half way there" (one of them even had a crack, ouch) so it was a good opportunity to put new ones in. Car has 72,800 miles at the moment.

Next upgrade I am considering is to add more horsepower (for the total over 1000hp). I drove a CL with 1000+hp few weeks back when I visited Speedriven in Chicago and... imagine a batmobile-like acceleration with an unbelievable sound of the oversized turbos with CL's handling. Dreamlike.

I have had so much fun with the CL since I bought it in August and learned a lot about its maintenance from the forum - thanks everyone for sharing your knowledge and experience. It is truly appreciated. This car is a keeper - I will drive it until the wheels fall off.

 

yes, how do you know if accumulators need to be replaced??

 

The accumulators either work, or they dont.

There is no way to tell when they are close to end of life. If you wait until they fail, you end up with rubber diaphragm particles in your ABC system.

When they fail, many report a hissing sound emitting from them at start up.

 

Accumulators are one of those things that if they fail, they tend to take out other components as well. Especially the one on the pressure supply valve. It's probably the one that takes the most beating. The part number is 220327021. I don't know of any way to check health, but for ~$125 you can potentially save a $700 pressure supply valve and the two $270 (each) hoses from pump to PSV. Plus labor and fluid. I think if your car is more than 5 years old you should probably change it.

 

Noted. Thank you. I like the $125 price. How many are required?

Last time I talked to MB Customer service, they mentioned that there was a recall in 2007 for "ABC valves" but they did not mention accumulators.

 

What's the effort needed to replace that $125 part?

 

4 accumulators in the system:

2203200415 (small one)
2203270115 x 2 (for each valve block)
2203270215 (for pressure supply valve)

The 0215 one is the most crucial one because it is in the first line of defense (first thing right after the pump). Replacing it is as simple as wrenching the old one off, and screwing the new one on. Then you bleed the air out by simply pressing the up/down button a couple times with the car running.

I don't know if the other 3 accumulators are as critical. Depends on how paranoid you are.

 

Now that we have added another "no maintenance" item to the list (accumulators), what else remains to be listed?

What about valve blocks? Are those typically replaced separately (after 3-year, 5-year, 7-year schedule) or together with some other dependent or co-dependent component?